Thinking of picking up a Dillon 650

[osteodoc08]

Long story short, I've had it with my Hornady LnL. I'm sick of the small part failures. I've had to tinker with the primer slides and have had numerous new ones mailed to me. I've had sizer die problems. I've had auto eject issues. I've had issues with timing.

To top it all off, I had a friend of mine trade me 2500 .452 230gr LRN boolits. I had loaded up varying powder loads with BE-86 and landed on 6.0gr. Ran well. Made sure everything was tight and started to go to town. First the powder drop came loose and the die bushing did not stay locked down. Took my channel locks and tightened it down again after replacing the o ring. Verified charge and kept going. Now every cartridge kept hanging up on the autoject portion. Smoothed it up and oiled/lubed it. Now the bushing to the powder drop comes loose again and the whole contraption, bushing and all, is forced up by the case. I tighten it down again but snugged it down with a piece of cardboard wedged under a corner to keep it from moving. Made sure everything was tight and kept going. About 1:3 would hang up on the auto eject. I'm about done with #500 when I noticed the thumb screw with the knurled edge on it that locks down the powder drop arm has come loose, causing the powder drop to not go all the way up and not delivering a full charge. Very aggravating. I grab a handful of loaded ammo and break them
down. Of the dozen I checked, one had a partial charge.......ugh!

Dad told me to buy a 650. I should have listened to him. Since he's passed, my mentor told me to buy a Dillon. I should have listened to both of them. I've had so much aggravation with this press. I've never had these many issues with dads old 550 (still in his gun room) or my SDB in 45 colt.

A few valuable lessons here though:

Reload in batches and verify every 50-100. I typically do this but everything was verified several times and locked down, right?........ Don't just dump them in the bulk ammo can with the other loaded ammo, leave them in the akro bin, re verify the loading and of good, dump in the bulk ammo container.

Use a powder cop or powder lock out die.

So so I think this press may be up for sale soon here. Just tired of fussing with it.

[sghart3578]

Sounds eerily similar to my experiences with a Lee Loadmaster. I am a Lee fan and I love my Classic Turret. The Loadmaster, not so much.

I was at the same point as you and I was ready to buy a 550. But I found a good deal on a used RCBS Turret Press and it does just about everything that I want.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, it's frustrating I'm sure.


Steve in N CA

[pistolshooter]

Sounds like the experiences I had with the LnL. I bought one, figuring I would sell the 450 I had used for a lot of years. Like you, I got tired of fiddling with the thing. Seemed like it was always something, broken part, inconsistent powder throws, something out of adjustment, etc. I sold it and got a 650 with a case feeder (kept the 450 for loading 45ACP only) and never looked back. I am not knocking the Hornady product. Many have them and like them. Good for them. I just like the Dillon products much better. Ford vs. Chevy kind of thing in my opinion.

[Plate plinker]

Why not go all the way to the 1050? Swage pockets and a powder check die. The down side is that the tool heads are so darn expensive now.

[stranded1980]

I had the exact same issues with the Hornady LNL Progressive: The dog-gone pawls would get out of adjustment, or the primer slide wouldn't pick up a new primer, or sometimes the primer slide would get stuck, or it just felt like the primers weren't seated deep enough in the cartridge. I must have a collective of 20 hours of watching different youtube videos on all the different adjustments you can make to get to run better. I got sick of fiddling with the thing; I wanted to make ammo, not tinker. While I appreciated the 500 free bullets, I still lost money on the press when I sold it 1 1/2 years later.

Whenever I read reviews or personal stories of individuals that have a Hornady LNL Progressive that run fantastic, I wonder if I just got a lemon. Then I see posts like yours and I know I'm not alone.

I know own both a Dillon 550 and Dillon 650, both bought used. I disassembled and cleaned them when I got them; they've ran smooth as silk ever since.

[jeff423]

I had the same problems as above. After two weeks I returned it and bought a 650 with bullet feeder. Best reloading decision I've ever made.

Jeff

[clum553946]

Had a Lee Pro 1000 as my first progressive. Looking back all those years ago, what a pile of junk it was! I've had my Dillon 650 for 20 years now! Customer service is second to none & it still cranks out the rounds. Just pay attention to it, lube it regularly & change the springs from time to time!They sell a spare parts kit which is worth having plus it has a lifetime warranty which seems forever! My buddy bought an older 550 used a few years back & had trouble with it. He contacted Dillon & they said to send it back & they would fix it! They fixed it alright, sent him a new 550, no questions asked! You don't get that kind of service from any other reloading company! So I guess what i'm trying to say is: go for it! You won't be disappointed!

[Pee Wee]

I just want to add that I have been reloading for a while now, I have had all the major equipment from most all of the manufacturers in our industry. I now have 2 Dillon 550s, RCBS scales, their furnace, 1 1500 chargemaster, 750 and 2000. 2 star Lubesizers. I have narrowed it down to these manufactures due to the warranty. the reason? there life time warranty. I have sent back one press the furnace and a scale.
All were sent back to me as new. The Charge----the freight to get them there. If the rest of the manufactures of products in the USA followed the loading industry commitment to their products, We would not be a country owing or sole to china and the rest of the world.
I will continue to be loyal to these manufactures as they have been loyal to the reloading population.

[osteodoc08]

It's not that the LnL is a bad product, I think overall, it is a good product, but not for me. Hornady has an excellent warranty and have stood behind their product; but the down time, money and time spent, have me wanting to return to Dillon. Some days I felt like a Beta Tester. I even had one female employee make a comment that I had received a lot of parts from Hornady when I called to get yet another primer slide.

So, to change gears here; who has ordered from Brian Enos? I know he has been regarded as the best place to buy Dillon presses, but I've never bought from him personally.

[bosterr]

It appears Enos' price is identical to Dillon's catalog price. Is he offering something extra? I bought my 650 direct from Dillon.

[osteodoc08]

It appears Enos' price is identical to Dillon's catalog price. Is he offering something extra? I bought my 650 direct from Dillon.

Looks like I'll be ordering factory direct then.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've used both the 550 and the 650. They are both good machines. I actually prefer the 550 for its simplicity but there's no denying the 650 can put out more rounds per hour. With several pre-loaded primer tubes on hand the 550 can crank out rounds at a decent rate but you're just trading time on the front end loading primer tubes for time on the back end producing rounds.
Dillon is a top notch company and that alone is enough to keep me in their camp.

[alleyoop]

Excellent sales pitch Osteodoc08, I was lucky enough to see the LNL set up side by side with the 650 before I made my purchase.

[DocSavage]

If you buy a 650 be aware of one "weakness",the primer cups for small and large primers are a PITA to remove and replace.
There's not enough room to get a wrench in to unbolt them,you can use a pair of pliers but you'll end up mangling the part.
I bought a second 650 to save myself aggravation and curse words I haven't used in 40 years. Talking to a Dillon tech and he agreed it was the weak point of the 650.

[VHoward]

I don't have problems with swapping out primer punches on my 650. I just tighten them finger tight and don't use a wrench. Never had one back out.

[chumly2071]

I have no experience with the LNL, but like my 650 enough that I have 2 now. Give Kimball Bowden at Bobcatsteel.com a chance to quote you a system. He doesn't list Dillon stuff on his site yet, but is a stocking dealer in Indiana. Very competitive pricing, and good service.

[osteodoc08]

Excellent sales pitch Osteodoc08, I was lucky enough to see the LNL set up side by side with the 650 before I made my purchase.

Out of curiosity. Which did you choose and why?

[alleyoop]

I walked into Graf and son with my cc in hand to purchase a LNL. I had never been in the store before and was surprised when I saw they had several presses set up, so I wondered over to that corner to check 'em out, the lnl looked like a toy next to the Dillons. I walked out with the 650, well they had to pull it from the warehouse and I picked it up on the return trip a week later.

[Alvarez Kelly]

If you buy the press through BrianEnos.com, you get free shipping. And lots of good advice if you have any questions.

[Stonecrusher]

+1 on Brian Enos. Free shipping if you buy enough and he always has the time to help you outon your decisions through email or phone. I have found him to be very down to earth the few time I have communicated to him. Only drawback is you don't get tracking numbers without calling after it dropships from Dillon.