Home Forums Reloading Reloading Software My new build will be delayed at least a year

My lovely bride of 30 years asks me every year what I want for my birthday and Christmas. I give her an answer and she always buys something else. Well, last Christmas on a lark I told her I wanted Santa to bring me a Dillon XL 650. Danged if she didn't do it! I've easily put $1K extra in to it already, $1K that was intended to go to my rifle build. I bought the Dillon Auto case feeder and the Mr. Bulletfeeder. I also bought a second tool head and set it up for 9mm which is the caliber she and my daughter shoot. My round is the 10mm Auto. I've already loaded 500 rounds of each. There were many baubles along the way including a primer daisy-chain detonation. I was using Federal primers which should NEVER be used in a progressive press that stacks the primers. When I seated the primer on station 2, it detonated, then each primer in like exploded. I would have 96 primers in the assembly and the primer magazine...the primer magazine only holds 100 primers. Use only CCI and Remington primers! Learn from my near-death experience. Other problems include primers skipping a spot in the wheel, so when I raised the brass up to the powder dispenser the powder started running out of the bottom of the case. In general my problems stem from learning this particular machine. It's a beauty to pull the lever and for every pull of the lever a loaded round is dropped into the plastic bin. Years ago I tried reloading for handgun cartridges with a Redding Ultra Mag single stage press. It just ain't worth the time and effort. You feel like you've been working for hours, because you have, and all you have loaded is 100 rounds. I'd rather have a sharp stick in the eye than be forced to load handgun rounds on a single stage press.

11 months ago I had 24 primers go off at once. It sounded like one explosion. I sent a picture of my injured hand to the priming tool manufacturer.

That got their attention. The top guy called 4 times. All these years I send suggestions for product improvement to reloading equipment manufacturers, and I am ignored. But get hurt with their equipment and I am job #1.

It was caused by trying to insert a primer into a military 38 special case with crimped primer pocket. Usually I just see crimps in 308 and 223.

I have since switched priming systems. I have had to make a lot of modifications to get it to work right.