Dillon 550

[RMW59]

Can a Dillon 550 press turn out super consistent ammo like a high quality single stage press?

 

[memilanuk]

Depends on your definition of 'super accurate'. Win a 1k BR match... I'd kind of doubt it, but maybe.

Others do fairly well w/ a 550 or 650 and some sort of hybrid process... David Tubbs has won 11 or 12 National Championships in NRA HP w/ ammo loaded on a highly modified 550... I think it's a pretty safe bet his guns shoot sub-half MOA at 600yds. More details available from his book 'The Rifle Shooter'. John Whidden,U.S. Palma team qualifier)describes his process here: http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek059.html. Keep in mind these aren't exactly stock Dillon presses, and the charges are being *very* carefully weighed, etc. Almost enough hassle to make a good single stage look simpler by far, but I think it's very doable.

YMMV,

Monte

 

[Linefinder]

I'm certainly not saying it can't be done, but I couldn't do it. That's why as I progressed in reloading experience, I sold my 550 for a song and a dance and "progressed" to a Rockchucker.

The high volume the 550 churns out is, IMHO, a highly over-rated attribute. I have a very serious pdog addiction, and I still manage to comfortably crank out enough rounds on my SS press to never have to worry about running out of ammo, unless I hunt 5 days straight.

I used my 550 as a "modified" single stage for quite some time, before finally deciding it was never going to do the job I wanted it to do.

 

[USAPatriot]

I just had to post to fix the broken link in the previous post. Punctuation sort of confuses browsers...

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek059.html

 

[bmx]

My Dillon 550 will load cases and bullets to within .001 runout
using good dies such as Forster and Redding. I have some custom 7/8-14 threaded dies that runout as tight as .0004.

The press will throw 2/10 grain powder charges with powders like Benchmark, H-4895, VV-135 and VV-135. The slower burn rate powders such as 4350, 4831 and such I weigh the charges and drop thru a custom Dillon set up in the powder dispensing station.

I load all my varmint and long range ammo on the Dillon and load all short range stuff on an RCBS partner press and a Sinclair arbor press at the range.

If I could hit the daily conditions I would pre-load all my benchrest ammo on the Dillon and not have so much stuff to take to the range.

 

[Hammer]

Have some experience with Dillons and most single-stage presses. Continue to use both kinds. A Dillon can turn out accurate ammo for many purposes including prairie dog shooting and competition, though some may prefer other means.

One example of reloading setup

 

[shot410ga]

The only real issue you'll have with the Dillon 550 is the powder drop. You'll need to do some custom work on the powder drop from, say, a Hornady Precision Automatic Powder Dispenser to get the precise amount of powder, and you'll also need really good dies. But if one is not shooting Benchrest, the 550 works fine for medium to long-range reloading.

 

[powderbrake]

Can a Dillon 550 press turn out super consistent ammo like a high quality single stage press?

A buddy of mine is a Highpower shooter, he has reached the highest levels at Camp Perry National Championships, also has made the President's 100. So has his daughter at Camp Perry, and she got a college scholarship to the shooting team at Nebraska. All his ammo was loaded on a Dillon 550 and a Dillon 1050, so it is good enough to win at Camp Perry.

Is it good enough for short range benchrest, I don't think so.

When using a progressive press, it behaves differently if you are using only one station, vs having all the stations in action each time you pull the handle. For example, if you don't have a case in the resize location, the seating depth may be a little different from when you are seating and resizing at the same time.