Need Dillion 550B tips and tricks

[farmerjohn]

Ohh ya , one other kinda big thing... Don't sit down and liad a thousand rounds , be absolutely sure that it's a good load and exactly what you want before you mass produce ammo even pistol ammo.... Loading a few hundred rounds is easy , breaking them down because of a mistake you didn't see or a bad load sucks really bad....

WHAT HE SAID!!!! Been there and done it.......had to shoot up over 1k 38s in a.357 carbine cause I got some too hot, marked them all with a red permanent marker and kept them in the safe till I used them up......
Farmer

 

[Rsadams]

When buying conversion kits, calibers of same case head diameter will have same shell plate and buttons.
Example .380 auto .223

This file from Dillon can save you a few bucks because you can use a shell plate or buttons for many different calibers so you only need one or the other and the correct powder funnel , which is also used in more than one caliber....you can just order the parts you need instead of a complete caliber conversion kit...

 

[eric32]

So i bolted up the press, started messing with the auto primer feeder and the charge thrower.

Ran into 3 issues.

1. Auto primer feeder doesnt pick up the unless i push down on the little plastic follower.

2. I dont have large charge bars for a 308win

3. Dont have 260rem insert for the powder funnel die.

 

[Bc'z]

Try adjusting this Allen out a lil bit n see if that helps. Also check spring to see if its returning properly.
Make double for damn sure primers aren't getting released sideways!

 

[eric32]

I dont think its stripping them from the tube. I have the tube with a red plastic piece insert pointed down and rotated locked into place

 

[Bc'z]

Behind this flat spring is a white pin that moves out of the way when you move the handle down. It it functioning ?
There's a sight window in the front of primer magazine to check.
Also do you have proper primer bar installed?

 

[eric32]

Yes the window popped put with a plastic ball that i lubed up.

I tested fitted the primers inside the holder make sure its the right size

Its almost like the red plastic piece at the end of the primer tube wont let them fall in order to get picked up. But i can push down on the follower with a little pressure they will drop

 

[snert]

Keep the T7. use it for sizing and prep of that ammo. it is real nice to run the 550 with pre-sized ready to go cases.

 

[Bc'z]

Does the bottom of primer cup hang down a lil bit? If not the jaws are to snug on the mouth of magazine tube.
I just dropped 1 small riffle down without the follower.

 

[eric32]

Thats the culprit

 

[eric32]

Keep the T7. use it for sizing and prep of that ammo. it is real nice to run the 550 with pre-sized ready to go cases.

I sold the redding to a friend that was starting out, i have a lyman turret press might just use for decapping and sizing

 

[Bc'z]

Ok from the picture it looks like there might be a primer sideways.
Now I'm wondering about the height of of primer pickup. This is a shot of my large.wondering if you could adjust the pickup height?

 

[ridgeway]

For dropping 8208, I use a Hornady case activated powder drop die and use a Rcbs powder measure. Way more consistent.

 

[eric32]

Fixed

Pulled out a little to give it less tension the little tabs on the red feeder thing and works like a charm now

 

[Rsadams]

Fixed

Pulled out a little to give it less tension the little tabs on the red feeder thing and works like a charm now

Call Dillon for a free replacement part... Their warranty is outstanding... Someone on here told me to get the spare parts kit for just these situations , replace your parts from your kit and call Dillon for the replacement part so you don't go down and have to wait... Maybe the plastic got bent or hard in storage...

Some guy said on a video I watched before picking up my Dillon last year , that maybe Dillon has fallen behind over the last 20 years because they really haven't updated their presses much.... To me that's a great thing... DON'T fix what's not broke , and because of it when you call with a problem they normally know the answer... My only complaint about my Dillon 550c is sometimes when it ejects a loaded round it tips over and doesn't fall into the bin , it falls over and I have to take a finger and knock it into the bin...

 

[Bc'z]

Fixed

Pulled out a little to give it less tension the little tabs on the red feeder thing and works like a charm now

Its amazing what a couple vanilla crowns can do!!
Glad I could help.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

i have a powder throw tip that will drop your variations in half, at least

example: target drop in grains to be 40.0 . instead of adjusting for one full powder dump @40.0 , split it up into multiple handle pulls and since 8 will go into 40 5 times ( or 10 4 times... whatever ) .... put your pistol slide in there and adjust so it dumps close to 8 grains just to get you in the ball park ,, so you have to pull the handle 5 times to get a 40 grain dump , then just fine tune it until 5 handle pulls dumps exactly 40 grains

depending on the powder type , variations can range around .2 +/- with standard throw technique totaling .4 in overall variation ... again depending on type of powder when doing this multiple handle throw idea. you will likely get 4 outta 5 at your target range and the fifth .1 grain off

basically comes down to how much powder touches the inside surfaces of the slide you are using

although you cant run it as a progressive anymore doing this and you would want to verify each powder charge before seating , its a good workaround

 

[eric32]

Good idea seems like alot of added steps for my needs. I am only throwing for a 308win everything else i will be using the powder funnel die

 

[Bob L.]

Fixed

Pulled out a little to give it less tension the little tabs on the red feeder thing and works like a charm now

Buy extras of these - 12 or more. Many times you can try and tweak one like you did and never be successful. I just put a new one in right off the bat. If there is a weakness to the 550B, this is it.
By the way, I don’t have a better design. Some things are just going to be a pain. It’s the nature of the beast.

 

[eric32]

thanks for the heads up, i am going to mess with the charging system tonight for the 308win loads. i am going to try and sneak 2600fps from a 17" inch barrel. i have a good feeling since it was doing 2580 with M118LR at 18" inches. If it will do 2650 fps i will be super excited