The Dillon XL 650

[Muscles Glasses]

I am looking into purchasing an XL 650 on Dillon's website. I am using their interactive purchasing guide and I do not know if I need to purchase the Belted Magnum Powder System or not for loading .308. Is there already an adjustable system installed on the press that will allow me to dispense the appropriate amount of powder when loading .308?

Loading is completely new to me and I am just getting a feel for what I will need when it comes time to purchase everything. For the time being I just want to reload for my rifles.

I am pretty much set on the 650. Could somebody also tell me what else I may need in case I overlooked something?

[prkprisoner]

Check out brianenos.com. He is a Dillon dealer and extremely helpful. Brian will get you set up for everything you need.

[Bill Steele]

Check out brianenos.com. He is a Dillon dealer and extremely helpful. Brian will get you set up for everything you need.

+1 on Brian, he is the best.

I love my Dillon press, but I am not sure a progressive press would be my recommendation for a first press, especially for loading 308. I would recommend a simple single stage press to start. You will always have a use for it when the time comes to move on to a progressive.

For me, I still use my single stage for bottle neck rifle rounds as I have found the way I like to prep brass, little is gained using the Dillon.

Good luck, have fun.

[Na-vah-duh]

Your making a wise choice on the 650 it was my first press as well and don't regret it 1 second.

The belted magnum is not required for 308.

[chim-chim7]

Welcome to blue.

[Gio]

Brian Enos FTW!

[waawaaweenie]

[Cowboy T]

Agreed with both this and with Bill Steele's post above. Single-stage is a really good idea at first. There are quite a few good makes and models. However, if you should choose to get a turret, then a Lee Classic Turret Press would be a very good idea to consider. Just take out the auto-indexing rod at first and treat it like a single-stage.

BTW, you will probably hear all sorts of "Just Buy Dillon And Don't Look Back!!" and similar statements. Dillon makes fine gear, no doubt, but for your stated needs, I don't believe the XL650--or even the RL550B--or any other progressive press--is the *best* tool for this job.

[Enter_the_Dragon]

Yes, buy it through Brianenos. He'll tell you what you need to know. I would buy through him again. My only regret about buying a Dillon was I bought a 550, wished I would've bought a 650.

[lpspinner]

+6 on Brian Enos. If you do decide to jump into Blue, then they are the direction to start with.

That said, nothing wrong with starting with a single stage to learn the basics and then later on, you'll find that you'll still use your single stage for various tasks. I have 4 550's, but I still use my single stage.

[skidout67]

"I love my Dillon press, but I am not sure a progressive press would be my recommendation for a first press, especially for loading 308."

I agree, with a bolt action could you even shoot enough rounds in a day to justify needing a progressive press? Just my opionion, but I think for 308 rounds, I would rather load my powder by hand using a tickler and scale. That way you could develop your perfect round for accuracy at whatever yardage you wanted to shoot. Nothing at all against Dillon, but it would take you a VERY long time to balance the up front cost vs. savings for a bolt action.

[chesterthehero]

i just got my 650... i am VERY glad i did NOT get this for my first press.. i would highly higly highly suggest getting something else as your first setup..

my first was an RCBS turret... its got the learning curve/forgiveness of of a single stage but without all the resetting.. and for $40-50 you can get extra heads which makes switching calibers a lot easyer.. not to mention its way easyer to work up different loads without everything auto indexing and dumping primers all over the place..
having the powder measure/hopper on a separate base saves a lot of time.. with a turret or a single stage you best bet is to do a hundred or so on each stage and then move on to the next stage.. IE decap/prime/size 100.. then expand 100.. then powder, then seat, then crimp.. by the time you decap/prime/size/expand thats 200 shakes... even with a baffle your first 60+ or so powder dumps will be all over the place (takes about 2 minute to cycle it through by hand till you get accurate charge)...



anyway.... with all the money ive put into everything i have i would 100% do it the same way and start with something other than a dillon... but.. yeah.. you will end up dillon at some point..

[gesundheit]

Searching online for a Lee Classic Turret Press comes up with too many options.

What items would constitute the bare minimum equipment for a startup single stage press setup?

[finyllw]

I would not recomend a 650 for rifle stuff, get a 550 or single stage. I have 4 presses, one Lee single stage, mostly used now to deprime stuff, a Texan turret press for big rifle, a 550 set up for .223, and a 650 for my pistol rounds.

The 650 can get away from you when 1 little thing doesn't go right. The 550 is very manageable because you control when the shell plate rotates.