Precision Reloading Setup From Scratch.

[Potss]

Finally have it in the budget to step up from my Lee hand press in a big way. I'd like to start reloading small batches of the best precision and hunting ammunition my budget will allow for my two .308 AR10s (one 16in, one 20in). Said budget is about $1500 for just the reloading equipment. The more I save on the equipment the more components I can buy in the short term, but if I need to go over budget to get the best price/performance I will (I believe in buy once cry once). Speaking of components, I only plan to use high quality Lapua/Alpha/Peterson brass in most cases. I have plenty of surplus 7.62x51 for blasting, and places I can trade that brass.

With that goal in mind I set out to find the best gear I could for the job, but there are simply a staggering number of options. So after months of research I turn to the members of this subforum to help guide my final purchases. I already have two reloading manuals, shell holders, trays, funnels, and quickload, but I'll need to buy basically everything else, so a precision reloading setup from scratch. Please help guide my newbie ass!

This is what I'm thinking so far, with some questions added in:

1.) Press: Forster Co-Ax vs. Rock Chuckers/Big Boss/Hornady Classic. Spend double for the floating Co-Ax worth it? Even if I'll be using Forster's floating dies?

2.) Resizing Die: Forster, custom hone to .004 then use expander mandrel to set neck tension to .002. Will that be enough neck tension for rough use in a semi-auto?

3.) Seating Die: Forster Benchrest.

4.) Mandrel Die: 21st Century Shooting TiN expander, set neck tension to .002.

5.) Crimping Die: Lee Universal vs. Redding Micro Adjust, RCBS, Thomas & Betts, and CH4D. No idea which would serve best. Not even sure if this will be needed or not (some say .002 neck tension is enough, others say it is not). Some of this ammo will be used for hunting and banged around quite a bit, and I don't want the OAL changing.

6.) Depriming Die: Lee Universal vs. Sinclair. Or maybe a hand deprimer like the Fankford Arsenal or Harvey to keep mess away from the press?

7.) Ultrasonic Cleaner: Hornady 2L vs. Lyman 2.5L vs. RCBS 3L. Will only be doing batches of about 50 pieces of brass at a time, not sure what size would serve that best?

8.) Primer Pocket deburr/uniforming tool: K&M Shooting.

9.) Flash Hold deburring tool: K&M Shooting.

10.) Brass Trim/Taper tool: Giraud Tri Way Trimmer (have a screw gun already).

11.) Calipers: Mitutoyo vs. Brown & Sharpe.

12.) OAL Comparator and Seating Depth Gauge: Hornady L&L.

13.) Powder Measure and Scale: RCBS Chargemaster Lite.

14.) Priming Tool: K&M Shooting. Not sure if I should get it with or without the dial (double the cost)?

15.) Annealing: Ballstic Recreations Salt Bath annealing kit.

16.) Case Lube: Imperial Sizing Die Wax. Not sure if I should also use some dry lube like redding's or HBN in the case neck when seating bullets? I've read this can prevent "cold welding" but also that it can decrease neck tension?

17.) Bullet Puller: Hornady Cam-Lock. Not sure if this will work with the Forster Co-Ax press?

18.) Misc: Stuck case removal kit: Forster. Die Cleaning & Lube kit: RCBS.

19.) Not needed? Concentricity tool? Seems everyone with Forster dies/press doesn't use them much if at all as the runout is so low. Micrometer?

So that is the list as of now, comes in right around $1500 depending on the options chosen. The question (aside from those in the text above) is; what would you change (add, remove, swap out) and why? If you lost all your reloading gear and had to start precision reloading for semi-autos from scratch, what equipment would you buy?

Thanks for your guidance.

 

[Dai Bando]

You are on the right track and have obviously been taking notes.

I'd change a few little things on your list myself, but you could certainly make great ammo despite my opinions/preferences.



Forster press is great, but a Rock Chucker will make straight ammo as well.

Redding Type S will allow more flexibility until you figure out exactly what your rifles want.

Screw the ultrasonic cleaner and just get a vibe tumbler. I like corn cob media with a little Flitz.

Mitutoyo's are very nice, but largely unnecessary .

Lyman makes a very good flash hole deburring tool and it's all a guy needs.

Sinclair concentricity tool is a great tool for knowing just where in the hell you F'd up.


Good luck man.

 

[flyer]

For a semi-auto, the brass is going to be moving around more than a bolt action so case life is shorter.

It's hard to say what you'll need in a resizing die, you might need a small base die.

Everyone says an auto trickler is the way to go for more accurate charges than the Chargemaster. You could fit that in your budget if you concentrate on budget choices, like you could save $200 if you buy a Lee Classic Cast press instead of a Forster Co-ax.

You could get a Lee case gague trimmer instead of a Giraud for more saving.

I bought a cheap Lyman case prep kit with a little hand crank thing and it was a good value for the bits included but I'm mounting them up on a Hornady Case Prep Trio.

RCBS makes a cheap flash hole deburring tool with caliber specific neck stops, that was the cheapest tool I could find that would cover the calibers I am set up for.

The Lee bench prime is nice and cheap.

I got a nice 2 liter ultrasonic cleaner on eBay for $100, that's probably less than the brand name machines.

I bought a $19 set of digital calipers on Amazon: Clockwise Tools DCLR-0605, they are pretty nice, certainly better than you need. Buy 2, they are so cheap.

Get a Hornady bullet comparator and headspace gauge set to go with the calipers.

I like the Hornady bullet seaters and their micrometer stem add on. Their deluxe 2 die sets come with both and a bushing resizing die (bushings are extra).

When you're on a budget but you're looking for precision, you have to spend where you're going to get the most gain.

You're shopping list has a lot of nice stuff but some of it will get lost in the noise of ±0.1 grain charge weights.

 

[BLDTYLRY]

Buy once, cry once. Get the Forster Co-ax, micrometer seatimg die (not Benchrest) , Lee universal decamping die, L.E. Wilson trimmer. No need to crimp for Precision loads but if you have to, Lee Factory crimp is the way to go.

Co-ax is nice because once you set the dies swapping between decapping, sizing and seating is super fast.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

I started out by reading this

https://www.amazon.com/C-Kerman-Outdoor-Precision-Reloading/dp/B000N8OKAU

I'm sure the competition has similar intro books.

 

[Sheldon N]

Dillon 550 press. Float the dies on o-rings. One toolhead for brass prep, another for loading.
No flash hole or primer pocket tools.
No priming tools, do it on the Dillon.
Check out iGaging calipers instead of Mitutoyo if budget it a concern.
Make your own alcohol/lanolin lube.
Corn cob tumble.
Chargemaster is good, but you might find that thrown charges of XBR8208 are very similar and much much easier to load on a Dillon.

 

[Fig]

I'm actually gona agree with Sheldon this time. If you're running gas guns you may as well use a Dillon. I use mine for pistol and gas rifles.

 

[spife7980]

Finally have it in the budget to step up from my Lee hand press in a big way. I'd like to start reloading small batches of the best precision and hunting ammunition my budget will allow for my two .308 AR10s (one 16in, one 20in). Said budget is about $1500 for just the reloading equipment. The more I save on the equipment the more components I can buy in the short term, but if I need to go over budget to get the best price/performance I will (I believe in buy once cry once). Speaking of components, I only plan to use high quality Lapua/Alpha/Peterson brass in most cases. I have plenty of surplus 7.62x51 for blasting, and places I can trade that brass.

With that goal in mind I set out to find the best gear I could for the job, but there are simply a staggering number of options. So after months of research I turn to the members of this subforum to help guide my final purchases. I already have two reloading manuals, shell holders, trays, funnels, and quickload, but I'll need to buy basically everything else, so a precision reloading setup from scratch. Please help guide my newbie ass!

This is what I'm thinking so far, with some questions added in:

1.) Press: Forster Co-Ax vs. Rock Chuckers/Big Boss/Hornady Classic. Spend double for the floating Co-Ax worth it? Even if I'll be using Forster's floating dies? I really like my forster, if for the spent primer catcher only. A rockchucker is supposed to be jus as good with an after market primercatcher installed. BUt I load over carpet, if youre in a cement floored garage that may not be an issue for you.

2.) Resizing Die: Forster, custom hone to .004 then use expander mandrel to set neck tension to .002. Will that be enough neck tension for rough use in a semi-auto? I cant speak to the neck tension necessary, i would assume so but look at the difference in the forster 308 and their 308 national match dies. I also really like redding, I think their type s might be a better suggestion here since you dont know what youll need yet.

3.) Seating Die: Forster Benchrest. Get the micrometer, its worth it. But again, I prefer the reddings here.

4.) Mandrel Die: 21st Century Shooting TiN expander, set neck tension to .002. The expander is .001 below loaded diameter, the turning is .002", Just want to make sure you are aware of whats what when ordering these.

5.) Crimping Die: Lee Universal vs. Redding Micro Adjust, RCBS, Thomas & Betts, and CH4D. No idea which would serve best. Not even sure if this will be needed or not (some say .002 neck tension is enough, others say it is not). Some of this ammo will be used for hunting and banged around quite a bit, and I don't want the OAL changing. Ive never bothered crimping.

6.) Depriming Die: Lee Universal vs. Sinclair. Or maybe a hand deprimer like the Fankford Arsenal or Harvey to keep mess away from the press? This is where the forster is really nice, it combines the hopper of the frankford with a press. I went with the lee universal, if you were going with something that uses a small firing in hole such as palma brass then I wold go withthe redding, its has a pin thats small already, you woul dneed to sand the lee punch down to fit those small flash holes.

7.) Ultrasonic Cleaner: Hornady 2L vs. Lyman 2.5L vs. RCBS 3L. Will only be doing batches of about 50 pieces of brass at a time, not sure what size would serve that best? I went with vibratory tumbling if only because it saves me drying time. Cant help with the decision between types.

8.) Primer Pocket deburr/uniforming tool: K&M Shooting. Use decent brass and you wont need these.

9.) Flash Hold deburring tool: K&M Shooting. Use decent brass and you wont need these.

10.) Brass Trim/Taper tool: Giraud Tri Way Trimmer (have a screw gun already). Great choice.

11.) Calipers: Mitutoyo vs. Brown & Sharpe. I have mitus and love them but Ill say the iguagng again here. Id suggest the 8" model, its easier to hold with the hornady comparator tools on them and its still under 60 bucks for a good product.

12.) OAL Comparator and Seating Depth Gauge: Hornady L&L. Good call.

13.) Powder Measure and Scale: RCBS Chargemaster Lite. Not sure if I would go for the lite over the 1500 provided you can find the 1500 during one of their sales plus rebate periods. I got my chargemaster for 225 during one of those periods.

14.) Priming Tool: K&M Shooting. Not sure if I should get it with or without the dial (double the cost)? I really like my lee auto prime though theyve gone with a new tray according to the ads online. If I were to buy another it would probably be the frankford. I sure wouldnt load them one at a time like the cheap k&m and I sure wouldnt spend for the dial.

15.) Annealing: Ballstic Recreations Salt Bath annealing kit. Never used it but I like the idea aside from more dunking in water and drying out processes. If youll be doing both ultra sonic and this maybe a dehydrator would be a useful investment.

16.) Case Lube: Imperial Sizing Die Wax. Not sure if I should also use some dry lube like redding's or HBN in the case neck when seating bullets? I've read this can prevent "cold welding" but also that it can decrease neck tension? Cant go wrong with the imperial if you dont mind getting your finger a tad waxy. The imperial porcelain graphite is cheap, get it and test or wait and see if you thik it could help with excessive seating pressures.

17.) Bullet Puller: Hornady Cam-Lock. Not sure if this will work with the Forster Co-Ax press? Its the preferred puller for a coax- my dumb ass got the rcbs and I have to jam allen wrenches between the press and the lock ring so that it doesnt spin on me = pain in the ass.

18.) Misc: Stuck case removal kit: Forster. Die Cleaning & Lube kit: RCBS. Dont bother, if you use th elube you ont have any issues. Get it when you discover that you need it, other wise it will just sit and collect dust.

19.) Not needed? Concentricity tool? Seems everyone with Forster dies/press doesn't use them much if at all as the runout is so low. Micrometer? Dont bother with the concentricity tool. Get it if you suspect you need it at some point, I wouldnt until then as you likely never will.

So that is the list as of now, comes in right around $1500 depending on the options chosen. The question (aside from those in the text above) is; what would you change (add, remove, swap out) and why? If you lost all your reloading gear and had to start precision reloading for semi-autos from scratch, what equipment would you buy?

Thanks for your guidance.

Comments in red inside your quote on just about everything. The dillon movement has been catching my eye just to do multiple steps on brass with the same handle pull. But I hope to never get it because that just means Ill be making lots more ammo and thus spending lots more money because of course I would have to shoot it all that same week.

And you mentioned the OAL comparator for bullet seating depth. dont forget the headspace bushing as well to measure your case resizing.

I might also just run the expander balls and see if you want to do the mandrel later. Ive gone to skipping the mandrel most times because its twice the number of pulls on sizing the brass (hence my eyeing the dillons).

Over all you seem to understand that a decent investment up front is worth it, you should have no issue making good ammo and that giraud is a real time saver. You might not realize it having never worked those steps by hand but trust me, its a god send.

 

[padom]

Your gonna get different opinions from everyone but your thought is on track. I would just get a Forster FL sizing die if your loading semi auto. No need for honing unless you plan to have a different Forster FL sizing die for each type of brass your using. A honed die is only good for that specific brass it was honed for. Also, shooting a large frame gasser your brass is going to get beat up and wear out. I also wouldnt waste good brass on a semi either. LC 7.62 fully prepped brass cannot be beat in a 308 gasser.

If you use a Forster FL sizing die there is no need to crimp your rounds so you can skip that. +1 for the corn cob dry tumbler recommendation. Ive got them all, Ultrasonic, SS tumbler, dry tumbler. I have found there is zero affects on accuracy dry tumbling vs getting your glass jewelry clean in an Ultrasonic or Wet tumbler. I save that for 1x LC or Pistol brass that I acquire prior to loading it for the first time and thats it.

For a semi, I would get a Dillon 550c if you can swing it otherwise just get a Rock Chucker. I have a Rock Chucker, Co-Ax, 550c and 2xXL650's. I use my 550c for all my precision reloading now since I can do multiple steps at once vs running everything through the press multiple times on a single stage.

If budget is the key you cant go wrong with a Chargemaster and Rock Chucker. Get the Hornady L&L quick change bushings for the Rock Chucker and you can swap dies as quick as a Co-Ax. Its a must for a RC.

 

[flyer]

The Lee Classic Cast press will take the L-n-L bushing too and you save about $50 over the RCBS.

I'm not sure if the extra $50 gets you anything because I know the Lee press is nice and sturdy, it works fine and it's big enough for .50 BMG.

 

[pugnado]

OP I'm in the same boat as you and made a similar thread but for 6.5 Creedmoor for semi-automatic.

 

[Potss]

Thanks for all the advice so far, a lot of interesting information and of course more decision to make than ever! Unsurprisingly, I have some followup questions, but first I just wanted to clarify my goals. I intend to produce two very similar types of ammunition for my AR10s. One set of the most precise ammo I can to take to the range and print tiny groups, and poke holes in milk jugs at 1100y. And another set that is equally precise, but will be hiked into the mountains and used to hunt with. The only difference is likely to be the projectile, and maybe a crimp on the hunting ammo.

Since neither of these activities happen with a lot of frequency, and neither include a high volume of fire, I don't consider using Lapua (or similar quality) brass a waste in the AR10. If I fired 50 rounds of my reloads a month, it would be a good month. Even if I only get 2-3 reloads from the brass (and I think with an AGB I'd be getting 1-2 more than that from what I've read) I'd be fine with that. As I said in the OP, for general plinking and range fun I have plenty of surplus, and I don't intend to bulk reload (at least not for a long while).

1.) So if I do stick with Lapua (or similar quality) brass, it sounds like I don't need the K&M Primer pock or flash hole tools? Is that the consensus even after several reloads, or would it be kinda like cheap insurance? I've read it both ways on Accurate Shooter.

2.) It sounds like I may be putting the cart before the horse by going with a chargemaster to throw but doing a lot of tedious brass prep. So if I want to skimp on a few other parts OR simply just raise the budget, what trickler or auto-trickler setup is generally recommended? Could I throw slightly light loads on the chargemaster and hand trickle with an RCBS hand trickler, or is the scale just not sensitive enough? If not, the two I've seen are the autotrickler v2 by Adam MacDonald (seems quite expensive at around $900 for the whole setup), and the Dandy Auto Trickler (which seems like an exceptional bargin at around $250). The Dandy looks like a viable option, or am I missing something?

3.) For the press, I'm not really looking for a turret press, speed isn't much of an issue (again, low volume). Really it does come down to Co-Ax vs. more traditional designs like the Lee, RCBS, Redding, Hornady, Lyman, and so on. I keep reading opinions on both sides, that the Co-Ax decreases runout and that is enough to justify the cost. And on the flip side that while it might offer small improvements, you will not see it on paper (to which the reply is usually "well you can see it at 1000y). So post up your vote either way on this if you haven't already. Quick side note, I've also read that the Lee and RCBS linkages wear out faster than the Redding's?

4.) For the dies, it sounds like the Forster Micrometer seater is what to go with on that front. For the full length resizing die, why go with the Redding and not the Forster? For what I've read on this forum, basically if you go much past .003 neck tension it doesn't do any good, and you might as well crimp at that point if you need more. So I figured the experimenting has pretty much been done here, just go .002 with either the mandrel or Forster, is that not the case? In addition, I wasn't aware the hone was chamber specific? Are you better off just getting custom dies made at that point then?

Misc: Looks like I'll just need to experiment to see what neck tension and/or crimp and/or dry neck lube/coating combination will work best with my particular rifles. Based on the advice ITT, I've already ordered an Igaging 8in digital caliper.

Thanks for the continued advice!

PS. pugnado I read your thread before posting mine, another great thread to learn from! It seems like you'll be prepping a much wider variety of brass quality, and I don't intend to neck turn (unless that is the only way I can get a TiN mandrel to do .002 neck tension maybe). But there is certainly a lot of crossover between our situations.

 

[Codiekfx400]

Milk jugs at 1100 yards might be a stretch with the semi auto short barreled 308’s you mentioned. But listen to these guys that are giving the recommendations they know what they’re talking about.

 

[kthomas]

Pretty solid for the most part.

No need for pocket uniformers/deburrers. Cleaning primer pockets isn't also necessary, FYI. Personally, I would skip ultrasonic cleaner and use a dry tumble with rice as a cleaning media. Ultrasonic is messy and time consuming.

I would splurge for a Giraud bech top trimmer and an AMP annealer. Also a bench mounted primer seater, such as the Primal Rights CPS - hand priming hundreds of pieces of brass in a session blows.

 

[kthomas]

Also, if you can afford it, an FX-120u scale with autothrower and autotrickler setup. Very precise and quick, but a little spendy. Totally worth it.

 

[flyer]

That FX120 scale is a magnetic restorative force type I think. The TLDR version is that it doesn't drift like strain gauge types and it is very very sensitive, ±0.02 grain rather than ±0.1 grain.

The auto trickler helps because it is a machine, no shaky hands that spill an extra 2-3 pieces of powder and make you fish out some with tweezers. It will nail the charge weight every time if it is adjusted properly.

 

[chaosgadoury]

That FX120 scale is a magnetic restorative force type I think. The TLDR version is that it doesn't drift like strain gauge types and it is very very sensitive, ±0.02 grain rather than ±0.1 grain.

The auto trickler helps because it is a machine, no shaky hands that spill an extra 2-3 pieces of powder and make you fish out some with tweezers. It will nail the charge weight every time if it is adjusted properly.

The Autotrickler is the way to go. Decreased my reload time (prime/powder/bullet) by 50% and maintained low SDs. Worth the $900.

 

[Sogan]

The Autotrickler is the way to go. Decreased my reload time (prime/powder/bullet) by 50% and maintained low SDs. Worth the $900.

I'm assuming it just decreased the powder loading portion or am I missing something here? (legit question) I want one bad just not sure I reload enough to get one over a chargemaster

 

[flyer]

It throws a charge about as quickly as you can seat a bullet so you're never waiting for powder.

It holds the charge weight in a narrower window which is the big reason to use it for "precision".

 

[chaosgadoury]

I'm assuming it just decreased the powder loading portion or am I missing something here? (legit question) I want one bad just not sure I reload enough to get one over a chargemaster

It decreases the time of the powder loading, but also allows you to do other things while it is dispensing.

I seat a few primers and then start dumping powder. After a charge is dumped I pour the powder into the case and replace the cup. While the next charge is dumping I am able to seat the bullet and seat a primer or two.

100 rounds of primer/powder/bullet used to take 210 minutes. It now takes about 100 minutes.

 

[300ATT]

Powder dispensing & weighing is the long pole in the tent so to speak - the step that has the most variability and seems to cause the most problems. Read this:

http://www.6mmbr.com/prometheus.html

I use the old redding scale mentioned in this article in combination with a Harrel's and a hand trickler ... not as cool as the prometheus or the FX120 but this combination works and will produce single digit SD's all-day long sometimes single digit ES's. It is reasonably fast if you do what chaosgadoury suggests above. The nice thing about this approach is that it's simple bomb-proof and just works. It is more accurate than a digital scale that has a 0.1g resolution and not as "tender" as one that has a 0.02g resolution (e.g. no special power requirements, no worries about breezes, no worries about static, no worries about vibration ... etc).

Not sure who makes a good mechanical balance beam scale today ... my redding is over 50 years old.

That being said, will someday get a FX120 or similar set up.

 

[300ATT]

I should say that the redding/Harrel's combination mentioned above performs better than the chargemaster and that's why I use it. Reasonably fast if you dampen with 50 wt motor oil ...

 

[northshorelumber]

The items that have been worthwhile for me are: Co-Ax press, FX-120 w/ Autotrickler, Redding Type S FL die w/carbide expander and Redding micrometer seater, lanolin-alcohol spray lube, dry tumbler, Wilson trimmer, RCBS prep center.

 

[Potss]

Ran across some very interesting data on measuring powder. Derek Love of Match Grade Precision made a video for PRN you can watch here. In it they compare a Harrell's drop measure, Hornady Automaster, RCBS Chargemaster, an Autotrickler + lab scale, and a Prometheus. You can watch the video for full results, but the difference in SD between the Prometheus and the Chargemaster ended up only being 2.65 SD. On paper that translated into about .4in at 600y, so about .07moa. I'm sure others might see different results in their own rifles. But this data seems to show that with good quality components, consistent process, and fastidious brass prep (and excellent shooting) the difference between the Chargemaster and measures 3-10x the price are relatively minimal for accuracy. Maybe for benchrest, but for my uses I cannot justify an extra $700 for .07moa at the moment.

Then again I'm no expert, thoughts on the video?

 

[Dai Bando]

I'll take the Auto trickler/charge over the incredibly slow Chargemaster that overthrows half the time and makes shit slower.

The Prometheus is as obsolete as Grandpa's buck skin rubber.

 

[Sheldon N]

Then again I'm no expert, thoughts on the video?

I'm sticking with my earlier comments that plain old thrown charges on a Dillon measure with XBR8208 are a very reasonable choice. You'll find that XBR meters very well, +/- 0.1 grain in my testing and it's a good powder and very usable for 308. So much easier, simpler and absolutely appropriate for your purposes with a 308 gas gun.

And to put my comments in context, I've got a Prometheus and a FX120i on my reloading bench right now.

 

[300ATT]

I loved that charge drop video as it puts things into perspective. I wish they would have added one more category which is dropping charges with the Harrel's and trickling up on a mechanical balance beam scale. I have found that Harrel's will drop less than +- 0.1 grains with ball powders. With powders like Varget/R-15 it drops +- 0.2gr (0.4 - 0.5g spread). You can load accurate enough ammo with just the Harrel's but I found its a struggle to get SD's below 30 fps if you don't individually weigh the charges. Don't even think about trying a dump-only approach on a powder like H4831sc. Using the Harrel's to dump within 0.2 grs and trickling up when needed is reasonably fast (faster than chargemaster) and produces more consistent single digit SD's.

I have not tried XBR8208 but I am going to because if you can find a powder that will throw 0.1g without weighing ... that is the holy grail. Its even better if works though the crappy Dillon powder measure!!!

 

[Sheldon N]

I have not tried XBR8208 but I am going to because if you can find a powder that will throw 0.1g without weighing ... that is the holy grail. Its even better if works though the crappy Dillon powder measure!!!

I tested 20 charges of XBR from a unmodified Dillon measure, metered at 30gr each, weighed on a precision scale. Extreme spread was 0.26gr (+/- 0.13) and SD of weight variation was 0.08gr.

Use a ton of it in 223, have used some in 6 Dasher where it would hold single digit SD's on trainer ammo, and have friends who use it in 308 with good results.

 

[300ATT]

Leaving the office to get some 8208 ...

 

[padom]

I have modified all my Dillon powder measures with fully polished powder bars, hoppers, powder funnels, Uniquetek Powder Baffle, Uniquetek Micrometer powder measure. I have been running 8208XBR with this setup for a long time and its super accurate and consistent. If you perform proper load development choosing a load in the center of the node you will be good to go.

 

[300ATT]

Tried out 8208 in one of my match .308's with 155 gr scenars ... it shot lights out. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Now, any tips on polishing the funnel and cahrge box of my 650 powder measure?

 

[padom]

Tried out 8208 in one of my match .308's with 155 gr scenars ... it shot lights out. I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Now, any tips on polishing the funnel and cahrge box of my 650 powder measure?

Dremel, polishing tips and polishing compound.



Powder Funnel - Before





Powder Funnel - After






Hopper Before and After





Baffle




Micrometer Install

 

[300ATT]

Thank you! I have been searching for the holy grail combo to mass produce match Ammo on the Dillon. I feel like I’m getting closer. I have a whiz Dillon floating head and will pull that out of mothballs.

 

[300ATT]

That was Whidden not whiz ... stupid autocorrect...

 

[padom]

Yeah I have all Whidden floating die toolheads and Uniquetek clamp kit.

 

[Foghornleghorn]

As for the presses I gave my son my RCBS I now have a Mec Marksman and it's just as good as the ones you mentioned and better than some for runout. Price is decent and well built, smooth as glass.

 

[Potss]

For the powder measure, would the aforementioned drops do other ball powders equally well like CFE 223 and PP2000MR?

And for the press, I think I've committed to the Forster Co-Ax, I really like the priming function on that press for my purposes. Interesting about the MEC Marksman though, looks like good competition for the Co-Ax in some ways.

 

[Sogan]

What press are you guys cranking out mass produced accurate rounds with 8208 with? 550? 650? I’d like to get something to make accurate .223 rounds with quickly. The .1gr throw accuracy is pretty appealing for this

edit: 550 seems to be a common option