Progressive presses Mark 7 and Dillon

[ds1]

I split the reloading chores with a mate. I do the precision / LR rifle stuff and he does the pistol. Probably our pistol count comes to 50k him and 10k me plus that again for PCC ( pistol caliber carbine). Fortunately all 9mm at the moment.

Anyway comments on presses. All 3 presses are hand cranked. I have a range so get quite a lot of range brass, it’s put through a LEM cleaner but primer pockets will still be different. If using just new brass something like a Mark 7 Revolution with auto drive would be appealing but then you will need more sensors ( not cheap).

 Dillon 1050. Not enough spaces on the tool head and powder thrower is not that accurate. Dillon primer tube filler is reliable but you still need to fill the tubes. This is another minus against auto-drive for it.

Mark 7 Evolution, more space on the tool head and more consistent powder drop but sill it’s an adjust the powder drop and chrono job to get to whatever power factor ( for IPSC games) you want / need. Biggest issue with this press is the primer system. Primers hang up in the transfer bar. It’s a major pain if you don’t spot it, press can jam and you can dump powder over the plate head. Same reports from another Mark 7 Evo user I know too. I feel the company must be aware of this as they have an upgraded primer system - mates bought it but not installed yet. If it works you don’t need to manually transfer primer tubes to the press. 

Mk7 Evo waiting to install new primer feed.

Mark 7 Apex 10, bought to load 9mm major as a dedicated press, primer system is changed from the standard system on the Evolution. More plastic parts in the primer system though it does work without issue.

Conclusions, nothing is that reliable that I would like to auto-drive it. A big part of that is no doubt due to using range brass. Next level would be commercial grade Camdex or something but guessing use of range brass would be an issue also.

 

[gazzarM1]

Been a devotee of Dillon for nigh on 30 years..not long bought another 550 primarily to load for my PCC’s no real complaints but can knock out 350 rounds an hour with ease also have a RCBS single station for bigger stuff.For my needs motorisation would not be necessary…however can imagine it would be fun on a 1050

[ds1]

Saddler and Gary, agree the new MK7 primer feeder could be a blessing. At the moment primer drop tubes are filled  with a Dillon electric primer filler. It’s a bit of a bottle next in the system unless you pre fill enough tubes first. 

I started on a Dillon 550 about 30 years ago. Great press, brings back some happy memories of shooting in the U.K. 

I did speak to Dillon at the IWA a couple of years ago, at the time they were not recommending to auto-drive the 1050. I get their point - when there is an issue you ‘feel’ it first before you bugger things up too much. An auto-drive takes that away.