Gtscotty
Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,635
9mm, .40 and .44 mag. I use the Hornady lock rings on all of them.
Hornady LNL AP or Dillons 650\550
- Thread starter blitz121
- Start date
- Status
9mm, .40 and .44 mag. I use the Hornady lock rings on all of them.
Hornady bullet die. That one is a 9mm die.
1/2" aluminum tubing .031 wall. Bought 2 6' lengths from zoro for $25 delivered and cut them down to 24". The 9mm bullet die has a .475 hole in the top, so I drilled the top to .5" dia., 1/2" deep to accept the tubing. The die is not hardened steel, it was no problem to open it up a bit. The 10 mm feeder dies are fine as is. I have not dealt with the .45 (cast bullets) I'll need slightly larger tubing for .45 acp as the 1/2 x .031 tubing won't pass a .45x bullet.
I made the handle. It's 1-1/4" x 1/8" flat bar bent to a shovel handle shape, a piece of Bubinga turned to 1-3/8" diameter, & a piece of 5/8 steel round bar I threaded to 5/8" x 18 tpi at one end and tapped the other end for the 5/16" cap screw. I bent it a bit to get the handle roughly level through the throw.
1/2" aluminum tubing .031 wall. Bought 2 6' lengths from zoro for $25 delivered and cut them down to 24". The 9mm bullet die has a .475 hole in the top, so I drilled the top to .5" dia., 1/2" deep to accept the tubing. The die is not hardened steel, it was no problem to open it up a bit. The 10 mm feeder dies are fine as is. I have not dealt with the .45 (cast bullets) I'll need slightly larger tubing for .45 acp as the 1/2 x .031 tubing won't pass a .45x bullet.
I made the handle. It's 1-1/4" x 1/8" flat bar bent to a shovel handle shape, a piece of Bubinga turned to 1-3/8" diameter, & a piece of 5/8 steel round bar I threaded to 5/8" x 18 tpi at one end and tapped the other end for the 5/16" cap screw. I bent it a bit to get the handle roughly level through the throw.
Last edited:
Ret.CWO
Member
I have currently 9 fully operational presses & approx. 27 die heads set up change over different Cal. One of the nine is a Dillon 650XL set up for .308 and 3006. Excellent press just ordered number 10/ another 650 XL It just proves out you get what you pay for. Their customer service is also excellent. I am not knocking others, as my other brands do what I expected of them when I ordered them. Lyman,Lee,RCBS, are all good you just have what press for what Cal. Rifle,Pistol or Revolver.
RealGun
Member
My bullet feed die works fine, but I did get better results with bevel-based lead bullets standing straight and staying put by using a Lyman M-die expander in the preceding station.
I'm using plated, No problems so far - but I have not used them much either.
I would assume with cast bullets the problem is cast bullets are oversized typically to prevent leading - and the dies seem to be pretty critical as to bullet dimensions. Cast bullets with sticky lube on them might cause feed issues as well. If a person were to use cast bullets I'd think a hard lube and possibly opening up the guts of the die a bit might be necessary. Just a guess on my part.
I would assume with cast bullets the problem is cast bullets are oversized typically to prevent leading - and the dies seem to be pretty critical as to bullet dimensions. Cast bullets with sticky lube on them might cause feed issues as well. If a person were to use cast bullets I'd think a hard lube and possibly opening up the guts of the die a bit might be necessary. Just a guess on my part.
Reeferman
Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2013
- Messages
- 1,259
This guy seems to have done a good job on a Hornady bullet die using lead.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bJro27cx0yA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bJro27cx0yA
jmorris
Member
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2005
- Messages
- 24,184
Watched all three videos but I imagine stock you could get it to drop a single cast bullet.
Lube buildup over time would gum up the works over time but coated bullets are almost as cheap as wax lubed (sometimes cheaper) and wouldn't have that problem.
Lube buildup over time would gum up the works over time but coated bullets are almost as cheap as wax lubed (sometimes cheaper) and wouldn't have that problem.
I agree that if you are comparing progressive 5 stage presses - it's between the Hornady LNL-AP and Dillon XL650. Not the 550 (great press though it seems to be).
How about this - pick one and start loading! Either will work, both make ammo that will go bang (minus user error). If you have a buddy in the area with either - get some hands on with them. Or go with what they have. Nice to have an emergency part in a pinch or help from a more knowledgeable pal who has the same press. One of the reasons i got the 650 - two friends have them.
Blue vs Red is just re-hashed "mine is better than yours" or "spend once cry once" - rinse/repeat till the end of time.
If you have more defined criteria - a specific volume per hour you want, or ease of caliber changes, or cost for caliber swap setups - those folks can point you specifically to one over the other.
Otherwise i think they are both great presses. I know folks who have both and with the occasional "gotcha" they all work great as their "top of the line" offerings from H and DP.
Last - my experience with Dillon for the one support call i needed (user error - broke a powder safety bar plastic bit), has been great. What i'd expect from others and for the premium of DP products.
How about this - pick one and start loading! Either will work, both make ammo that will go bang (minus user error). If you have a buddy in the area with either - get some hands on with them. Or go with what they have. Nice to have an emergency part in a pinch or help from a more knowledgeable pal who has the same press. One of the reasons i got the 650 - two friends have them.
Blue vs Red is just re-hashed "mine is better than yours" or "spend once cry once" - rinse/repeat till the end of time.
If you have more defined criteria - a specific volume per hour you want, or ease of caliber changes, or cost for caliber swap setups - those folks can point you specifically to one over the other.
Otherwise i think they are both great presses. I know folks who have both and with the occasional "gotcha" they all work great as their "top of the line" offerings from H and DP.
Last - my experience with Dillon for the one support call i needed (user error - broke a powder safety bar plastic bit), has been great. What i'd expect from others and for the premium of DP products.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
