Dillon RL550b for reloading?

Gnomon

Gnomon

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Hi,

I have a Dillon RL550b press, and am wondering if it's suitable for reloading long-range rifle rounds? I anticipate that, come spring, I'll start out with shooting .223. I also have a Lyman 1000XP electronic scale.

Will this press be OK or should I sell it and get a different press?

Rob
 
"...suitable for reloading long-range rifle rounds?..." Yep. You have to work up the load first, then go to mass production.
What do you call 'long range'? How well your rifle will shoot at long range depends on the rifling twist. Heavy bullets(preferably match bullet$. Not cheap.) work better for long range. Not all .223 rifles have suitable rifling twist for long range.
 
sunray said:
"...suitable for reloading long-range rifle rounds?..." Yep. You have to work up the load first, then go to mass production.
What do you call 'long range'? How well your rifle will shoot at long range depends on the rifling twist. Heavy bullets(preferably match bullet$. Not cheap.) work better for long range. Not all .223 rifles have suitable rifling twist for long range.
Click to expand...

I haven't gotten the rifle yet, but I assumed I get something either 8:1 or 9:1.

Rob
 
The dillon uses volumetric measuring. Every long range shooter I know weighs each charge and weighs very carefully. Weighing an extruded powder is far more accurate than using identical volumes; with size of many cartridges, the loads can compress when the hopper is full in a volume dump. For the 3-5 grains of flaked pistol powder they are the cat's cinamon ring

My 550's were for pistol ammo and for gopher rounds. If I was loading for ultra accuracy, i would not use the dillon.
 
Kevan said:
Had the same problem with my 550, also very irregular seating depth.
Solved the problem by using my Co-ax for loading my match ammo.
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X3. I have a AT-500, the semi-turret press, dumbed-down version of the 550B and have had the same problem loading .308 Win.

I bought a Hornady microjust seating stem (you could go Forster or Redding too) and it helped a bit adjusting for constant variation but was more or less a band aid to something more obvious.

Then a friend with a 650 told me to look at the head and check for play. Since there was play, next was to properly shim the head in the press. Facepalm self and Viola! The variation in seating depth went away.

YMMV.

Other than that, I love my press and would recommend Dillon highly.
 
"...haven't gotten the rifle yet..." Still shopping or are you waiting? Got a budget in mind?
The Savage Model 12BVSS comes with 1 in 9 in .223. A Rem M700 uses 1 in 12. The manufacturers use the same twist for all their rifles in a given chambering.
Epp's is listing a bunch of Savage .223's. Between $625 and $783 depending on the model. $893 for a Rem 700 VTR. $792 for an SPS. Plus the cost of a scope, of course.
Should have mentioned it before. The press, any press, doesn't care what you use the ammo for. However, the 550B will work just fine for .223. That'd be my 'Yep'. Mind you, Obtunded has a point too. Really good match grade ammo isn't loaded on a progressive.
 
No, I haven't bought the rifle yet. Anyone who's been observing my confusion might recall that I'd even been thinking of getting a .22lr for the winter, but centrefire is calling me, and I feel strongly tempted to just go that direction.

Bob Raymond has been suggesting I just go for 6BR, and that seems like a more logical direction, since my interest is in F Class. So I'll keep my eye on the EE forum, and see what pops up.

As for my RL550, if I was to circumvent the power stage (by simply not putting powder in the hopper) and use my Lyman 1000XT electronic scale by hand, to charge on a round by round basis, would that enable me to keep using my Dillon for the short term?

Rob
 
RY,

Thats what I do for .44mag since I load it kinda crispy and don't want any variations to be too hot. Since its for a single action I don't go through alot of rounds and I dont want to buy annother powder thrower assembly for it. I just put a Lee Powder though die in that station and one of my funnels nicly fits into it. Scale a charge, place a bullet on the seating station, pull the handle down, pour the charge, push the handle up, and repeat... slow but it works.

Bullets never go straight into the case. They always are alittle off center. When you spin a round with a dial gauge riding on the bullet you can measure the "wobble" or runout. Progressive reloaders have more flex in them and the tool head on the 650 can shift around alittle. Plus the shell holder is off axis or off to the side when the bullets are seated allowing for more flex and variation.

You also have to deal with case lubing. For rifle rounds you can lube the outside of the case and wipe it off with a damp rag at the end. Generally you should also lube the neck to keep the resizing ball from excessivly pulling on the neck, thereby lenghting the case and pulling it out of line leading to more case neck runout. I use a Hornady carbide ball but it still needs alittle lube to run smooth.

For a bolt gun(and semi autos depending on what side of the fence you sit on) you can get a Redding neck sizing die or Lee collet die and not worry about the resizing ball and neck streaching. I haven't tried this yet.

Lastly, somewhere down the line you will have to trim the cases which is a pain in the ass.

For my bolt guns I single stage, but I do use my 650 for my M305 which makes better quality ammo than surplus but not "match grade".

Gas Can
 
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I bought a Dillon 550 when I first started shooting long range. The powder charges could vary as much as 2 gr. Not good enough for long range! Then I thought I would just use it as a single stage but even with a Redding competition seating die I was getting run-out. I bought a Redding Big Boss press and the Dillon sat bolted to the other end of the bench for a couple years until I decided the sell it.
If I was a pistol shooter and looking for high volume loading I would buy another Dillon, but for long range shooting a single stage is the way to go.
 
Whidden Gunworks makes a high quality tool holder for the Dillon presses. You are still weighing powder and dumping it into a funnel on the press however as a thrower, especially the Dillon, is not accurate enough. John Whidden uses this to load his ammunition and you won't find too many shooters with a record of wins as long as his. Great guys to deal with as well.
 
You are still weighing powder and dumping it into a funnel on the press ...
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Which I've done, based largely on the Whidden web site - I use a RL450 powder die and funnel, with a RCBS Chargemaster weighing each charge.
 
Ice-Pick said:
I'd measure each charge exactly and use a single stage with GOOD dies.
Consider RCBS Rock chucker type presses.

M.
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I've been looking at a number of presses, and am wondering if the turret style ones are ok? Otherwise, it seems like it would take a long time to accumulate a decent amount of ammo. At least, coming from a progressive, it seems so. Here are some I've been reading about?
http://www.wholesalesports.com/storefront/hunting/reloading/presses/rock-chucker-supreme-master-reloading-kit/prod85971.html
http://www.wholesalesports.com/storefront/hunting/reloading/presses/t-7-turret-press/prod189620.html
http://www.wholesalesports.com/storefront/hunting/reloading/presses/big-boss-pro-pak-press-kit/prod213410.html
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/presses-and-kits/LyC_RPK_Expert_Tmag.php
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/presses-and-kits/LyC_RPK_Expert_Crusher.php

Thoughts? Preferences?

Rob
 
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Why I don't use a progressive to make my accurate ammo:

You can't clean the primer pockets on a progressive - does it matter?

Primer seating may be inconsistent with a ram - does that matter?

You can't use a die that needs lube so body dies are out - I don't like cleaning that many cases by hand

You still have to weigh your charges so your press sits idle while you run the scale. Powder measures are not accurate enough with extruded powders.

Will there be increased runout or variations in seating depth? Both very bad.

If I was making varminting ammo in large volumes where a few zingers here and there wouldn't matter, I would consider a progressive, a ball powder and crank away.

For my competition ammo where one flyer means disaster and I need to tune within 0.1gr, there is no progressive, or powder measure for that matter, that will work for me. 223's can be very sensitive on load variation.

If you do end up with a slow twist barrel, the 55gr Vmax will go all the way out to 1200yds without complaint in a 223. We never went further but I am sure it would.

If all you want is MOA'ish type accuracy, I am sure that a progressive can do the job but that gets pretty frustrating at LR unless your target is also large.

YMMV.

Jerry
 
I seat my bullets in several stages. I seat partially, rotate the case about a third of a turn and seat a bit further. this technique drastically reduces runout. It is impractical to do this sort of seating on a progressive press.

I default to my "motivation": The title of this forum.

The Dillon is convenient, not precise.
 
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