Dillon 650, primer depth and light strikes

[greyling22]

so I'm still wringing out the nuances of my 650. It came set up for 357 and it worked great for that, and I converted it over to 9mm, and it still loaded great after a small adjustment. BUT, when I started shooting my loads, I was getting some missfires (about 1 out of 15 or 20). Second strike always detonates them.

So, light strikes. I got to looking at my new loads vs my old ones, and the dillon loaded ones are loaded a little below flush (not really all that visible, more something you can feel. And they are not crushed), while my old loadmaster reloads are flush. My 357 loads with the 650 were slightly below flush, but not quite this deep. The 357's all worked in 2 guns. The 9's have only been tried in 1 gun.

So, as far as I can tell, there is no depth adjustment on the 650. I can buy a longer firing pin (witness elite match), do you think that would solve the problem? or is it press related and I need to make some adjustment I am unaware of?

 

[Handloader109]

There isn't an adjustment. As long as the primer seater is tight they should be seated correctly. I've found that I have more I have to seat deeper that I didn't press in enough. Most of my 9mm is flush or slightly deeper than base. No misfires from my cci primers and the few Winchester I've just started loading.

 

[Iron Sight]

deleted

 

[Lafitte]

Primers should be seated to the bottom of the primer pocket. That is accomplished by feel when seating the primer, you can feel when the primer stops. Generally they will be flush or slightly below flush when properly seated. If a primer is not fully seated the first firing pin strike will seat the primer and the second strike will fire the weapon.
Primers not firing on the first strike can be also caused by other conditions, weak springs, dirty firing pin bores, firing pin condition and others.
Bottom line is, seat the primers fully and then if you are having problems it is not a seating issue.

Lafitte

 

[jmorris]

The LM and 650 do not operate the same at all when it comes to priming. The loadmaster sets depth with the 1/4" bolt on the left side of the press that activates the rocker arm that seats the primer on the ram up strok, while everything else is going on.

On the 650 primer seating is done on the ram down stroke when you push the handle back towards the press. Take a shell out of station #2 and push the handle towards the press, you should see a primer and anvil stick up above the bottom of the shell plate. If you do and are having high primers, that means you need to push harder.

If you want a Dillon where primer depth is "set" like the LM, the 1050 is what you would need.

 

[AzShooter1]

Make sure your shell plate is tight. Just enough to free spin and your problems will be solved. If the plate is loose you will not be seating the primers deep enough.

Another trick is to seat the primer, rotate the case 180 degrees and reseat the primer. Seems like a lot of work but a number of shooters are doing this so that their revolvers with super light trigger pulls, under 4 lbs, can reliably light off primers.

It also helps to use Federal Primers. They go off with the least amount of hammer fall.

 

[greyling22]

yeah, the primers are seated plenty deep. And I know how the priming systems work on both presses, I guess the dillon just seats them deeper than I had the lee set. I suppose I will try and work on the gun. Get a longer firing pin or cut some coils off the FP spring or something.

 

[DIV03]

What primer are you using? I had problems with some Wolf small pistol primers that required a second hammer strike. Switched back to Winchester problem went away.

 

[MikeInOr]

It sounds like the problem is either your brass or your primers. If the pocket in your brass is too deep... there is your problem. If your primers are too short... there is your problem.

It seems like Federal primers always gave me problems in 9mm. I think it is Winchesters I switched to and haven't had light strike problems sense.

Try a different brand primer and see if your problem goes away.

 

[THEWELSHM]

Wow an issue with a blue press who would have thought such a thing

Thewelshm

 

[Handloader109]

Taint the press. Totally the operator, or primer.... He's not consistently pressing the primer in, or crap primers like the s&b I had issues with....

 

[luzyfuerza]

If the primers in your .357 magnum rounds ignited properly, then the issues with your 9mm loads are probably not the result of operator error. You likely mastered the "feel" for the upstroke move that seats the primers on the 650 when you loaded your revolver rounds.

That being said, there might be other variables that are messing up your calibrated but not-yet-too-experienced arm. Maybe primer pockets are a little small, or the primers you're using are a little large. Maybe crimped primer pockets feel weird and make you reduce the seating force. But I doubt it.

The only time that I've had ignition issues with ammo I've loaded on my 650 (something like 300k rounds and counting) was with a brand new S&W revolver. It was a real headscratcher. I finally broke down and actually bought some factory ammo, and found that the gun wouldn't ignite the factory stuff reliably, either. It went back to S&W, who installed a longer firing pin, and the problem was solved.

I'm betting that you'll also solve this problem with a longer firing pin or a stiffer spring. BTW, you didn't say whether the primer indentation was deep or light on the first strike on the rounds that didn't ignite...if it was light, that might confirm that looking at the gun first is the right way to go.

 

[greyling22]

I'm pretty sure it is the gun. The light strikes are just that, light strikes. The primers were all seated to visually and tactically the same depth, none were obviously high. And I know how to seat a primer and what they feel like. I've reloaded a lot, and they're pretty easy to feel on the dillon. Henning makes a longer firing pin, so I thought I would give it a try, though if you are familiar with the witness firing pin spring, I bet you could just trim it some and fix the problems as well. (spring's longer than the firing pin. )