Progressive Case Feed Opinions?

[enstorm]

Some posts say that an auto case feed system (Hornady or Dillon) is either a must have feature, or one that doesn"t really add a lot to volume loading when all's said and done. What do you think? What volume gain can I realistically expect from one, and what are the pluses and minuses of the two major brands? Thanks

[clayking]

I bought mine about 9-10 months ago and I would never go back to before I had it. For .45's I am somewhat disappointed in mine in that it will only operate with only about 85 in the hopper. I called Dillon to complain, twice actually, and came away with a lack of concern response. For 9mm's and .38's it handles many more, but less than 200. I don't know why Dillon put such a puny motor in them. Nonetheless, it speeds up the loading, for me anyway. At least, when I load a stack of primers, I'm good for a 100 rounds with nothing to do but pull the lever and stick on a bullet.

Every once in a while it will load one upside down. I watch each empty that comes onto the plate to insure there is not a smaller caliber stuck in a larger one, it happens most often with .45's where a 9mm or two might get mixed in with .45's. But those are my fault and not the caseloader.

They seem a tad expensive for what you get, but nonetheless a good product. I suspect the Chinese could sell it for about 1/4 of what Dillon charges.

So.......I load mine up when I load the primer tube and load a hundred at a time. Works for me...............................ck

[Chief-7700]

Hum, I put at least 300 empty .45's in my case feeder. Yes I do get the once in a while upsidedown one.............
Chief

[clayking]

Hum, I put at least 300 empty .45's in my case feeder. Yes I do get the once in a while upsidedown one.............

Well, that does it. Ok, I got to mine to handle more, the stupid clutch needed tightening up.............................ck

[Silentarmy]

I was going to suggest the clutch needed attention! The case feeder kicks A$$ and I would never buy a progressive without it. I use only the large pistol plate in mine and it feeds .40 and 9mm (both small case) just fine! I don't even need to by the small pistol plate. I keep several loaded primer tubes on hand so nothing slows me down when I get running. The casefeeder is a "Must Have".

[Alleykat]

I use the casefeeder with my 650 for loading all handgun calibers and .223 and .243. However, I never bought the large rifle casefeed wheel, so I just drop .243 cases down the tube. REALLY a lot slower than loading with the collator.

[BigJimP]

I have the Dillon casefeeder on my 650 - and I think its a very good accessory and worth the money. It will occasionally drop a case in the feed tube upside down - but that's an adjustment on the flange inside the casefeeder - but I see an inverted case maybe 1 out of 100 - and as I load, I just glance at station one and make sure the case drops in properly before I cycle the press - not a big deal.

The casefeeder does make the process faster - because you only use your left hand on the 650 to drop a bullet onto station 4 and pull the handle with your right hand. If you were putting a case on station 1 it's only a few seconds slower per cycle - so it will slow you down some - but not more than 10 or 15% probably. In my mind, speed is one reason to have the case feeder - but it just makes fussing with the loading process a little less hassle ( I lube the cases, let them dry, and just dump them into the casefeeder and let it run ).

On any casefeeder - when you drop the brass into the casefeeder hopper - you have to be 100% sure there is nothing in the brass ( like a .22 shell ) or any other oddball caliber didn't get mixed in ( like a .380 into a batch of 9mm ) because once you load the hopper, you don't touch the case again. Guys that like looking at the case one last time before they drop it on the shell holder platform - might have problems adapting to a case feeder - because that last check is where they might pick up a stray caliber or a small crack. To overcome this - I clean and inspect the brass and then double check all the headstamps and the cleanliness of the brass - then I put the brass in a separate tub with a lid marked " clean & inspected 9mm " etc. When I drop a few hundred cases in a cardboard box for case lubing, I check them all again quickly.

[enstorm]

Big Jim P., do you bulk lube in a box with spray lube?

[Alleykat]

I'm not Big Jim, but I do lube my rifle and pistol bottlenecks. I use Hornady One Shot and lay the brass down flat in a box, giving them a spray with the One Shot. The lube migrates around the brass. If you stand the brass vertically, you don't get the same migration that you do with a horizontal piece of brass.

I tumble my loaded rounds for a few minutes in corn cobb media.

[GuateShooter]

The casefeeder help you to load faster and you dont miss your concentration and time in other procedures more than check your powder and set the bullet,

[BigJimP]

yes, I bulk lube in a box - I use the top of a 2 piece box ( like reams of paper come in from office supply store ). The top of the box comes off - and its about 3" deep by 17" long and 11 1/2" wide.

I dump the brass into the box - shake it around so it's one layer deep. I "spritz" the brass lightly - roll it around good so it's coated pretty well. I spritz it again ( real light this time ) and let it dry for 30 min or so. Then I dump all of the brass into the case feeder - and run my ammo. I use the Dillon case lube.

All the books say you don't have to lube straight wall cases if you have carbide dies - but I lube all calibers ( 9mm, .40 , .45 acp , .357 mag , .38 spl and .44 mag ) even though I only use carbide dies. It's easy to do / and it makes the press run a lot smoother on station one especially - and I think it makes a better quality reload when the case runs smoothly.

When I finish the loads - I dump them out of the holding box on the press - onto a terry cloth bath towel - and I just roll them around under my palm on the towel for a few seconds to get some of the case lube off of the rounds. Then I drop every round thru a case gague to check them - and box them up.

[jmorris]

The case feeder is a big help but it took bullet feeders to make reloading truly effortless. 100 rounds only takes 3.5 minutes and is just a smooth one one thousand down and two one thousand up. So long to the hand cramps.

[clayking]

Whose bullet feeder is that? Do you need to bell the brass more than usual? Does it matter which type bullets, ie. lead, plated, fmj, etc. etc. Get any upside down? How much trouble to install and uninstall for changing calibers? How much was it?.....................ck

[snuffy]

Lets say it this way; I didn't have enough $ when I got the 650 to get it WITH a case feeder. So says me, what the hay, I'll get it without one. Bad idea! Might as well load with one hand tied to your leg!

It didn't take long to afford the case feeder! Don't do what I did, get one!