My process of getting here includes starting with a 550 about 37 years ago, then life got more cushy and I added a second 550, then I added a case feeder to one of them, then I switched one of them to be a 650, then I added a second 650. Since I have the second 650 I plan to just leave the first one dedicated to 9mm. I enjoy reloading but do not enjoy setup and change over, once something is working and the ammo has been vetted I just like to leave things unmolested for the next time. And I am focused enough on 9mm that I can dedicate the one machine, and use the second one for anything else I want to do on a progressive (though I still have the 550 pushed to the back of the bench).
I have also pretty well standardized on shooting 147g TC Blue Bullets, so I decided I would try the bullet feeder, and after the first batch last night I would say:
I had a couple thousand rounds queued up to do, we tend to spend money like shit through a goose this time of year, so I decided no time like the present and just bought the thing. I ordered it from Dillon, perhaps because I wanted to buy the calendar, and I feel like a complete leg humper if I buy the calendar without ordering anything else.
It was in stock and came quickly and after I reviewed the calendar I unboxed the feeder and started figuring things out. As part of my research I had watched several of the Ultimate Reloader videos, this was very helpful in deciding if I wanted to get one, and also being more aware of what I was getting into on the setup. But it still took some screwing around to really figure out what is what on the adjustments on the feed bowl. It is fairly logical, but some of the adjustments just take some tweaking. I plugged it in and just touched the wire clips together so I could watch it run with a few bullets and tried different setups. Eventually I mounted it and continued to do the same thing, letting bullets slide down the spring into a cup so I could watch them flip and make adjustments. The angle of the bowl made a bigger difference than I thought. Also, the truncated cone bullets might be more of a challenge than round nose, there is a ramp that differentiates between the bottom diameter and the top diameter, and that seems to be a somewhat narrow window. Plus if it is running too fast it might not have enough time to drop down the way it needs too.
The only catch was that their supplied drop tube was sketchy, what I would say are plating problems, and would not drop into the powder die. I emailed over the weekend, and on Monday Josh at Alpha Dynamics in PA promptly responded that a new one was on the way and sent tracking info. Since he didn't ask for the sketchy one back I hit it with a scotchbrite wheel and got it to the point it would work. It is not right, and I will swap the new one when it gets here, I have to wash some more brass anyway so NBD.
However this does mean I had to abandon my method of flaring in a separate station. The Alpha Dynamics funnel seems to be better at releasing from the case, and of course there is no powder spilling problem with the bullet now on top of it. I will try the new one, but am still curious about the SSI option that was recommended to me in the other thread.
The drop tube pretty much just ran perfectly out of the box. They probably come set for optimal performance with 9mm.
So I stared loading with it, and so far I am pretty darn happy. It is faster, but more so stress free. The coated bullets get slippery, and the longer you load the more of the Smurf blue got on your fingers, making them even harder to handle, and no more of that. Your speed limit was how quickly you could orientate the bullet, now it is how quickly your brain can process and confirm the bullet is seated right side up. Of the first five hundred I loaded I probably had about seven bullets upside down. This is only a problem if you goof and run the cartridge up into the seating die (the bullet gets stuck). But there really is no excuse for doing that, I did it once and was probably just pushing my luck trying to go too fast. I was worried when a bullet was nose down if it would be a problem, but it is just sitting in the case and can be lifted right out. Also a second bullet following the upside down one tends to drop out. I have been trying to focus on confirming a charge in the case (very unlikely to be a problem loading fine spherical powder like Longshot) and then looking at the bullet in the same station as it come down.
Anyway, this thread is just me reporting in on my latest impulse purchase. I would highly recommend this thing, but caution people that if you are not the kinda mind to twiddle with things to make them working you might be cautious. There are a few adjustments (bowl angle, ramp, speed, shims) that you just have to fart around with until it works, there is no plug and play recipe, since many bullets are different. I was about to say that I would be reluctant to do this if I didn't have a dedicated press, but really you could leave the feeder bowl hanging there and swap out tool heads like before. IMO I would probably not bother adjusting the bowl for alternative bullets, though a person certainly could, but you could get it setup for your high-volume pistol bullets and just leave it hang there when you were loading something else without it (the spring/tube would be easy to disconnect).
Just one guy's experience who is still on the honeymoon.
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Originally Posted by mmc45414
