[snowman]

Dillon 650

Works great for .308, 30-06, similar and smaller rifles and handgun ammo. I don't know about the big Wetherby stuff. BIG problems with 45-70 though. If thats what your going to be reloading I would go with something else. The 650 constantly mis feeds primers, leading to 3 primer "events" so far and a lot of holes in my ceiling. Completely destroys the primer tube and most everything else if you have 50 plus primers in it when it goes off. Out of every twenty rounds it will load at least one primer sideways or upside down. The ones that go in sideways are the ones that sometimes explode as they are turned to the next station. I have loaded over 1,000 rounds of 45-70 with it and will not ever use it to load 45-70 primers again. The machine has been returned to Dillon for repair and inspection, all parts have been replaced three times (Dillon provided all parts at no cost, no problem there).

I suspect that the problem is the shell plate, shape of the cartridge and primer allow primers to rotate easily. Also the 45-70 is just to big for the machine to handle, I do not think the 650 is precise and rugged enough for this monster shell. I would love to hear from someone with a 1050 that has reloaded 45-70s, whats your experience?

I have also loaded over 1,000 .308s without a single failure of any kind, smooth as silk. Same primers as 45-70. All pistol cartridges seem to work just as good.

The sizing dies and bullet seating dies are very important. I like the Redding Competition bullet seating die with micrometer adjustment. I also like to use a full length Dillon resizing die used in conjunction with a RCBS MIC. A good factory crimp die may be needed for some types of shells. Every step of reloading needs its own thread to discuss all the variables and ins and outs.

One point not mentioned enough is bullet seating depth. If you end up seating to close or into the lands you can easily overpressure the gun. This is especially a problem with compressed loads where a crimp is not used. Without a good crimp the bullet can actually work it way back out from say 0.020" off the lands to way INTO the lands. Usually a compressed load is also at or near maximum load, so it gets bad real quick. How do I know? Don't ask.

Progressive loaders also have another problem, You can't really use them they way you would want to use them. For example, one would like to decap and resize a shell, trim the shell to length, deburr the primer pocket, and CLEAN the shell, before proceeding to the next stage. You have to interrupt the loading sequence to do this.