| Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:47 AM |
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lynxpilot
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Picked up my Dillon RL550B and stuff today. Bought the press, quick change and caliber conversion kits, electronic powder scale, vibratory case cleaner, extra primer tubes, oversize and magnum powder thingies, bullet puller, primer flip tray, stand, walnut media, polish, primers, some bullets and cases, N110, and all die sets for 9mm, 7mmRM, 223R, SW500, and 45ACP.
I have the Lyman manual and ABC's of reloading. I have a few crimp dies, bullets, and other odds and ends on the way from internet orders. Will set up the press and start working on adjustments this weekend. I have everything I need for 7mmRM, SW500, or 45ACP. The 9mm and 223R stuff is just for friends and they'll have to provide cases and bullets. I'll also need a few different powders for the different calibers. I think the N110 was the SW500 recommended from Lyman.
Oh, and I sprung on an inexpensive chrono too. I figure they're pretty important for starting out in order to verify where I move from my starting point powder loading.
Should I start the powder load in the middle, or use the minimum and work my way up?
I'm really looking forward to this.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 12:11 PM |
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2nd Post |
RemMan700
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Congrats on the new toys!
You will always want to start at the minimum charge and work you way up. Sometimes you may find that minimum charges are more accurate in your gun then a hot load. Just read your manual a couple times, and then go by another manual and read through it too before you start to reload. The Lyman manual you have is really good. I would say pick up a Lee manual also.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 01:16 PM |
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3rd Post |
72coupe
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Don't worry, you will never have everything you think you need. I have been reloading for 40 years and there is still a long list of things I want.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 18th, 2009 01:41 PM |
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Paul Tummers
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A nice outfit to start with, congratulations!
One thing, much overlooked;
As for starting loads, be careful withe the OAL of your rounds; the OAL defines the volume of the case, and also the pressure of the load.
If you seat your bullets deeper, the case volume will be smaller- pressure increases.
This is one of the reasons one never can substitute a load for a given bullet for use with another bullet of the same weight but from another brand, because shape can be different, a hollow base bullet creates more volume in the case of the loaded round than a flat-based one.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19th, 2009 01:40 AM |
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shooterjon
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Congratulations,Lots of good advise coming your way,remember pay attention and try to double check all your reloading steps.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19th, 2009 01:49 AM |
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lynxpilot
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Roger that! No hurry on this one. I'm taking everything straight from the book. Will use only the highlighted powders in the manual and will check measures on pretty much every round until I'm comfortable with the press.
I'm thinking I'll load 5, run down to the chrono and target, shoot them, record everything, and come back for changes. If things look good, I'll stick with that.
Last thing to order is powder for the various rounds.
Man, it's expensive.
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| Posted: Fri Jun 19th, 2009 03:23 PM |
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Jake1944
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Great to hear you got your equipment. Pay close attention to what you are doing, read everything twice, double check yourself, if you don't understand something ask questions and enjoy your reloading, stay safe.
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| Posted: Sun Jun 21st, 2009 03:50 PM |
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8th Post |
lynxpilot
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Observations from first attempts. As from the other thread, it was difficult in the resizing die. I lubed the remaining cases and it got a little bit better. I'm wondering if the case lube has any effects on primers??
Had a difficult time with powder load consistency. I must have gone through 100 pulls to get where I wanted and it still wasn't that consistent. I selected a load that was in the middle of the range given by Lyman because I didn't want to end up out of the range altogether.
I'm not very good at loading primers. Spilled a few and about had a heart attack trying to find them (we have a granddaughter that visits often). Found them all and they still don't load in the tube on the machine very well. Hopefully that will improve.
Not sure if I got the crimp right. It's in the cannelure, but I'm wondering if I crimped too much. If I posted a picture, would anybody be able to tell from the photo?
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| Posted: Sun Jun 21st, 2009 08:25 PM |
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72coupe
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Getting the lube just right is a learned skill. No one can tell you just exactly how to do it.
As far as powder consistency I don't know how you get that from a Dillon set up. In a stand alone powder measure there are some tricks that can help.
Arrange your order so that your powder sits on top of the drum and not the chamber.
Tap the side of the measure lightly with a small stick (I use a tooth brush handle) to settle the column of powder after filling and refilling.
Always use the same motion in throwing the charge and give the charge plenty of time to fall into and out of the chamber.
Primers, well just be careful, I always drop a few myself.
Crimp, its pretty hard to over crimp unless you buckle the neck. If the neck or shoulder is not buckled then its probably not over crimped.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23rd, 2009 01:19 PM |
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miestro_jerry
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Sounds like your ready to go, good shooting!
Jerry
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23rd, 2009 01:54 PM |
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swampshooter
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The dillon 550 will throw consistent charges if you use small grained powder or ball powder. Consistent operation of the press is the key to the whole thing. Powders such as imr 3031 will not throw consistent charges from any measure, best to avoid them if loading on a 550. Learning to load is best accomplished on a single stage press, but since you already purchased a 550 just make sure your dies are all properly adjusted. IMHO you should set the dillon 550 aside and buy a single stage press and learn to load good ammo on that before you ever attempt to use the dillon. A single stage press always comes in handy anyway and i consider it a necessary part of my loading set-up. Good Luck.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23rd, 2009 02:02 PM |
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miestro_jerry
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Swamp,
I agree with you about the powder with the Dillons and most other mechanical powder measures. That is why I use a lot of Winchester powders when I am loading with my Dillons.
I have a Rock Chucker that is used a a lot on my reloading bench and everybody should have a decent single press. Besides loading with the single stage, it is also the problem solving press, when something needs to be unstuck or resized tighter, the R' Chucker comes in handy.
Jerry
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| Posted: Sat Jun 27th, 2009 01:07 AM |
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13th Post |
lynxpilot
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Tried out the first ever hand loads today. My first go at the SW500 was with factory 400 gr Magtech SJSP. It was pretty tough on the hand. My reloads were 350 gr SJSP with midrange load N110 per the Lyman manual (I used data from 350 gr JHP).
My only problem was that the casings had swelled from my crimp job. It wasn't enough to see outright but was really hard getting them in the wheel. I loaded a single first and shot it to make sure I wouldn't have to be doing 5 surgeries instead of just one. It fire formed really nicely and came right out. Shot the other 4 same way and just aimed at an old dead tree in a gulley way down in my pasture. Seemed to be right on what I was aiming at, but only at about 20 yds. Tomorrow, I'll try a few loads and work out crimping issues, then shoot at a real target at about 50 yds.
I'm not sure if it was the bullet weight, the load, or what, but these were a lot easier on the hand. I could have shot all day long. I REALLY like this gun and also appreciate the helpful comments. I'll probably end up getting a RockChucker next week and follow the local wisdom. In any event, it's been a real hoot so far.
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| Posted: Sat Jun 27th, 2009 03:02 AM |
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14th Post |
lynxpilot
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I'd also done some .45 ACP and tried to chamber them in my XD. They're also too fat for the chamber. Need work on the crimping thing. I'm actually not exactly sure what I'm doing wrong. I took the dial caliper up and down the casings and wasn't out of spec as per the manual. Back to the drawing board I guess.
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| Posted: Sat Jun 27th, 2009 07:30 PM |
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72coupe
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You can iron out those 45 ACPs by puting your 308 full length sizer in your single stage press and running them most of the way into it. This will smooth out any kinks or bulges you might have. At least in your 45 cases.
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RemMan700
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Paul Tummers wrote: A nice outfit to start with, congratulations!
One thing, much overlooked;
As for starting loads, be careful withe the OAL of your rounds; the OAL defines the volume of the case, and also the pressure of the load.
If you seat your bullets deeper, the case volume will be smaller- pressure increases.
This is one of the reasons one never can substitute a load for a given bullet for use with another bullet of the same weight but from another brand, because shape can be different, a hollow base bullet creates more volume in the case of the loaded round than a flat-based one. This always made me wonder how the Lee manual never specified bullet brands. It just gives a generic bullet weight.
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Paul Tummers
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Right, and they also strongly advise to start low and work your load up.
That way they stay safe for claims and give good advise without having to look deeper into the subject and do not have to perform a lot of testing.
My favorite reloading manual? Lyman !
Regards,
Paul T.
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miestro_jerry
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How about some pictures.
Jerry
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| Posted: Fri Jul 31st, 2009 05:54 AM |
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sako06
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check out http://www.uniquetek.com for dillon items like larger powder hoppers,I bought a turbo bearing for smoother shell plate indexing,shell plate illuminator to see if the cases have same charge of powder.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 31st, 2009 01:04 PM |
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CB900F
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Lynxpilot;
I'll also suggest obtaining the Speer #14 and Hornady #7 manuals. Both of them use real world guns for load development, not test barrels. I've consistently found them to agree far more closely with results from my chrono than loads from other manuals that use test barrels.
I use the Dillon RL550B also. But, that being said, there's an RCBS Rockchucker on the bench too.
900F
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