Dillon 550B Press Issue

[tran]

I ordered Lee Measures, not because I lack confidence in my Dillon, but because I do not want to be swapping back and forth all the time on charge bars, and readjusting charges.

I will have one for rifle, probably the Dillon because of capacity, and one for pistol. The Lee powder measures are over 1/3 less the price of a new Dillon and it will work because of the interoperability of the dies, just have to use the Lee Dies, which I have because all of em except the powder expanding die are Lee. I might have Dillon equipment, but I know that Lee makes quality as well.

I always knew that Reloading was a money pit from hell, but damn....having more than one caliber to reload is getting expensive.

I have a RCBS Rock chucker and a Hornady Ammo Plant and they have more than paid for themselves, it just takes a little time. My only gripe with Dillon is it's too complicated and takes to long to change over and I forgot about the special dies. You will get it good luck!

 

[Buzzdraw]

Powder needs to be well "settled" in the measure. Tap the side of the measure gently, rock the operating handle a bit, etc anything to settle the powder uniformly in the measure. Drop at least 10 charges before you attempt to set your powder measure.

 

[Honeybee]

your powder starts out with air in the mix, as you use it the powder packs down and fills the air gaps. That's why it gets more powder the more you use it.

After filling your powder measurer, spend a few minutes tapping it lightly with a (preferably) rubber tool to settle the powder.

(Dillon 650 user with 6 sets of dies)

 

[streak]

my thought with experience from my lee thrower is that my powder throws from a more rested motion are a little lighter than when I am cranking and going. I attribute it to things settling a little more as I am making a more harsh motion of the faster reloading. Not saying that is what your dillion is doing but it is a thought.

 

[RetiredTater]

I will "let it" settle next time. You would think the Dillon site would say something about that.

Streak, I try to make sure that my pulls are always the same, even if I am doing a single round, I even make sure and do the forward push as if I was setting a primer to ensure I do it right, everytime.

Thank you all for the response. Will give feedback on my next reloading expedition. Not saying that it is not well worth the money, but it is like buying a new house. Get the house, then you need curtains, blinds, fence, shed in the back yard, maybe repaint the living room to something a little bit brighter, dishes, furniture.....

Maybe my statement was wrong...maybe being in a position to actually buy things now rather than scrimp and save has made it to where I can put more money into it and thus grow my reloading practice at a much faster rate than way back in 2007 (last time I reloaded). Then, I started with 3 lbs of powder, and primers and bullets, and all I ever added was bullets and primers. When I deployed, I watched with glee as the powder combusted.

The only special die I am seeing is the charging/expanding die. Am I doing it wrong? One caliber is Hornady dies, and the rest are Lee, all Carbide.

 

[okietom]

is the powder charge bar closing completely, and opening all the way on every stroke? You can tell if its opening all the way by seeing if the white plastic square that the lever pivots in goes as far as possible forward when pressing down on the ram.

I have had powder weasure issues with my 550 and even a few since i made it into a 550B. This is what I was going to suggest.

There were some powders that would hang up the measure before the B upgrade. You also need to make sure the "slack" is out of the charge bar screw. There will be a little movement in the charge bar when you turn the screw from one direction to the other. You can feel it in the screw when you turn it. Make sure you take that slack out. I like to do it by making sure I hit the desired charge weight either from less or more and don't pass it and then go back. On mine there is about a half turn of the screw before the bar moves when you change directions. If you stop on the wrong side of the slack it can drift a little.

You also need to set the spring tension on bottom of the rod that pulls the measure back down. That is part of what olyeller is saying about the charge bar opening and closing completely.

There are also some powders that don't meter well in the Dillon measure. I have had Varget bridge in my measure. You will learn some of this over time. This forum will help too.

 

[GlockCop]

I have never had any of these issues with my 550. Make sure you have the right charge bar installed(theres a small and a large) for pistol and rifle. Ive never thought of the Dillon to be any less or more complicated. I cant tell you how many rounds Ive loaded on mine and the occasional cleaning keeps it running fine.

 

[aviator41]

I always thought I'd end up going to a Dillon 550 or 650, but I've been happily using my Lee turret press so long now, that I can't justify the cost. I can hammer out 'plinking' ammo almost as fast as I can pull the handle or I can make seriously accurate ammo for long range target shooting and hunting by putting it into single-stage mode. Based on the guys I shoot with, my turret press-made ammo is just as accurate as their Dillon made ammo.

I reload 223/5.56, 30-30, 30-06, 300WM, 7.65 Argentine, 45/70 Gov't .45LC, .45ACP and .357 mag. the only ones I can't do in 'progressive mode" are the large 308's and the 7.65. Those turrets have to be turned by hand (though I am working on my own little indexer for this - fun project!)

I just can't seem to substantiate dropping the money on big blue. . .though I do appreciate the engineering that went into it. I guess if I shot tens of thousands of rounds in competition it might be different, but my little turret press keeps me in the ammo pretty darn well. Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

The only ammo I buy off the shelf now is .22 and 22 win mag (and I'd reload those if there was a way)

 

[dennishoddy]

Check out YouTube. There are several vids that show how to reload .22 rimfire.

 

[aviator41]

Check out YouTube. There are several vids that show how to reload .22 rimfire.

I know it CAN be done. . . it's just not practical. once the rim has been 'fired' there's really no good way to 'unfire' it or remove that crimp.

I put this at the same level of re-load primers for center-fire. It can be done, but. . .