When can I 'trust' my setup? Dillon 550B

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canucklehead

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Hey guys,

Just finished loading my first 60 rounds in .45ACP on my Dillon 550! My first reloaded rounds EVER!

I'm working up a load for my USP - .1 grain at a time.

My question - when can I start 'trusting' my steps?

For instance, when can I just TRUST that a primer has been placed in the cup at station one, and TRUST that my powder measure dispensed powder accurately?

I check to see a primer goes in EVERY time, and check the powder level EVERY time. I also run every round through a case gauge and measure every 5th cartridge for OAL.

I realize I have to be careful ALL the time, but at what point can you just start cranking out ammo? :D

Also, when I'm seating primers, there's always this fear that 'okay, THIS one might go off'. What are the 'chances' that a primer would detonate during seating?

Or when it dispenses the powder, I still like to check every once in a while to make sure it's still the right grain amount... how often is a check necessary? Has anyone ever had a dillon powder measure start throwing incorrect charges?

I know, I know, paranoia, but I'd rather have a healthy fear than lose and eye or finger!

Let me know if I'm crazy, or just a total newbie! :)
 
"...start cranking out ammo?..." Once you've got the press set up to produce the load you want and the OAL.
"...What are the 'chances'..." None. Loading presses are designed to seat them without causing them to go off.
"...like to check every once in a while..." Good idea. What usually happens is that you get loading and don't notice the powder hopper has run out of powder. Or the primer feed is empty.
 
550b

A simple way to gain confidence is to constantly check things out. maybe start by stopping every hundred rounds and inspect things such as:
Powder level
Powder charge
Are all screws, bolts etc tight?
Inspect every cartridge for inverted primers, no primer, bullet seating etc.
this is just a small list but by double checking everything you will gain more confidence in both you and the 550. i've loaded 50k + on mine and love it.
cueball
 
sunray said:
"...What are the 'chances'..." None. Loading presses are designed to seat them without causing them to go off.
Click to expand...

Really? I have had primers go off using a Dillon 550. Happened twice using Federal 210M primers and Remington brass. Phoned Dillon and they told me to switch primers. Instead I switched priming methods.

canucklehead, I have never used my 550 to load pistol. I am sure it will meter pistol powder much more accuately than extruded powders like IMR 4895 or Varget.
 
Confidence?------ as was very well said above keep checking.
"Maynard" , -- I'd like to hear more about the primer explosions, & the changes that you made . Was it upon seating , or in the tube? i'm afraid to develop a flinch with my D"550"
 
i've done literally thousands of 308win through my 550b- as long as there's no buzzers going off and a visual and shake test at the end,i assume good to go- the 308 won't take a double charge of 748, and there's no opportunity for the primer to go inverted with a dillon unless YOU PUT IN IN UPSIDE DOWN- unlike the lee- all i do is check the powder for 10 throws, then just start crankin- when you run out of primers is a good chance to check your powder as well- it may be off a bit, but not enough to count- there's too much variation to weigh each loaded round and make sure they're all the same
 
Thanks for the tips.

When changing the powder amount, is 10 throws the standard to check for consistency? Is the Dillon powder measure even precise enough for .1 grain?

Most charges I'm throwing are about one 'zero line' thickness on either side of zero (I'm using a Dillon Eliminator). Is that accurate enough?
 
thunderflash said:
Confidence?------ as was very well said above keep checking.
"Maynard" , -- I'd like to hear more about the primer explosions, & the changes that you made . Was it upon seating , or in the tube? i'm afraid to develop a flinch with my D"550"
Click to expand...

The primer went off on the primer seating operation. Boy are primers loud when they go off in a press. After changing my shorts and careful inspection of the press, I could see nothing wrong. After another 8-10 rounds another one went off. I got right on the phone to Dillon's 800 line. The tech on the line told me to stop using Fed 210M primers. Or any Federal primer for that matter.
As I had used several thousand 210M's before without a problem. With a couple thousand still on hand and all my loads developed with these primers the choice was clear. I did all my priming on my old Lee press with a Lee Auto-prime. The Lee press has now been retired but I still use the Auto-Prime on my Redding Big Boss.

For long range target shooting I found the Dillon would not throw powder as accurately as I wanted. +-.2 of a gr works out to .4gr spread, not what I am looking for when shooting 1000 yards. I also found with the Dillon 550 and Redding competition seating dies the bullets did not seat straight.

The 550 is now collecting dust waiting for me to take up pistol shooting.
 
I am probably the worlds slowest reloader... I check OAL every 10 rounds :p

I manually measure each charge but I feel very satisfied in doing so :)
I'm also loading for 10mm Auto and very HOT. The powder is also 800-X which sucks coming out of anything as it can vary +/- .3 grains

Nothing wrong with being too cautious if it gives you peace of mind.

For primers I just bought a RCBS hand loading tool and I have to say that has increased my reloading time substantially and all the primers look perfect with virtually no chance of a primer going off or being inserted incorrectly.
 
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Thanks "Maynard" for sharing your story , ---- I'm still using Federal primers (Large & small pistol) in my 550 & have been for a bunch of years since my stockpiling days. Had always heard that Federal made sensitive primers but never had a hitch --or bang, so far , & thought it might have been some kind of reloader's myth.
Personally, always considered the 550 as a "plinking" loader & left my target loads(unluckily only out to 600m. around here ) to the Redding's on the Lyman T-Mag, & Lee Auto Prime , & charging cases the old painstaking & time consuming scale & trickler way .
Anyway, I'm going to be twice as careful now when I prime the 550 , --- & maybe start wearing my "Silencios"with my eye protection.
 
On powder types.

For load consistency with the Dillon or any other measure that uses the charge bar, or rotating drum types. Charges of ball type powders like 231, tend to drop very consistently. Stick powders not so much, Flake which is mostly like flattened ball powder, measures OK, however the flat flakes sometimes get between the slide or the drum and bind-up the works. Also, stick powders tend to bridge and stick in the drop tube on occasion.

I like to use my progressive presses mostly for handgun ammo and the single stage machines for rifle rounds.

2 cents.
 
I don't know the number of Dillion 550B presses in use but I'll bet quite a few. If the press had issues it would be well known, so confidence with the press really is confidence in your ability to use it reliably and maintain it.

I would suggest that you settle on a "checking" regime, apply it to all calibers you re-load for and force yourself to be strict about using it. When you get lax, accidents can happen and mistakes can be made. Define the things that you want to keep an eye on and set a reasonable number between checks for each.

Regarding primers going off, knock on wood, I have not had it happen yet, but it can happen and so I always have eye and ear protection on as part of my regime.

I would say that if more than two primers go off in a re-loading session there's something wrong. Whether it's a compatibility issue with the primer/casing combination (fit issue, check with a caliper), some maintenance required on your press (strip, clean and lube, check for wear or defect), or more case prep required (de-cap and clean the primer pocket prior to loading) will need to be determined. Figuring it out will only add to the satisfaction of your ability to load quality rounds and increase your confidence with your tools.
 
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Congrats on your first rounds, and welcome to the sand box. I'm no old hand at this yet, but I've probably got 20,000 rounds behind me, so I've got my foot in the door if nothing else. Also, 3 generations of family worked for CIL explosives until they closed the Nobel Works, so I'm pretty familiar with things that go boom...why the go boom, and how :D

As for your question Canucklehead.....you'll start cranking out rounds when you really "know" the press. By that I mean, you'll get to know the feel of things. You'll start to go a little faster......and a little faster. Eventually, a few thousand rounds down the road, you'll "be one with the press" for lack of a better way to put it. If something goes sideways, you'll know right away just by the feel in the handle. Do yourself a favour. Stop every so many rounds...say 25 or so.....and take a quick glance at your powder level and primer quantities. If there is ANY doubt in your mind that you won't have enough for the next 50, STOP and fill em up. If you get in this habbit early, your bullet puller will see a lot less action :D
The other thing I would recommend is, for the first while, don't just let your loaded cartridges pile up in a bucket. Take them, as they come off the press and place them in a row (or even better, a proper reloading trays if you've got them) and keep them in order. If you do discover a problem, they'll be in order, and you can easially backtrack to where the problem started...ie: ran low/out of powder. Again, it'll save a lot of work on the bullet puller.
As for fear of an explosion. I'll say "my" only real fear is seating the primer. It's without a doubt, by a factor of 100X, the most sensitive component in the mix. I've stayed away from Federal primers. Richard Lee recommends either Winchester or CCI primers. There are 2 different "mixes" for primer compound, and Federal uses the more sensitive version. I've done some pretty nasty stuff to a few Winchester primers without any going off (yet). A couple were pretty much cut in half, and a few others were crushed sideways into the case. You know what it's like once you really get moving :) I find the CCI's feed better than the Winchesters in my Lee 1000 pro. One other bit of advice. Get yourself a full face shield, and not just safety glasses. I know, they're a bit of a pain in the behind, especially on a hot day... but....I've been an industrial millwright for a long time. I'm usually the LAST one to beat on the safety drum. From personal experience, I know all too well just how easy it is for "wee flying things" to smack you just above or below the safety glasses, and wind up bouncing around between your eye and the lens. This gets VERY exciting if the "wee object" is a piece of hot grinding slag or something of that nature. If I was looking for the absolute perfect hot object to do a cheek bounce and get past the glasses, it would be a primer. As far as actual danger of an explosion.....you're pretty safe, even if something does go off. By safe, I mean, you're not likely to blow your fingers off. If a primer went off and hit you, it's going to sting like hell, but it's not going to tear off any major pieces. After the primer is seated, you chances of something going off are not zero, but pretty darned close. Once it's in it's hole, it's in a pretty safe place. Don't worry about the powder. Smokeless powder is incredibly stable as long as it's not heated, and it's under it's detonation pressure. Your press isn't going to compromise either of those two conditions.
My 2 cents. :)
 
Wow - thanks for all the tips guys!

I just finished 100 more .45 rounds, and just converted the press to small primers and the .223 shellplate. Now it's time to work up a load for my new T3 Varmint!
 
What's the OAL of an 80 gr load?

I just did a few 40gr VMAX (i'm a gopher slayer, not LR target guy.. :)) and the OAL is 2.260, and it BARELY fits in the T3 mag.

Does anyone know of the real world max length in a T3 mag is?
 
OAL of a .223 with an 80 gr bullet is about 2.560" for my rifle. This rifle is single load only with a Krieger barrel with a .223 Wylde match chamber.
You are about right there for the working length of a T3 mag.
 
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