Guns, Bows, Shooting Sports, and Hunting Merry Christmas to me

[KBurgoyne]

My present to myself this year. A Dillon xl650. Very nice machine obviously. Total cost with all the accessories was just under 1200 including the press, case feeder, quick change assembly, caliber conversion kit, second case feed plate, charge sensor, and spare parts kit. loaded the .308s in about an hour and a half and in no hurry. Around 420 in the can. all very high quality, easy to use after set up, and crappy phone pictures don't do it justice. After the brass is ready to go, its about 10 times faster than the redding turret, but I only use the Dillon for 45s and 308s. Please ask any questions you have as I cant find any clear train of thought at the moment.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Very nice.... I can't tell, what are you using for the powder charge throws? The stock Dillon charge bar for rifles?

 

[GHarman]

NICE!!! I'm Jealous!!!Oo.

GregH

 

[KBurgoyne]

Very nice.... I can't tell, what are you using for the powder charge throws? The stock Dillon charge bar for rifles?

Yup the normal powder bar. Dillon ships all of their powder throwers with a small powder bar installed, I believe it goes up to 15 or 20 grains. The other powder bars can be swapped in. large is up to 50. There is also an extra small, and a belted magnum charge bar. There was an initial sticker shock, especially when you start adding the extras into the cart, but I got over it quick after chucking out some rounds. I was expecting to lose some concentricity with the progressive, and was very pleased by how accurate the powder thrower and everything else is. Of course due dilligence is still required. All the brass is once fired military. I didnt bother to take pictures of the mound of brass shavings from the trimmer, or the carbon pile on the case prep center.

 

[KBurgoyne]

By the Numbers

About what it cost to do the first 500, and what it will cost to do the next ones. Prices are estimated high so I dont have to calculate exactly, and taxes and shipping costs.

Cases; 500 once fired military..................................87.50
Primers CCI 200 4 cents each *500 ............................20.00
Bullets Nosler custom competition 175s.......................150.00
Powder 250 with CFE223 at 40gr =10000gr
250 with h335 at36gr =9000gr
Powder total 19000gr/7000=2.714lbs*$30/lb.................81.42

Total cost................................................................$338.92 or $0.68/ round

Next time
cases.....................................................Free!!!!!
Primers same as before.............................20.00
Bullets Nosler customs 168s bulk lot.............125.00
Powder h335 with 35gr...............................75.00
[its all I can find]
Total.......................................................$220.00 or $0.44/ round

Its also worth considering that cheap factory .308s run 80 cents to a buck each. usually PMCs not real accurate and probably not all that reliable in an AR. I like to base my savings estimates on what it would cost me to buy the same quality stuff as what I just made instead of the cheapest stuff you can get which I wouldnt buy anyway.

 

[Sticks]

You will make better than factory ammo with that. Congrats.

I don't have a Dillon, just a Lee Load Master, and my powder drop variance is +/- .1gr from target weight. Not sure how consistent the Dillon is.

Between that, and consistent bullet seating and crimp, you can mass produce match loads if your trimming and sizing is just as consistent, especially when you start dialing your loading in for each firearm (case size, COAL, powder charge).

I load .40s&w, .44mag and 5.56 A buddy tried some of my 5.56 reloads, and his AR went from 4+moa shooting Federal Factory ammo, to under 2" with mine.

Takes a while to pay off the investment, but once you start seeing the results, you'll wonder why you have not done this from the beginning.

 

[The patriot]

Congrats!
I LOVE my 550. I've had it over 20 years now.

 

[HHhuntitall]

I wore my 550 out some 10+ years ago, and after some questions with tech support regarding parts, I sent it in to Dillon.... It was well worth the cost, IMO. I've got a newer 650, now. I've never had a good standard deviation on the larger rifle rounds using the charge bars.... Perhaps I'm too picky. That's why I asked, to see what you were using and how it worked for you. I ended up just using the drop position for my own charges I weigh out myself.... Now, on pistols and smaller rifles, like .223Rem, 30-30, or 22 Hornet, it works pretty darn good. No complaints. I haven't been able to reload with it much the last two years, as components have been hard to find......

 

[Sticks]

I've heard that some powders don't do well with the charge bars, likewise my Lee get's flaky with some.

 

[HHhuntitall]

I've heard that some powders don't do well with the charge bars, likewise my Lee get's flaky with some.

And that's what Dillon told me a long time ago. They recommended a ball powder, but that doesn't work very well on larger cartridges.... I haven't looked at their products much in the last few years, so I didn't know if they had something new out. With the RCBS powder dispenser, it's not a big deal, just a little slower than I'd like.... But, for pistol and small rifle, I'm happy as can be. I need to get it bolted to my new loading bench, it's currently out of commission. But with the lack of powder and projectiles, it's no big problem...

 

[The patriot]

I modded my measure. Polished the aluminum part that contacts powder, and added a baffle.
Runs IMR 4895 surprisingly well now.

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=154783

 

[HHhuntitall]

That's a good thread, thanks for the link. But in reading, I see you're still having a .2tenths deviation..... in a .223. In a .308, that goes to .5 or .8. That's pretty rough on SD and accuracy.... sometimes brass, too!! I think I'll take a better look at it in a few days when I try to mount it back up. Again, maybe I'm just too picky....

 

[The patriot]

No the Dillon is not benchrest material. It's plenty good for plinker/high power ammo though.
I have a Lyman 55 with the Culver mod for more precise stuff.
I've never tested it for how well it worked, mainly because I'm just classified as a "sharpshooter" so it's more than enough for me.

BTW if you'd like to mount another measure on a Dillon, they sell an adapter for that.

 

[HHhuntitall]

No the Dillon is not benchrest material. It's plenty good for plinker/high power ammo though.
I have a Lyman 55 with the Culver mod for more precise stuff.
I've never tested it for how well it worked, mainly because I'm just classified as a "sharpshooter" so it's more than enough for me.

BTW if you'd like to mount another measure on a Dillon, they sell an adapter for that.

No, I don't consider it Benchrest quality, either, but I'd like to be a little more accurate for the larger calibers. Still, they're quite a lovely machine when you start cranking out 9mm or .45 ammo. I've got a funnel mounted to one of their blanks I bored out I use bushings in for .223, .308, in which I administer the finicky dosages I like weigh out... But, I was just wondering what anyone else has used that works down to the tenth of a grain....

Oh, and KB, I still think it's a heck of a machine, sorry to sound like I don't think so (as I read back through my posts....) I absolutely love mine, and wish I had more time and components!! There is no way to beat it for pistol ammo, and the ammo you're cranking out is certainly better than factory!! I was just asking about your powder measure....

I've got an old die cast Lyman 55, too!! I used it when I first moved out from Dad's when I was 18.... Then my Uncle Tom gave me an OLD Belding Muld drop and an adjustable brass powder tube big enough to handle my belted mags.... That was a nice unit. I had an old Texan die cast press mounted to an old tool box my Pop gave me, and just a hand full of RCBS and Texan dies when I went to college.... The RA (resident ASSistant) in the college dorms made me move the stuff out of my dorm room when he realized that it was gunpowder..... He'd have flipped his 'fro if he'd looked in my closet!! :-laf When I got that Dillon after getting my own place, I thought I'd found some TALL cotton!! :-laf

 

[KBurgoyne]

The charge bar doesn't do well with stick powder, but with long cut stuff the only truly accurate thing to do is tediously trickle every charge. With fine ball powder like the h335 ive been using it has no problem holding within 1 or 2 tenths of a grain. It also did very well with Viht n310 which is very small very short cut sticks almost ball powder, but cant make up its mind.

 

[KBurgoyne]

View attachment 87713View attachment 87712View attachment 87711View attachment 87710View attachment 87709More crappy cell phone pictures. I took it all apart to clean up some powder spill, and remove the factory grease. This is what the guts look like.

 

[kvtcomdo]

Nice set up.

308 AR 10; one of my favs (have the Ruger SR 7.62)

Great for just about EVERYTHING.

 

[kvtcomdo]

Merry Christmas.

Nothin' better than a good reloading rig.

Enjoy and happy hunting.