Loading 308 Win on a Dillon 550?

HKfan

HKfan

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Hi everyone

I have a Dillon 550 and I want to start developing some loads for my 308's.

Previously I have paid someone else to reload for me (no time) but I am going to buy some dies and start doing some myself.

Would you recommend against loading 308 on the 550? Anything I should know?

Can you guys also recommend the best dies to get?

Cheers! :pirate:
 
No reason you shouldn't....

depending on your powder you might have issues with the powder bar in the measure but that's easily resolved

as for dies .. Dillon does a 308 but it sorta depends on your purpose... as you can get a from a RCBS set with micrometer seating die down to Lee all steel dies. All should work but your purpose and budget should be the determining factors...
 
I found my Dillon 550 will throw Varget from -.5 gr to about +.3 gr. Not accurate enough for me and my game. It might work better with ball powder.
I also found that it would not seat the bullets as concentric as I wanted even with Redding Competition Seating Dies.
I have gone back to an old Hornady powder thrower(-.2gr to +0.0 with Varget) and a Redding Big Boss single stage.
 
I load 300WM with my 550 but I only use it to size/seat.I found that it was not doing a good enough job at dropping the powder(H4831SC)I wanted 70.4gr and it was all over the place 69.7/71.4 and so on.Might not seem like a big deal to some guys but it made a big difference in grouping with my 700P.Some might disagree.
 
If you have a 550 already, I'd give it a try.
I've had what sounds like exceptional luck loading .223 & .308 on my 550, both with Varget. I like it so much I bought another 550 for the pistol ammo and dedicated my first machine to my rifles:D Varget drops are within .2 grains which works great for me.
 
Thanks guys.

I want precision loads and so I had thought of loading 3 stages on the press but putting the powder in myself with an electronic powder thrower.

Thanks for the advice - the 700's need some nice rounds to keep them happy :)
 
mine came from dillon factory set-up for 308 as i was shooting competition at the time and didn't want to be bothered doing a caliber conversion- still is to this day- use ww748 powder, and it's always within .1 grain + or - got a lee 1000 to do 223, but put a dillon measure on it as the lee doesn't have enough capacity
 
I load 30-06 on my Dillon (using 748) with no problems. I have read of shooters loading MATCH GRADE 223 on a Dillon. Consistency in throwing the powder (same even stroke each time) is the key. Benchrest shooters use a powder thow for reloading and one cant argue with their results.
 
I thought about loading rifle on a progressive then figured that because of sizing then trimming involved I was saving almost no time. I now use the progressive for pistol only.

Brian
 
lcq said:
I thought about loading rifle on a progressive then figured that because of sizing then trimming involved I was saving almost no time. I now use the progressive for pistol only.

Brian
Click to expand...
i just use the lee trimmer before i do anything, after tumbling, and i reload in 50 -100 round lots- the 45 acp loading blocks are great for this-
 
Actually full length resizing is what stretches the cases the most that is why triming is done after resizing. I could be wrong but that is what all the rifle guys I shoot with do.

Brian
 
I load 223 on a 550, I don't see why 308 would be much different. I tumble, then size and trim, then tumble for 5 minutes to get the lube off. This brass prep stage will take the same amount of time on a progressive as a single, but the prime/charge/seat/crimp afterwards will go a lot faster on the progressive. If you have the cash, get the Dillon motorized trimming die, trimming is done at the same time as sizing, and tumbling the lube off usually removes enough brass from the mouth that you don't have to chamfer or deburr.

You probably won't get match ammo out of the 550 unless you go as slow as a single stage, but zombie ammo can be cranked out pretty fast.
 
trimming after resizing makes no sense with a progressive- you're breaking the cycle and you've already already trimmed to factory tolerances
 
Trimming after resizing makes perfect sense, but it will cause one to adjust their loading steps.
Even if your case prep is the same, priming, powder drop, bullet seating and crimping are way faster with a progressive.

I've compared ammo made on my rockchucker and the same loads made on my 550b, and there is no discernable difference on paper.

'Savage' on the board here printed a 1" 5 round group at 400m with ammo ripped off on my 550, so match quality ammo can and is produced on Dillon progressives...
 
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