Dillon 550B Question

[honda1572]

Hello everyone, I am new here i have done a bunch of reading and also utilized the search function but i still have some questions.
I have a Dillon 550B press that i have only used for pistol ammo, I want to start reloading my .308 but I'm not sure if this press is the best choice for making precision loads. I was looking at redding dies but i read somewhere that redding and forester dies shouldn't be used with dillon presses, would i be able to make precise loads with the standard dillon rifles dies? sorry if this has been covered in depth elsewhere feel free to point me in the right direction.

thanks

 

[Tank]

Ive reloaded probably close to 100k pistol rounds on my Dillon550's. very few rifle rounds. My impression of the friends of mine who do load rifle rounds on a dillon is that its mostly bulk reloading.

There was a thread a few years ago from a guy who reloaded for accuracy on a dillon. but he put his rounds through close to 8 stages. two full cycles through his dillon.

As big a pain as single stage loading can be. Especially when you are used to 500 rounds an hour on a 550 ,I single stage reload on a RCBS Rockchucker. Last time I did I shot close to half inch groups at 1000 yards with the rounds i made.

 

[Mad_Charlie]

Holy Bull!! .500 group at 1000 yds??

On Topic: You need to do all of your brass processing as a seperate set of steps before you load it out on the 550, you can do your resizing on the 550, but I get more consistent results with the Rockchucker.

Once your cases are completely prepped you can prime, charge, and seat with the 550 at a good savings in time. Ball powder runs just fine through the 550's powder measure.

There are a lot of different methods for loading rifle cartridges with the 550, but you have to get that case prep done first for best results.

 

[Twoboxer]

Leaving the 1050 aside, IMO ammo made carefully on a high-quality single stage press will be more consistent than ammo made on a progressive. There is likely slop at the toolhead (some of which may be correctable) and small amounts of side-to-side variation at the ram when different forces are applied to different sides. How those variations manifest themselves in your ammo, with your technique at the press - and whether they are important to you - is a question different people will answer differently.

There is no question that hand weighing powder (single stage) rather than depending on consistent volumes (progressive) can result in more consistent charges depending on your choice of scale and ability to calibrate it not only at 20, 50, or 70 grams . . . but at weights close to the desired powder charge. Whether that "matters" or not . . . depends lol.

I went with the Hornady AP because I saw no slop at the tool head, but was not aware of rotation at the ram lol. And although the PM is extremely consistent, it is not as consistent as hand-weighing with the right scale. So I make pistol and 55gr 223 ammo on the AP and use a single stage for all 30-06 and bolt action 223 ammo. YMMV.

 

[sib1948]

The 550B is much faster and easier to use than a single stage press, but needs tweaking with each cartridge and still measure and hand load charges with my RCBS Chargemaster. Excellent conformity and accuracy. Easy and fast to change between calibers when all of the tweaking is done.

 

[No1]

I load my precision 308 on a 550B with Redding Competition Dies. Single stage operation. Come think of it, I load all my rifle cartridges on the 550B except 22 Hornet which I don't have a conversion kit for--yet.

 

[honda1572]

Thanks everyone for you input, a lot of good things for me to think about, I'm not opposed to using a single stage press but if it's possible to make quality ammo with the 550 I would prefer using it because I already have it, just don't want to spend money on a new press if I don't have to.

Mad_Charlie: can you explain to me a little more about doing all of my case prep as separate steps please?

No1: would you share with me how your operation works?

 

[Mad_Charlie]

Sure, clean, size/deprime, trim if necessary, chamfer/deburr case mouth, deburr inside of primer pocket, swage mil primer crimp if necessary, uniform primer pockets if desired, any other tweeks you might want to do to your cases to make precision ammo.

The sizing process of rifle cases on the 550 has a way of shaking things around pretty good and for me, results in weird powder drops if I don't do at least the resizing first, and if you are going to do most of the above, the case comes out of the press after sizing anyway.

 

[Blowby]

Last time I did I shot close to half inch groups at 1000 yards with the rounds i made.

Has it been done?
Maybe a mis-type, 1/2 MOA at 1000 yards?

 

[Tank]

crap, Ya absolutely a mistype Most definitely 1/2 -3/4 MOA group

 

[mdmp5]

Very good rifle ammo can be pressed on a 550 even when working as a progressive. However, there are inconsistencies in shoulder bump and seating depth because of the drag that the extra cases add when they enter the tool head. In addition, the floating tool head and shell plate add variance. You can load on it as a single stage though. I've done it. And it works fine. But you have to make measurements after each step to be certain you are bumping, charging and seating correctly. Good loads, but it cannot give you the precision of a good single stage or turret press.

 

[waveslayer]

I use my 550 to do all of my precision reloading. Just use it as a single stage press... I have a separate tool head for re sizing, then a separate one for bullet seating... you just do one thing at a time. Just like a single stage. I also, recommend the Unique Tek website, UniqueTek.com - Products for Shooting, Reloading and Competitive Marksmen there you can get some upgrades for your press, like locking down the tool heads for consistent bullet seating depth, etc... I have made some impressive ammo off the 550.

 

[No1]

operation1- size/deprime with redding type S full bushing die, no expander ball-it's not necessary and is a detriment to accuracy. I size to set the shoulder back about .003", since I'm using an AR10 I've found this to give me the most reliable results.
operation 2- trim to length as required, deburr then degrease cases with acetone or 92% IPA and let dry
operation 3-reprime (on the 550B)and charge case, each charge is dispensed with a PACT powder dispenser
operation 4- seat bullet with redding competition bullet seating die.

Actually O3 and O4 are happening at the same time. While the powder dispenser is dispensing, a new primer is seated and advanced to the powder die that is outfitted with a funnel like the BL550. Powder is poured and new primer seated in the next case and shell plate advanced to next station while the powder dispenser is doing it's thing. A bullet is seated and the process just repeats.

If I was using ball powder, I'd use the Dillon powder measure though.

Since you already have a 550B, IMO, instead of another press I'd spring for an RCBS or Redding powder measure to mount on the tool head instead of waiting for a dispenser to trickle. I'd trade my PACT dispenser and scale for a Redding powder measure in a heartbeat.

I cut 3 strips of 0.008" copper shim stock and place under the tool head to hold it tight in place. I think it helps, some others must too since there is an outfit that makes tool heads machined to tight fit tolerance.
When setting up a size die I always lock it down with a case engaged/ram fully up.
Always use the same amount of sizing wax on each case, gives consistent results.
I load several different rifle cartridges on the 550B and .223 is the only one I load in a progressive manner start to finish. All the others are loaded single stage style because I load for accuracy.
I use the 550B because I absolutely hate having to screw dies in and out of the press.
You can make good precision ammo with the Dillon dies too if you leave the expander ball out of the sizer, but I'd spring for the Redding or Forster dies since you mentioned 'precision loads', opinion only.

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Thanks everyone for you input, a lot of good things for me to think about, I'm not opposed to using a single stage press but if it's possible to make quality ammo with the 550 I would prefer using it because I already have it, just don't want to spend money on a new press if I don't have to.

Mad_Charlie: can you explain to me a little more about doing all of my case prep as separate steps please?

No1: would you share with me how your operation works?

Loading accurate ammo on any press type is in the details.

Most rifle ammo loaded on a progressive press is done so 'semi-progressively'. We have to deprime and size cases, remove the lube and then see if those cases need to be trimmed and trim them if necessary. One 'stage,' so to speak.

After trimming, we'll usually prime those cases, charge those cases and then seat the bullets. A 'second stage' if you will.

With the right lube (Hornady's One Shot) and given the fact that we don't have to trim a batch of cases, it's possible to load rifle rounds progressively and bang out decent ammo at a high cyclic rate, as we do pistol cartridges.

I've loaded rifle rounds on my 550b for 19 years and the ammo that I build is very 'consistent and accurate.' As I said, the devil is in the details.

You can do a few tricks to make things flow more smoothly on your 550b:

First thing is to make sure that the press is very clean, well lubricated and free of debris. Make sure that things are adjusted properly by running a few practice rounds through the press, checking that the primer bar and powder measure actions are operating properly.

If you're using the Dillon measure polish the metal housing inside and down through the chute, like mirror finish. You'll need to remove the plastic powder hopper to accomplish this task. Polish the powder die inside and then polish the inside/outside of the powder funnel with something like Flitz, or Wenol. Make sure that you wipe everything down with isopropyl alcohol to remove any polish residue that might cause the powder to stick.

There are other add-ons that you can buy, but I haven't really gone that route. I have a ChargeMaster 1500 and mostly use that for my target ammo, but I do use my Dillon measure for pistol rounds and bulk rifle ammo for more casual shooting and it works fine as long as things inside are slick and parts are moving freely.

Chris

 

[kansas]

I've loaded thousands of pistol rounds on my 550B and thousands of .223 on it however for processing brass, especially for my precision reloads, it all still goes through my Redding Big Boss single stage. I use a Lee collet die for neck sizing and decapping my .308 brass first and, as per directions, Lee tells you it is best to size the neck then turn it 180 degrees and size it again. It works (near zero runout on my case necks) so thats what I do. I measure each powder charge on my RCBS chargemaster so I just don't see much time savings using my 550B for precision ammo. For my .223 ammo I prep all the brass on a single stage then wet tumble it, trim it, swage the primer pockets, chamfer and deburr the necks then prime, charge and seat the bullets on my Dillon. I use H335 ball powder and it runs very accurately through the powder measurer on my Dillon so even my longer range ammo is done this way. Longer range meaning 300-400 yards shooting steel. All my .223 stuff is for 3gun where you don't need ammo to shoot 1/2" groups but I still use 69 gr SMKs for the long range portion and for that my Dillon works great.

 

[bodhisafa]

I was told that other manufacturers dies will not work on a Dillon....is this correct?

 

[former naval person]

Bad information. Any reputable die set works.

 

[poison123]

Bad information. Any reputable die set works.

Actually...not completely. From the 550 up any normal threaded die will work. If your talking about the Square Deal B, then you have to use their special dies for that system.

 

[79M1a-texas]

I use the Co-Ax and an arbor press for my precision 308 rounds. Just purchased a used RL550B for the .223 ammo for 3-gun. Are the carbide dies worth 3 x the cost of steel dies for bulk ammo?

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I started reloading some 20+ years ago with a used RL550B, and still have only that one press, used for all my handloading.

I find it's best to process and prime all my brass first, then weigh charges as the firsts step in completing the cartridge in progressive mode.

I have also found that keeping the process absolutely simplest, with due care to assure those steps are completed consistently, delivers reliably adequate accuracy. One can do additional steps and employ refined techniques, but I accept 1MOA at 100yd, and 2MOA at 300yd and beyond as sufficient accuracy for my needs. When I shot F Open at 1000yd, I averaged 90% or better hits on a 2MOA ten-ring (I.e. scores of 180 or better). My nemesis was not mechanical accuracy, but wind skill.

Greg