Precision Reloading on a Dillon RL550B?

[DTOM83]

I'm wanting to get into precision reloading for my 308 and 7PRC. I already have a Dillon RL550B that I haven't used in years and I've only ever used it for bulk handgun ammo. My question is this --- am I better off just getting an RCBS rock chucker or can I use my Dillon for depriming/priming/case sizing and seating? Either way I would end up buying a auto trickler and case trimmer. Not sure what to do here. I don't want to waste any money on something I don't need but also don't want to use the wrong tool for the job either. Please let me know your thoughts and thank you in advance for all the helpful feedback. I love this forum and how helpful people are...

 

[jonboatjockey]

The Dillon is awesome for brass prep! I use 3 stations when resizing on my "precision" brass. First station is sizing die, second station is a neck brush, third station is a expander mandrel. After that brass goes in the tumbler, then back through the Dillon for priming and another round through the brush and mandrel. Probably don't need the latter two, but they're already setup in the die and it doesn't hurt anything. I then powder the brass as normal and seat with a Forster co-ax. I have used my Dillon for seating as well, just take the button out of station three and slide your powdered brass in there for seating. There are other ways to do it as well, but that would be the simplest way without have to buy anything additional.

Cortina and F Class John have a bunch of YouTube videos too that may give you some other ideas for brass prep processing with the Dillon.

 

[wind gypsy]

Your 550 will be great for precision ammo too. I picked one up with within the last year to speed things up compared to my single stage.

I think i like the simplicity of a single stage if doing small batches but give me the 550 every time for cranking out 100+ Round batches. I would probably do brass processing and seating/charging on different tool heads. I primarily use the 550 so i only have to handle brass once for prime/charge/seat functions. I can size at least as fast on a single stage since I decap/size in one step and dont have a separate step to expand with a mandrel like some. If I did brass prep on the 550 id probably set it up to 1- decap, 2- size with no expander ball, 3- expand with a mandrel.

It's a huge time saver to use the powder thrower on press but you have to accept that charge weights wont be as consistent as weighed charges. Depending on your needs, the performance difference may just be noise depending on how easy the power meters. Right now i'm loading all my 223 ammo with thrown charges of xbr and it doesn't impact performance for my use.

Lots of good info as mentioned on the referenced youtube channels and also on snipershide there is a reloading for precision on a 550 thread that has a lot of good info.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

You can make really good ammo on a dillon press.

 

[ThorM465]

You should always get proficient in loading ammo on a single stage first. A progressive has to many variables for a newb and even many experience hand loaders to track. That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to load practice, competition, or even defense ammo on my 550B. However, I still load all of my hunting ammo on a single stage. I took this advice over a decade ago from a serious shooter and hunter who could afford to buy whatever he wanted for ammo or reloading. Over that time, I've found enough wisdom in it that I've stuck to it.

 

[wind gypsy]

You should always get proficient in loading ammo on a single stage first. A progressive has to many variables for a newb and even many experience hand loaders to track. That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to load practice, competition, or even defense ammo on my 550B. However, I still load all of my hunting ammo on a single stage. I took this advice over a decade ago from a serious shooter and hunter who could afford to buy whatever he wanted for ammo or reloading. Over that time, I've found enough wisdom in it that I've stuck to it.

He's not a newb though, he's already well versed in how the press works.

 

[ThorM465]

He's not a newb though, he's already well versed in how the press works.

If all he has done is pistol on a 550, then he is for precision ammo for all intents and purposes. Pistol ammunition is much more forgiving.

 

[Hydra6]

I loaded 6BR for PRS on a Dillon 550 - even used the Dillon powder drop with AA2520 powder. I have loaded 65CM and 260 on the Dillon 550 with Staball65 powder using the Dillon powder drop. I moved back to a RCBS single stage press when I bought a premium digital scale/dropper.

 

[wind gypsy]

If all he has done is pistol on a 550, then he is for precision ammo for all intents and purposes. Pistol ammunition is much more forgiving.

Ok. What would he do different when it comes to setting up sizing and seating dies on a progressive compared to a single stage?

I've never sized on my 550, only primed/charged/seated so maybe i'm missing something on the sizing front. Dont have the same cam over i guess but i'm not sure why the process would be different for adjusting sizing die depth?

 

[ResearchinStuff]

ya'll know there are dies/integrated funnels so you can charge a case on a progressive and still use your fancy powder trickler, right? only thing i've found you really can't do is trim in a meaningful way because you leave a huge internal and external burr on the case mouth.

 

[ThorM465]

Ok. What would he do different when it comes to setting up sizing and seating dies on a progressive compared to a single stage?

I've never sized on my 550, only primed/charged/seated so maybe i'm missing something on the sizing front. Dont have the same cam over i guess but i'm not sure why the process would be different for adjusting sizing die depth?

Fundamentally there shouldn't be any difference. If we're talking about sizing, I don't think you're going to see any difference and there really isn't a reason to use a single stage over a progressive. It's powder drop and bullet seating where you're more likely to get in trouble with a progressive if you don't adhere to extreme consistency and get a feel for the handle to the point you can notice the subtle difference in pull that could indicate an issue. It's more difficult to catch a miss or subtle issue with a progressive because of everything going on at once.
I consider myself to be pretty anal in my reloading and I've had a squid in a batch of 45 I loaded on my 550. For whatever reason no powder was dropped into that case. Luckily it was so shallow that the next round wouldn't load. Talk about a pucker moment once I realize why a round would load. You'll probably be fine loading in a 550 with enough attention to detail and experience. However, your likelihood of an issue is significantly higher. For me the risk isn't worth for hunting ammunition, but I'll accept it with other ammo.

 

[Chanimal]

You can load great ammo on a Dillon. That is what I use, but I don't use it as a true progressive. First - I de-prime, size and mandrel all cases, then I clean all cases, then I one by one prime each case in the Dillon press. Then separate from the press I individually measure and drop power in each case, come back to the press and seat bullets. Breaking these steps out like this allows for much better QC processes, and decreases how much you need to focus on at one time.

In an ideal world I would de-prime, size and mandrel on the Dillon, then have a separate priming tool, and come back to the Dillon for seating, or purchase a single stage press dedicated to seating bullets, but I have not been able to justify the cost for that just yet.