Thinking Blue

[Dsltech1]

As the title says, I’m thinking about going blue with a 750.

I have a LNL AP. It has served its’ purpose for the last 5 years. Now that I’m loading more and using a case and bullet collator, the Hornady’s shortfalls are becoming clear. The case feed is unreliable and the timing is becoming a chore. I’ve already purchased the often recommended timing set from bragging rights. It helps get the press timed but after a few thousand rounds I’m back to square one. Case feeding is horrendous.

So now I’m thinking about getting a 750. I’ve read about some of the priming problems they’ve had but it looks like Dillon has fixed that. I hand prime from the comfort of my couch anyway so priming issues on the press are not an issue.

The case feed is the first thing I’d like to know about. Is there any hiccups with cases feeding on the 750? Cases falling over as they enter the shell plate or any of the other issues that plague the LNL?

I like the Hornady powder measure and would like to continue using it. Is there any issue using the Hornady measure on the 750? I know some people have used them on the 650 press. If not, how does the Dillon measure meter flat ball (231)and extruded (4895) powders?

My last concern is timing. How long will it stay in time once it’s properly set? I don’t want to set timing after loading a couple thousand rounds. I understand that mechanical items will need to be maintained and require some tinkering every now and then but I don’t want to end up tinkering on something every time I try to load. At that point keeping the Hornady would make more sense than buying a Dillon.

Any advise on the above issues is appreciated. If we can try to stay on subject and not turn this into a red vs blue, Ford vs Chevy thread that would be appreciated also.

[rancher1913]

the hornady powder dispenser is much better than the dillon but everything else about the dillon you will love. hope your not in a hurry, last I knew the backlog on dillon presses was 6 or 8 months.

[gkainz]

I ordered 2 750s last month. Was also told it would be a significant lag time. I told them I’ll use my own dies. Got the full order after scratching the dies in a week.

[Finster101]

Presses are available if you check the website. Dies and accessories are quite a bit behind.

[Burnt Fingers]

The Dillon 650/750 presses were designed to work with a case collator. When you buy the "case feeder" all you are actually buying is the collator. Everything else comes with the press.

The Hornady LNL case feeder is a bolted on kludge.

When feeding cases on a Dillon there's only a very short area where the case rim is not under either or both the Station 1 locator and shell plate. I've never had a problem with cases falling over.

Timing?? I've got a pair of 650's with somewhere around 175K through them and have never had a timing problem.

How good is the Dillon powder measure...go to Dillon and start reading the Blue Press. Start with the June 2020 issue page 58.

You can easily use the Hornady PM on a Dillon. But I'd suggest getting some custom powder funnels for them. Uniquetek sells them as does Lathesmith here on the board. The powder funnel on a Dillon is the part that expands the case mouth and drops the powder in the case.

[Dsltech1]

The Dillon 650/750 presses were designed to work with a case collator. When you buy the "case feeder" all you are actually buying is the collator. Everything else comes with the press.

The Hornady LNL case feeder is a bolted on kludge.

When feeding cases on a Dillon there's only a very short area where the case rim is not under either or both the Station 1 locator and shell plate. I've never had a problem with cases falling over.

Timing?? I've got a pair of 650's with somewhere around 175K through them and have never had a timing problem.

How good is the Dillon powder measure...go to Dillon and start reading the Blue Press. Start with the June 2020 issue page 58.

You can easily use the Hornady PM on a Dillon. But I'd suggest getting some custom powder funnels for them. Uniquetek sells them as does Lathesmith here on the board. The powder funnel on a Dillon is the part that expands the case mouth and drops the powder in the case.

Well that settles it, looks like I’m switching to Dillon. Uniquetek makes a quality expander. I found out about them when I added a bullet feeder. Their flow through expander/funnel was the only one I could find that would work with my 9mm cast since I size larger than .356.
Thank you all for the replies

[sigep1764]

Uniquetek funnels are very similar to what Lathesmith makes. However, Lathesmith can make custom length plugs with custom diameters and steps. Don't forget him if you cant find what you need from Uniquetek. His work is beyond excellent.

[AzDanMan]

Titan Reloading had the 750 in stock yesterday.

[SODAPOPMG]

Drink the blue cool aid the only effect is happiness and contentment

[Gunners Mate]

Got my Dillon 650 a few years ago added 9 tool heads overtime, and a case feeder and a bullet feeder and a mark 7 autodrive. The koolaid is ohhh sooo good

[Dsltech1]

Titan Reloading had the 750 in stock yesterday.

Thanks for the heads up on Titan. I went to add myself to Dillon’s waiting list since this is supposed to be a birthday present, so I have a couple months to wait. I noticed they raised the prices over the last week. So I ordered one from Titan at the price they were when I first started looking a few weeks ago. Now to see how generous SWMBO will be when it arrives haha

[dogdoc]

The only decision to make. There is blue and all the rest. Using Dillon presses since 1986

[j4570]

I have a Dillon 650. You can actually use the Hornady Case Collator on the Dillon by making a short adapter piece and cutting an appropriate length plastic tube. I made mine out of a 1" square wood piece (found by the dowels at Home Depot) and turned it on the lathe so it would drop down into the top of the Dillon Support. The square part keeps the Hornady Collator from turning, and the flat part with the hole (you can see I carefully sanded it so it would fit tight and not turn, you need to do this carefully so the collator will align the tube drop) is where the stabilizer mounts on the 650. I also had to buy a new piece of plastic tube and cut it to length and I chamfered it like the Dillon tube. I used this setup for about a year until I came across a Dillon collator (which I've been using the Hornady collator plates).

[j4570]

PS. And using both, the LnL AP is a good press, and I used mine with the case feeder and collator to load 38 special mainly. I just ended up with a 650 and it feeds cases so much better I went to the 650 for most pistol stuff. I kept the LnL AP for now for things I want to hand feed.

For 9mm, I use my Hornady LnL pistol measure with powder drop and the 9mm funnel. It's very consistent.

You won't have any trouble with ball powder with Dillon (at least I don't). But I wouldn't use stick. Use the Hornady measure for that. I was able to get it all to line up and work, though it's a little tricky (my priming system is different than a 750 too).

JW