[F106 Fan]

There are some adjustments in the User Manual for the 550 and the one about the seating post is critical and not easy to get in spec.

The other problem with the 550 is the plastic gadget on the end of the primer tube. It needs to release the primer correctly. If it doesn't, replace it.

Clean everything even close to the primer mechanism and everything will work well.

I haven't had any problems with the 650 primer system although, if I did, I would expect it to be a problem with Tula primers, not Federal. I have a heck of a time getting Tula primers to fully seat and I'm hoping to run out of them real soon now. I bought them during the depression era (Obama) as they were all I could get.

Hint: Start buying stock! It's not a given that Trump will get re-elected as the Dems will clearly emphasize this impeachment deal during the election cycle. It doesn't have to be true, it just needs to be noisy.

Think about 8 years of Warren or Biden or, worse, Hillary. She's going to run, you know!

 

[F106 Fan]

I had a primer go bang one day. It sounded like a 22 went off in my face. I'll manually prime them to make sure that never happens again. My Tinnitus can't take that.

Many years ago, I bought an RCBS Green Machine inline progressive loader for .45 ACP. Right after I bought it, I got a letter from BATFE stating that they would be investigating any explosions.

The powder drop (a 'Lil Dandy) is right over the primer station and, sure enough, I popped a primer trying to stuff a LPP into a SPP case (.45 ACP). Scared the hell out of me! So, I rushed out and bought a 1050!

Later, I bought a 650 and, once again, the primer station is right under the powder drop.

I have popped primers on the 650 and 1050 as well. In every case, it's related to SPP brass. You get to moving and feeling and the feel isn't always consistent and the difference between a difficult primer and a popped primer isn't all that much. What you really want is for the primer to not start a chain fire of all the other primers.

That chain-fire is unlikely on the 550 because the primer tube is quite a long way from the priming station. It might not happen on 1050s either but I'm not so sure about the 650. It hasn't happened to me, yet, but I am aware of the thin web separating the primers in the disk. If they light off, that tube is going through the roof.

I like the 1050 primer mechanism except when I have to clear it for some reason. I really like the 650 mechanism but I have to concede, the 550 approach is probably safer.

BTW, that Green Machine is every bit as fast as the 650 after I added a Dillon case feeder.

Example:
https://www.ebay.com/c/1804068964

 

[F106 Fan]

The 550 has been pretty solid. The 650 not as much - quite a few sideways primers. Tweeking has made it better, but not solved.

Page 44 of the 650 User Manual has a number of things to check. A wobbling workbench can cause failure of priming, who knew?

Dillon is pretty brutal when it comes to dealing with stuck primers in the feed tube - throw it away. There are no instructions for clearing it.

Don't forget to adjust the gate on station 2 as given in the User Manual. This sets the case in the proper position but doesn't hold it so tightly that it is off-center. This needs to be done at every caliber change.

The 650 doesn't have primer problems AFAICT. When the 1050 has a problem, it's a major piece of work to fix. The 550 problems seem, to me, to be more frequent but of all the problems I have (and there aren't many) priming isn't one of them (except with Tula primers).

So, I knew there was a new XL750. What I didn't know is that the XL650 is discontinued. Bummer...

 

[F106 Fan]

What is AFAICT?

I called Dillion about the problem, we went through all possible issues and made adjustments. The problem is better - one upside down and one sideways primer out of a little over 400 last night.

It does seem that the 650 primer system is more persnickety than the 550, based on comments here - and other forums. I've had very few problems out of the stock 550 system - even though there are "upgrades" available to improve reliability.

As Far As I Can Tell

One of the problems with forums is that we can only relate our own experiences.

What can cause a primer to flip?ything e

• It was in the tube upside down
• It dragged on the mechanism
• The case wasn’t positioned properly
• The press wobbles jostling the primer
• Anything else in the manual

It just hasn't been a problem for me
What kind of primers?

This iPad sucks

ETA: Last night I couldn't get out of the bulleted list with the iPad.

 

[F106 Fan]

Hey SARDG, you know more than most about the 650, any primer problems? If so, how did you resolve the matter?

 

[F106 Fan]

But they still have to warrant the 650. Perhaps they will be like Microsoft and issue an End of Life statement on the 650 eventually.

I don't think Dillon does business that way. They still have parts and updates for the RL450 and it doesn't seem to be a current product

https://www.dillonprecision.com/reloader-upgrades-updates_8_6.html

I think the reason the 650s disappeared overnight is that they went to the spare parts locker.

 

[F106 Fan]

Now that I think about it, I have had a very few upside down primers out of many thousands of rounds. Since I use a manual pickup tube, there is little chance I picked them up wrong.

For LPP, I have always thought that it was possible for a primer to flip inside the magazine when the primers come racing out of the pickup tube. Really, that process is unsatisfactory...

Shotgun loaders, like the Ponsness-Warren 800 are more refined. They have a tray that holds 200 primers and the primers come properly oriented in the factory box. Just place the entire box on the tray, slide the cover off and lift off the plastic portion. All primers will be right side up and ready to load.

 

[F106 Fan]

Only time I ever had a primer not want to go into the pocket correctly on a 650 was either a crimped pocket on the case, wrong primer pocket size altogether or the station #2 locator was adjusted incorrectly.

With hundreds of thousands of them loaded between two different ones.

The others problems generally involve the orifice tip or filth.

Do I recall correctly that you resolved the SPP brass problem on the 1050 by modifying the swaging station?

 

[F106 Fan]

Sure would like to see more reports on the new XL750. I think its way to early to tell if this machine is going to be better than the previous XL650. As of right now, i dont see myself buying into the big "blue" hype anytime to soon. My problem with "blue" is, so many people dealing with all this update BS. Ebay and youtube are full of all this crap that you can buy to fix or update "blue" problems. If all this aftermarket stuff is out there, why hasn`t dillon addressed it, i mean really, why all this updating and fixing problems all the time with these "blue" machines. I`m not trying to hate on the "blue" machines, i`m just trying to understand why all the problems. Could it be mostly operator error? Sometimes i really wonder. I cant believe these machines could be this bad.

You can update or not. I have a micrometer on one of several powder bars, I have an aftermarket lighting kit (really nice) and I also have Alan's "Press Monitor". Actually, I have the monitor on the 1050 as well.

I bought the monitor to back ME up, to make certain I pulled the handle all the way. I don't care a whit about round count because I am done when I run out of supplies. What difference does count make (to me)?

NONE of these 'improvements' are necessary. Maybe the bearing on the 650 shell plate but, heck, I have a vacuum cleaner that cleans up the scattered powder fairly well. It's may scatter 5 grains per 1000 rounds - not something I'm going to worry about.

OK, the spent primer drain tube is kind of nice but hardly earth shattering. That there is a manufactured kit means we don't have to bash something together. Maybe the dam walls around the primer eject ramp but again, it's not a big deal - I haven't done it yet.

It's like cars! Back in the day, we used to 'fix up' the engines. Now, who in the world needs to 'fix' a Dodge 440 Magnum?

Reloading is the same kind of deal. You can 'improve' the press or run factory stock. Your choice! I am not aware of any REQUIRED upgrades.

From a repetitive motion point of view, the most important upgrade is Hornady One Shot.

I can pretty much afford to buy anything I want. Maybe I wouldn't buy a Camdex but, short of that, I can buy any reloader I want - and I have! And, yes, I could buy the Camdex, I just don't shoot that much. I think my wife would complain about my making ammo in batches of 100,000 or so. That's a LOT of ammo cans!

These user complaints remind me of the joke about "put two Marines in a room with two ball bearings. Come back in an hour and they will have lost one and broken the other". Do these people with all the complaints ever read the User Manual? Dillon puts a lot of info in those manuals.

On the 550, that Primer Seating Cup adjustment is critical. Like dial caliper critical. 1.215-1.220" I don't think they are joking, it really needs to be in spec. Page 5 of the User Manual.

Or, come over here and get the real story. Yes, Dillon gets a lot of play around here but the thing is, none of us gets paid for telling what we think about the products. I think I joined up with Dillon in the mid '80s so maybe 34+ years as a customer. But just a paying customer. I don't know of a press on the market that will make ammo as fast as the 1050 (except the Camdex) and I don't know of one as versatile as the 650. And I still have a pair of 550s, one for small primer, one for large primer. There was a reason for this back a long time ago. Today, I'm getting old and I want autoindexing.

All that said, I make precision rifle (in small batches) on a Redding T7 with Redding dies...

 

[F106 Fan]

I suppose I started 'old', and wouldn't have started at all without auto-indexing presses like the 650 - my first press, and 750... my last(?) press.

When I was in my 30s, maybe even my 40s where I was racing dirt bikes in Hare Scrambles and small hydroplanes (think 70 MPH on your hands and knees, with 30 HP Food Processors chasing you), I was still invincible. I was full of confidence and certain of my actions. Not a shred of doubt!

Now that I'm in my 70s, I am convinced that I messed up somewhere in the last batch. Seriously! I'm getting to the point where I don't like shooting reloads.. Talk about OCD (by the way, that should be CDO so the letters are in order, as they should be!).

I have every known alarm on the 650 and 1050, I have put the 550s out to pasture and I added the Press Monitor just to check I don't short-stroke something. If there was another alarm to add, I'd be standing in line to buy it.

One advantage of the 650 over the 1050 is the visibility of the charged case. The powder measure on the 1050 is clear at the back of the machine.

 

[F106 Fan]

This has been an interesting thread to read as I am in the market for a progressive to load my ever increasing need for .380. However I have not been convinced that 'blue' is the way to go and will stick with another tried, tested, and reliable, for me, Hornady LnL.

This topic comes up from time to time, maybe a search would find something.

I have 3 Hornady 366 Shotgun Reloaders and they have always worked well. The 28 ga and 12 ga were replaced by Ponsness-Warren 800s the the Hornady's were always easier to set up. The PWs were flat out faster and when you shoot trap and skeet 4 days a week, speed matters.

 

[F106 Fan]

And while I am at it... another beef, not reserved for press manufacturers, but they should do better... the piezo sounders/transducers used as warning devices in everything these days. I have a hearing loss from the Navy, but if the Navy wouldn't have given me that, I probably would have hearing loss anyway by now, from shooting. A lot of shooters my age have noise-induced losses and those piezo sounders are a joke - especially for warning devices that shooters have to hear. I have never heard one of those in my life without placing my best ear ON the sounder. I have to replace every one of those with small electro-mechanical buzzers, all the time. Dillon used to have buzzers in either their primer alarm or powder alarm (forgotten which one), but now have all piezo sounders.

A microphone, an op amp with analog filtering and then a relay controlling a big red lightbulb behind the press. I'm not too good with analog so I probably won't even try but maybe someday somebody will make such a thing.

Maybe a rotary 'rumbler' attached to the table. Likely you would feel the vibrations in the handle. There could be a lot of variations on the theme.

My wife says my hearing is shot. Well, I heard that! I like to think of my hearing as 'selective'.

 

[F106 Fan]

Hmmm... I do luv overkill. I'm on it! :faint:

OVerkill, indeed!

The reason for the microphone approach is to eliminate having to modify the sensors. If this is not a design goal, remove the batteries and just use the switch contacts and some wiring. Probably have to have some connectors to allow each sensor to be removed.

While you're at it, use an LED and photodiode across the case feeder drop tube down about 10 cases. This will detect the jam in the funnel or even an empty hopper.

When I mounted a Dillon Case Feeder to my RCBS Green Machine I did add two sensors. One to start the motor (several cases down) and one to stop the motor. For some reason, I wasn't having success with the built-in limit switch. It's been a long time and I don't recall what the problem was. I cut come circular washers out of 1/2" thick Teflon, mounted the LEDs and photo diodes and slid them over the tube.

Another case of overkill.

 

[F106 Fan]

I don't personally mind modifying manufacturer's poorly designed systems, but sometime I'll have to actually get to reloading, instead of modifying. Perpetual modifications and adaptive systems are the bailiwick of jmorris.

And he does a great job of it.

I'm just easily sidetracked. Given no apparent hearing loss and no environmental noise, I think I'll just leave it for others.

 

[F106 Fan]

The military didn't worry much about hearing protection back in the day.

The Army issued us ear plugs in a plastic bottle that was to be worn on the epaulets of our field jackets.

The reason for modifying the sensors is that they will be inputs to the eventual automation of the press. Look at what JMorris had to do when he added a PLC to a 1050.

I would think that you would need to detect every conceivable fault even if they all result in HALT.

Alas, I have no plans in that direction.

 

[F106 Fan]

And thinking of getting a Ruger 6.5cpr.Just don’t need to go overboard on that if I do..

Is that a typo 'cpr' versus 'PRC' or are you talking about the 6.5 Creedmore? The prices for those rifles is quite reasonable. I wonder if they shoot?

https://ruger.com/products/precisionRifle/models.html

Interesting comparison of 6.5mm Creedmore, 6mm Creedmore and 6.5 PRC

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkCuUbU94XQ


I have been lusting over .338 Lapua for no particularly good reason and I see where Steyr wants between $6k and $10k (depending on caliber and options) for theirs - that seems a bit much but my Steyr SSG (green rifle) in .308 shoots really really well. Like a 3 shot dime at 200m. Of course, that was 30 years ago when I didn't shake so much.

I want to shoot out far enough that I'm not tempted to try to walk the range.

I need to do some research on the Ruger Precision Rifle. They are priced right!

 

[F106 Fan]

I have a Savage 6.5x284 Norma F-Class and it shoots really well. I need to spend more time with it.

 

[F106 Fan]

It's pretty apparent the presenter didn't actually drive a 650 very much. The most glaring example: Gushing over the return of the bailing wire primer system. It was often problematic on the 550 and now it's back and he justifies the "significant improvement" by actually disassembly and reassembling a 650 primer system when changing primer sizes to show how difficult it could be.

I don't know about the other users around here but I have two COMPLETE primer assemblies and a change involves 2 screws. Plus the seating post and at least one user around here just leaves the SPP (LPP?) post in place (I don't).

And how come everybody is ignoring all the 550 primer system complaints. It hasn't always been highly regarded. It was often thought to be fussy!

Some of the changes are nice but I'm not convinced they are 'significant'. The roller bearing on the indexing mechanism is nice and may reduce wear in the very long term. The extra spring holding the platen up guarantees the shell plate won't drag on the primer post - that's nice but not really a problem with the 650 setup.

In the end, it doesn't matter (to me). I have the 650, so buying a 750 is probably right out the window. For those who now have no option of choosing to buy a 650, well, it's the 750 or not.

Were I in the market for a 750 class press, I would still choose the Dillon over any other manufacturer. Their customer service and warranty seal the deal. They are absolutely a first rate company.

SARDG: I'm waiting for your review. You have driven a 650 enough to know everything there is to know about that press. Your thoughts on the 750 will be important to folks on the forum.

 

[F106 Fan]

I'm unfamiliar with the 550/750 priming system, but how difficult is it to swap primer size? Some people think changing primer size on the 650 is some huge ordeal, and even when I was new to the 650, I never thought it was that bad.

The 750 also seems crowded around station 2, and I can't tell how difficult it is to remove a case from this station.

Changing primer size on the 550 involves changing the primer tube and the primer bar. There is a spring on the primer bar (a long coil spring) and a couple of screws. It's not difficult. But it's nowhere near as fast as changing the 650 given a complete primer assembly.

 

[F106 Fan]

I think the best thing Dillon did, was to change out the primer system, and added the roller bearings to the 750. Seems Dillon saw alot of people upgraded their 650`s with bearings. Their 750 primer system is by far a better system. I never cared for the 650 priming system that has the disc, seen guys locally here, that have had all kinds of issues with priming cases on the 650. So far, i`m liking what i see in the changes they made into the 750. I`m still not on the wagon to buy one yet though. I want to see more out there in the real world, to see how they are running.

I keep hearing about people having problems with the 650 primer system and just shake my head. I have never, not ever, had a problem with the priming system on my 650. It is 100% reliable.

I don't see moving back to the fussy bailing wire system as an improvement.

OTOH, I'm just one old guy and it seems I am outvoted by a lot of people. It happens...

But when I read about complaints, I first look at the writer. Do they carry any credibility? Not always!