Excited about new Dillon toy

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

As some may know, Dillon decided to take back some business from Double Alpha and introduced its own Bullet Feeder (in press-specific versions) at Shot Show 2025 a couple of months ago.  They sold 100 units in February at a special promotional price and announced a wait list for eventual commercial production quantities.  They are not there yet but this morning those high up enough on the wait list, LIKE ME, were able to buy units at the same special promotional price.  I got mine with the 9mm/38/357 and 45 cal kits and for FIVE DOLLARS shipping cost it is being delivered by FedEx on Saturday!  I know what I'll be doing Saturday night!

[Yul Lose]

I’ll be anxiously awaiting your report and summation.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

1 hour ago, Yul Lose said:

I’ll be anxiously awaiting your report and summation.

Me too!  Other than a couple of video clips taken at Shot Show and Dillon's own website, there is zero information out there about it, and absolutely zero real world user feedback on YouTube or anywhere else.  At least before today, only 100 have been sold and who knows how many of those are already operating (though I'd suspect most).

[Yul Lose]

12 minutes ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said:

Me too!  Other than a couple of video clips taken at Shot Show and Dillon's own website, there is zero information out there about it, and absolutely zero real world user feedback on YouTube or anywhere else.  At least before today, only 100 have been sold and who knows how many of those are already operating (though I'd suspect most).

I visited with the Dillon folks at EOT for quite awhile about the new bullet feeder and it sure looked like a well built unit. They pretty much convinced me that I need one, but I’d sure like to hear what some of the early users have to say about installing it and getting it running reliably and what kinks there are to work out. 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

I don't know much about the Double Alpha Mr. Bullet Feeder, to be honest, so I won't be able to compare the two at all.  I do know that a modified shorter powder charge bar is needed if you still want a powder check die in position 3 when the Mr. Bullet Feeder is installed.  I am hoping that Dillon itself figured out a way to keep the bullet seating die in position 4 without requiring use of the modified powder charge bar.  After all, they've known about that issue for quite some time.  Or, alternatively, that the shorter charge bar comes with it.  Either way, I hope I can continue to use the Hornady Powder Cops I have in position 3 in all of my toolheads. 

[watab kid]

i dont have a dillon but my good friend does - he has three , ill watch this thread for him 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

When you order this, you pick the caliber you want it to arrive set up for, just like when buying a Dillon press or a case feeder.  One bullet plate is for 9mm/38/357 and since I currently load two of those three calibers, that's what I ordered.  But I also load 45 so I got the caliber conversion kit for that too.  Interestingly, as best as I can figure out, Dillon shipped the 45 cal kit separately and even by a different shipper.  I'm getting notifications that packages are on their way to me from Dillon via both FedEx and USPS.  In any event, something will be delivered on Saturday, and something else on Monday, I just can't tell which is what.

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

 

After you get the new "Toy" set up and running, be sure to price your left hand appropriately for disposal 🤪

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Okay, it arrived today.

 

I unboxed and proceeded to begin assembly of my new Bullet Feeder.  But I did not finish.  Here is my initial report, which mirrors the Support Ticket I opened with Dillon.

 

There are two major issues that they do not mention anywhere, either or both of which might dissuade someone from buying a Dillon Bullet Feeder.

 

First, you cannot attach the bullet feeder mounting tube to your 750 if the press is sitting on a Dillon Strong Mount and is equipped with a Dillon Bullet Tray.  How they screwed that up is beyond me.  A modified Bullet Tray mounting bracket is required.  I asked them to design, fabricate, and send one to me.

 

Second, they did NOT address the known interference of the bullet dropper die with the Dillon Powder Dropper's charge bar on the 750.  As is the case with the Mr. Bullet Feeder as well, you cannot run a powder check die in between the powder die and bullet drop die because the bullet drop must be installed in Position 3 -- UNLESS you buy Double Alpha Academy's Extra-Short Dillon Powder Bar.  Frankly, that is ridiculous.  Dillon should provide a similarly short powder bar with the Bullet Feeder to allow me to use my powder check dies (in every toolhead).

 

Everything else is minor, in comparison.  One part arrived broken, sort of -- a very tiny machine screw was cross-threaded into its semi-captive nut fitted into a plastic part; attempting to either loosen or tighten the screw caused the nut to strip the hex-shaped hole in the plastic part it is assembled into.  I asked for a replacement sub-assembly.  

 

I have Version 1 of the User Manual.  Some information I would have expected to find in it is not, and other stuff doesn't match what comes in the box.  Specifically, some of the subassemblies are already partially assembled, so the instructions telling you to put them together make little or no sense.  And you can't find the parts they are referring to because they've already been put together and some are hidden behind or underneath other parts.  I get it -- this is Version 1.  But I do still have two more screws than it seemed I needed to follow the assembly instructions anyway -- I have no idea whether they are indeed extras or if I missed something due to the nonsensical instructions.

 

One other thing is worth mentioning.  The Bullet Feeder is supplied with substitute powder funnels for the powder drop die.  These are supposedly needed to create the correct flare that allows the bullet to seat properly in the case mouth.  I recently spent $50 on a Mighty Armory 9mm Powder Funnel Flare to reduce the "sticking" I've experienced when loading 9mm.  I will be miffed some if I have to swap out that part.

 

It isn't all doom and gloom, of course.  I was able to run and adjust the feeder to reliably feed 125gr coated RNFP .358 bullets in the correct orientation.  I'll report further progress when appropriate.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Someone of course pointed out to me that I no longer "need" the bullet tray since I am no longer loading bullets by hand.  But the tray is so useful for so many other tasks that I do not want to do without it.

[Krazy Kajun]

38 minutes ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said:

Someone of course pointed out to me that I no longer "need" the bullet tray since I am no longer loading bullets by hand.  But the tray is so useful for so many other tasks that I do not want to do without it.

I ordered one and am waiting for delivery.  One question I have...are you loading on a 750, seems like you would be given your post above about the mounting issue?  I have a 650 with a strong mount and bullet tray....just wondering how all of this will play together.

 

Kajun

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Dillon's thinking, I guess, is that since you are no longer loading bullets with the left hand, the bullet tray is no longer needed. That's ridiculous, in my opinion.  It also ignores the fact that while I load some calibers in bulk and will use the Bullet Feeder for those, there are others that I load in only much smaller quantities for which I will not buy another caliber conversion kit for the Bullet Feeder, and will continue to set the projos by hand from the bullet tray.  It is almost as if Dillon assumes that the 750 will never be used for anything but high-quantity fully-automated loading once the Bullet Feeder is mounted -- and that assumption is simply wrong in my opinion.

Edited March 30, 2025 by Nostrum Damus SASS #110702

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

2 hours ago, Krazy Kajun said:

I ordered one and am waiting for delivery.  One question I have...are you loading on a 750, seems like you would be given your post above about the mounting issue?  I have a 650 with a strong mount and bullet tray....just wondering how all of this will play together.

 

Kajun

Yes, I have a 750. And I really like it even without the bullet feeder.  I'm hoping I like it even more once the bugs are worked out. 

[Kingsley]

8 hours ago, Krazy Kajun said:

I ordered one and am waiting for delivery.  One question I have...are you loading on a 750, seems like you would be given your post above about the mounting issue?  I have a 650 with a strong mount and bullet tray....just wondering how all of this will play together.

 

Kajun

It will mount to the 650 without any real issue's Kajun.  Here's what I did to my bullet tray years ago (pushes the bullet tray out about 2-3 inch's), it will allow the new Dillon mounting system for the bullet feeder to hook up to your 650 with no problem.  And with the 650 there is no need for the extra short powder bar.  It will work fine.  Now the dillon will not work, without lot's of modifications, to a 1050 running on a Mark 7 auto drive.  It also will not work any better, IE not at all, with full wad cutters then the MR BF.

 

Cardboard

 

Also ND I'm still using my MA powder funnel with no problems.  The one dillon sends with the bullet feeder is the exact one that comes with any dillon conversion kit.  

 

Edited March 30, 2025 by Kingsley

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Among this morning's further set-up and shake-down tasks is the quick job to see if I can relocate the bullet tray by simply drilling two new mounting holes in the strong mount to correspond to the holes in the bullet tray bracket. 

Kingsley, thanks for that confirmation.  I was going to try sticking with the MA funnel (no pun intended) first, anyway. 

Back at it shortly ... but I'll wait to hear from Dillon before ordering three Double Alpha short powder bars -- I'll just do the set-up as instructed, without the capability of running a powder check die.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Progress.  Relocating the bullet tray was a snap.  Position it and drill two new holes in the Dillon Strong Mount. 

 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

More progress.  I got the whole thing set up and operating nicely, with only one issue.  I first set it up to load 9mm FMJ.  Adjustments of the bullet bowl (angle, speed, tuning block height) to get it feeding totally reliably were simple and straightforward.  Set-up of the Bullet Dropper Die was also simple.  It turned out that adjustment of the Dropper Die for the 9mm FMJ and .358 dia RNFP bullets was the same -- ball bearings in the uppermost of the three pairs of holes in the inner sleeved of the die.  That's a good thing since I'll be switching the Bullet Dropper Die between my 9mm and .357 Mag toolheads (and setting the height of the die is very quick and easy.)  The whole thing is shown in the photos.

 

I'll mention the issue in the next post.

 

 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

And here is the issue: while it was functioning perfectly for 9mm, when I started testing the .357 Mag set-up the coated RNFP bullets kept falling over as the cases travel from the Bullet Dropper Die to the seating/crimping die.  This happened with a range of flaring from .013 to .018 inch.  I believe the cause is the sharp corner on the bottom edge of bullets cast in Lee Mold 358-125-RF, as seen in the photo.  Thus, I think I am going to be searching for a bevel base bullet mold; as I understand it, bevel base bullets were developed to improve reliability and minimize misfeeds in commercial loading machines.  Any other suggestions are invited.

 

Other than that, and the issue that I cannot run a powder check die in Position 3, I'm generally pleased with this new addition to my 750.  The previously mentioned minor issues will be fixed by Dillon in due course, I'm certain.

[Kingsley]

All I cast are bevel base, no problem what so ever.  Also running a zip tie between the shell locations eliminates a lot of shell wobble and helps stabilize the bullet when moving to the seat/crimp location.

 

Cardboard

 

 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

Great tip re the zip ties, thanks!  And I think beveled base bullets are in my future.

[Shawnee Hills]

You may need a two-step flare powder funnel like what is used with the MBF.  Can’t imagine that a single flare of the case mouth will work for any bullet that isn’t a boat tail.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

45 minutes ago, Shawnee Hills said:

You may need a two-step flare powder funnel like what is used with the MBF.  Can’t imagine that a single flare of the case mouth will work for any bullet that isn’t a boat tail.

Dillon provides their own version of the two-step funnel with the new bullet feeder.  It is installed and didn't stop bullets from tipping over.

 

It works just fine with 115gr 9mm FMJ pills.  The lower edge of the copper-jacketed base is just a bit rounded rather than sharp corner, and it sits nicely without any wobble at all.

Edited March 30, 2025 by Nostrum Damus SASS #110702

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

I had a thought in the wee hours, maybe a bit counterintuitive, but maybe worth trying.  I wonder if REDUCING the amount of case mouth flare to the absolute minimum that will still allow the bullet dropper to insert a bullet would prevent the bullets from tipping over as the cases travel on their way to the next position.  Some trial and error is in my future today.

[Sedalia Dave]

Are you using the same powder funnel for 9mm and 38/357?

 

 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

54 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Are you using the same powder funnel for 9mm and 38/357?

 

 

No.  Different bullet diameters.

[Sedalia Dave]

1 minute ago, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said:

No.  Different bullet diameters.

I didn’t think you were but it has been known to happen. 

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

SUCCESS!  The stepped funnel flare must be set quite precisely, and when just enough flaring is applied, the bullet sits square in the case mouth.  So while you can tolerate a little extra flare when setting bullets on charged cases by hand, that little bit of extra (and unecessary) flare allows the bullets to tip over when they travel from Pos 3 to Pos 4.  It is a thing of beauty to see how nicely the bullets sit inside the case mouths after flaring with Dillon's version of the Double Alpha-style stepped powder funnel.  OK, here's a recap of my issues, now that the thing is set up and running nicely:

 

First, you cannot attach the bullet feeder mounting tube to your 750 if the press is sitting on a Dillon Strong Mount and is equipped with a Dillon Bullet Tray.  How they screwed that up is beyond me.  A modified Bullet Tray mounting bracket is required.  I asked them to design, fabricate, and send one to me.

Problem easily solved by drilling two new holes in the strong mount.  Still, Dillon should tell folks that this is necessary if you want to continue to use your bullet tray.

Second, they did NOT address the known interference of the bullet dropper die with the Dillon Powder Dropper's charge bar on the 750.  As is the case with the Mr. Bullet Feeder as well, you cannot run a powder check die in between the powder die and bullet drop die because the bullet drop must be installed in Position 3 -- UNLESS you buy Double Alpha Academy's Extra-Short Dillon Powder Bar.  Frankly, that is ridiculous.  Dillon should provide a similarly short powder bar with the Bullet Feeder to allow me to use my powder check dies (in every toolhead).

Still annoying.  I'll have to decide whether to buy one DAA Extra-Short Dillon Powder Bar for EACH of my toolheads.

Everything else is minor, in comparison.  One part arrived broken, sort of -- a very tiny machine screw was cross-threaded into its semi-captive nut fitted into a plastic part; attempting to either loosen or tighten the screw caused the nut to strip the hex-shaped hole in the plastic part it is assembled into.  I asked for a replacement sub-assembly.  

Dillon will send me the replacement sub-assembly, of course.  But the press runs with the one it came with -- the spring bullet guide simply isn't as securely attached to the lower end of the bullet chute (located entirely inside the bowl, thankfully) as it should be.

I have Version 1 of the User Manual.  Some information I would have expected to find in it is not, and other stuff doesn't match what comes in the box.  Specifically, some of the subassemblies are already partially assembled, so the instructions telling you to put them together make little or no sense.  And you can't find the parts they are referring to because they've already been put together and some are hidden behind or underneath other parts.  I get it -- this is Version 1.  But I do still have two more screws than it seemed I needed to follow the assembly instructions anyway -- I have no idea whether they are indeed extras or if I missed something due to the nonsensical instructions.

Dillon will improve Version 2 of the manual, I'm sure.

One other thing is worth mentioning.  The Bullet Feeder is supplied with substitute powder funnels for the powder drop die.  These are supposedly needed to create the correct flare that allows the bullet to seat properly in the case mouth.  I recently spent $50 on a Mighty Armory 9mm Powder Funnel Flare to reduce the "sticking" I've experienced when loading 9mm.  I will be miffed some if I have to swap out that part.

I did indeed do the swap on my .357 Mag toolhead.  After getting the amount of flare precisely set, it works great.  I'll see if it is necessary to swap out the funnels on my 9mm and .45LC toolheads when I set them up.  Either way, no problem.

And here is the issue: while it was functioning perfectly for 9mm, when I started testing the .357 Mag set-up the coated RNFP bullets kept falling over as the cases travel from the Bullet Dropper Die to the seating/crimping die.  This happened with a range of flaring from .013 to .018 inch.  I believe the cause is the sharp corner on the bottom edge of bullets cast in Lee Mold 358-125-RF, as seen in the photo.  Thus, I think I am going to be searching for a bevel base bullet mold; as I understand it, bevel base bullets were developed to improve reliability and minimize misfeeds in commercial loading machines.  Any other suggestions are invited.

As mentioned, getting the funnel set correctly is critical.  Basically, the wider stepped portion of the funnel should go all the way into the case mouth, but no further than that.  I started getting tipping as soon as the case mouth started to be inclined or tilted outwardly.  Once I got that right, no more bullet tipping.  And I don't need to switch to bevel base bullets, nor put zip-ties on the bosses between locator pins, either.

 

I imagine that Version 2 of the User Manual will include some of these hints and explanations.  Overall, I'm very happy with the set-up.  Next task -- see how it all performs when loading 500 rounds in a timed session.

Edited March 31, 2025 by Nostrum Damus SASS #110702

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

The saga continues ....

 

OK, so getting the bullet feeder set up is one thing.  Getting it to run reliably is another.  Here are my observations and thoughts.

 

1.  It takes a good bit of fiddling with the adjustment settings to get the bullet feeder to reliably drop RNFP bullets base down every time.  I'm sure this is not nearly as much of an issue with RN projectiles.  It is the sharp circumferential edge of the flat nose that makes the adjustment so ... sensitive?  The machine rejects nose-down bullets with a small adjustable-height shelf on the rotating inclined bullet disk, just before the bullet chute.  The bullet's base is supposed to hang up on the shelf edge while the nose is supposed to slide off and send the bullet back to the bottom of the inclined bowl.  If you don't get it set JUST RIGHT, the flat point can hang up on the shelf, too, and send a nose-down bullet to the bullet dropper die.  Anyway, once I got the combination of bowl incline and shelf height JUST RIGHT, I stopped getting the occasional upside down bullet.

 

2.  I feel that the bullet guide spring is about a half an inch too long.  The height of the bowl is not adjustable (and I wish the mounting tube was 6 inches taller, for reasons you'll soon understand).  So, to try to make the bullets fall through the spring faster to the bullet dropper die, I made sure that the bullet chute inside the bowl and the guide spring were as straight as possible without any unnecessary curves.  That required removing a short piece of spring guide.  (I didn't worry that I would do anything irreversible; the caliber kit comes with a "short" spring guide for the 750 and a longer spring guide for the 1050, which is my backup/spare.)  See photo below.

 

3.  REAL issue -- the contact switch that controls the bullet feeder simply doesn't work with my RNFP projectiles.  In the photo where I placed an orange circle, you can see how this switch, sitting on top of the dropper die, is supposed to work.  It is seen in the ON position, in which bullets continually drop out of the bowl into the switch until the stack keeps that curved metal part deflected to the right at all, at which time the machine stops dropping bullets.  As soon as bullets descend and the metal part is cleared, the machine turns on again and more bullets come down the spring guide into the switch.  That's how it is supposed to work, anyway.  But with my bullets, it doesn't.

Instead, as seen in the third photo, the bullets are not making it past the contact switch, so the machine is not continually feeding bullets.  I have to manually flick the free end of the metal part upwards to let the stuck bullet drop and the get the machine turning again.  Every time.  I had hoped that straightening out the curves in the spring guide would make the bullets fall faster, and it did, but still not fast enough to get past the switch.  They'd likely fall fast enough if the mount was 6 inches taller and the bullets had 6 more inches to accelerate while falling in the guide spring.  So now what do I do?  Obviously, I will call Dillon tomorrow to talk about this.  But there's another possible solution ....

The machine is currently set up with the 9mm/38/357Mag bullet chute/spring guide/contact switch.  I also have the 45 caliber kit.  I'm thinking about swapping in SOME of those 45 components to see if my 357Mag RNFP bullets will drop without getting stuck anywhere.  They definitely fall through the contact switch more easily.  That's an experiment for tomorrow if I have time.  And then I'm going out of the country for a few weeks, so all of this will have to be put on hold.  Oh well.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

I had fun chatting with the good folks at Dillon Precision today, twice.    

 

First, here are some photos of issues or problems I was having when the machine is set up with the 9mm/38/357 caliber kit and using these coated cast lead .358" dia 125gr projectiles:

First, just as bullets entered the bullet chute in the bowl, they were snagging and tipping up, thus blocking the chute, like this:

The reason seems pretty clear to me: the Center Plate's surface is ribbed crosswise to the direction of bullet travel!  This area, seen more clearly in these next photos, needs to be smooth:

The chatter marks left in this area of the Center Plate by the additive manufacturing process must go!  Dillon now know about it, if they didn't already.  (It seems that the Service Dept is up to its eyeballs in Service Tickets and phone calls about the new Bullet Feeder which, to be honest, seems to me to still be in "beta test" mode.)

 

Next, I inspected the internal throat of the Bullet Switch and it is 100% clear that my bullets are not hung up on any structure that is part of the assembly.  It is quite obvious in these photos that the bullet simply did not have enough downward momentum to overcome the frictional braking applied by the contact switch's actuation arm (note the relative vertical positions of the bullet and the contact arm -- there is no internal structure near the lower end of the bullet that it could possibly hang up on):

 

The bottom of the bullet is even visible hanging in thin air below the bottom end of the contact switch actuation arm:

 

So, it is totally clear that the issue is insufficient momentum of the bullet when it arrives at the contact switch actuation arm.  It needs to be traveling faster.  The best way to accomplish that, in my opinion, would be to raise the height of the bowl; I suspect that 6 inches would do the trick but I don't have the means to test that hypothesis.  That will require a redesign of the mounting tube and Dillon providing longer Bullet Conduit Springs.  That might be all that's needed.  But maybe not.

 

The second best way, in my view, would be to enlarge the diameter of each component of the bullet dropper assembly so that the bullet falls faster.  Basically, I think all three of these components are too small in I.D.:

Since I also bought the 45 caliber conversion kit for my 200gr coated cast RNFP bullets, I decided to swap these components from that kit for the same in the 9mm/38/357 kit, as a test.  The Dillon guy didn't know if it would work, and in fact expressed some doubt.  It turned out, well ... EUREKA!!  The .352 coated pills FLY down the Conduit Spring and flash right past the microswitch actuation arm in the Bullet Switch.  In fact, it works so well that, had I not known I had installed these three parts from the 45 cal conversion kit, I would have said the whole thing works PERFECTLY AS DESIGNED.  There is apparently enough diameter in the .352 bullets to cause the Bullet Switch to disengage the bowl motor when the stack inside the Bullet Switch is sufficiently high.

 

And there you have it!  AND as a bonus, this swap of parts ALSO seems to have eliminated the "bullet tipping" issue at the entrance of the Bullet Chute inside the bowl.  Go figure!  Last two problems solved.  

 

The folks at Dillon are now fully up to speed with everything I've been tinkering with.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

And, I should add that I do not think I will have these same issues when I set up the rest of the parts to run coated .452 200gr RNFP bullets because they are heavy enough to travel sufficiently faster when they reach the Bullet Switch.  Whether they hang up at the mouth of the Bullet Chute inside the bowl is a different question. Time will tell.

[Eyesa Horg]

And now as a bonus, less parts to swap out when you change calibers!

[Mogollon Munk,SASS#303]

I have seen a prototype bullet tray bracket that provides clearance for the bullet feeder mounting post. An anvil should be included in all R&D shops! The case feed mount is adjustable in height by several inches where it mounts onto the post. No reason to cut any springs. 

 No plans to offer a shortened powder bar. We still recommend seating and crimping in two separate steps. 

Feel free to bend the soft metal arm in the blue switch housing.

[Nostrum Damus SASS #110702]

On 4/17/2025 at 11:41 AM, Mogollon Munk,SASS#303 said:

I have seen a prototype bullet tray bracket that provides clearance for the bullet feeder mounting post. An anvil should be included in all R&D shops! The case feed mount is adjustable in height by several inches where it mounts onto the post. No reason to cut any springs. 

 No plans to offer a shortened powder bar. We still recommend seating and crimping in two separate steps. 

Feel free to bend the soft metal arm in the blue switch housing.

That prototype bullet tray bracket should be offered even though most folks can just drill two new mounting holes in the strong mount, as I did.

Both the case feeder and bullet feeder are designed to be mounted at a specific height on their respective posts.  There are stops that prevent the components from sliding down the post as the fixing screws loosen over time from normal vibration.

The RCBS seating/crimping dies work great; whether one wants to seat and crimp at separate stages is personal preference, I think.  The problem is that the bullet feeder die MUST be installed in Position 3, immediately after the powder drop position, because it is the bullet feeder that interferes with the powder bar, so no sort of powder check die can be used between the powder drop and bullet drop positions. That's an issue for me.

Bending the metal arm in the switch housing is hardly simple or intuitive as to how it should be bent by the user in a way that it will still function correctly, in any case.  That's not a practical solution IMHO.

All that said, I do appreciate it that you thought about these things.

Edited April 20, 2025 by Nostrum Damus SASS #110702

[Griff]

Ya know, in the 37 years I've been operating my Dillon 550 the Mk1 bullet and case feeders supplied with the operator have not failed once.  No modifications to either the machine or feeders were necessary for reliable and long lasting service.  Sorta like for the near 60 years I've been operating a motor vehicle, I haven't needed or missed having a back-up cam or lane minder.  I figure than when my Mk 1 feeders are unable to perform, it's a sign.  Just like when I can't hook up to a trailer with just my mirrors and depth perception, I'll quit towing a trailer.    But... good luck with your endeavor...

[Dubious Don #56333]

On 4/3/2025 at 11:09 AM, Nostrum Damus SASS #110702 said:

I had fun chatting with the good folks at Dillon Precision today, twice.    

 

First, here are some photos of issues or problems I was having when the machine is set up with the 9mm/38/357 caliber kit and using these coated cast lead .358" dia 125gr projectiles:

First, just as bullets entered the bullet chute in the bowl, they were snagging and tipping up, thus blocking the chute, like this:

The reason seems pretty clear to me: the Center Plate's surface is ribbed crosswise to the direction of bullet travel!  This area, seen more clearly in these next photos, needs to be smooth:

The chatter marks left in this area of the Center Plate by the additive manufacturing process must go!  Dillon now know about it, if they didn't already.  (It seems that the Service Dept is up to its eyeballs in Service Tickets and phone calls about the new Bullet Feeder which, to be honest, seems to me to still be in "beta test" mode.)

 

Next, I inspected the internal throat of the Bullet Switch and it is 100% clear that my bullets are not hung up on any structure that is part of the assembly.  It is quite obvious in these photos that the bullet simply did not have enough downward momentum to overcome the frictional braking applied by the contact switch's actuation arm (note the relative vertical positions of the bullet and the contact arm -- there is no internal structure near the lower end of the bullet that it could possibly hang up on):

 

The bottom of the bullet is even visible hanging in thin air below the bottom end of the contact switch actuation arm:

 

So, it is totally clear that the issue is insufficient momentum of the bullet when it arrives at the contact switch actuation arm.  It needs to be traveling faster.  The best way to accomplish that, in my opinion, would be to raise the height of the bowl; I suspect that 6 inches would do the trick but I don't have the means to test that hypothesis.  That will require a redesign of the mounting tube and Dillon providing longer Bullet Conduit Springs.  That might be all that's needed.  But maybe not.

 

The second best way, in my view, would be to enlarge the diameter of each component of the bullet dropper assembly so that the bullet falls faster.  Basically, I think all three of these components are too small in I.D.:

Since I also bought the 45 caliber conversion kit for my 200gr coated cast RNFP bullets, I decided to swap these components from that kit for the same in the 9mm/38/357 kit, as a test.  The Dillon guy didn't know if it would work, and in fact expressed some doubt.  It turned out, well ... EUREKA!!  The .352 coated pills FLY down the Conduit Spring and flash right past the microswitch actuation arm in the Bullet Switch.  In fact, it works so well that, had I not known I had installed these three parts from the 45 cal conversion kit, I would have said the whole thing works PERFECTLY AS DESIGNED.  There is apparently enough diameter in the .352 bullets to cause the Bullet Switch to disengage the bowl motor when the stack inside the Bullet Switch is sufficiently high.

 

And there you have it!  AND as a bonus, this swap of parts ALSO seems to have eliminated the "bullet tipping" issue at the entrance of the Bullet Chute inside the bowl.  Go figure!  Last two problems solved.  

 

The folks at Dillon are now fully up to speed with everything I've been tinkering with.

Thak you for that most EXCELLENT writeup! If you're not a mechanical engineer you oughta be LOL.

Anyway. If I understand correctly, you swapped the applicable parts from your 45 caliber conversion kit to the 9/38 setup and THAT one worked fine? I'm asking because I also run a 650 and a bullet feeder is on my horizon. Since Dillon is you know, local to me LOL.

 

Every manufacturer does beta-testing, I think. Some also use real end users to do this. Labs and "field test conditions" are nice, but I learned old-skool;  one sure way to determine if something is up to snuff, find an Army squad. Give it to one of the Privates. Let HIM beta-test whatever the thing is. You'll find out most ricky-tik if it is up to snuff. Or not. ROTFL. I also have a good friend who's 80. Survived a career with Detroit PD and the feds, plus some other stuff he still doesn't talk about. Says never be the crash-test-dummy for Mark 1 Mod 0 Nuttin'..... (he's right, you know)