BB&G's Reloading on a Dillon 550 Thread

[Bigblue&Goldie]

My daughter’s whole kindergarten program is on quarantine, so I thought I’d share what I’ve been working on lately in between playing teacher and trying to be somewhat productive with work. Apparently Imgur doesn’t embed on GJ anymore, so the pics have to be thumbnails.

One of my life passions is long distance shooting, but since I’ve had kids I just haven’t made the time to do it. I lost a really good friend and shooting buddy on Thanksgiving, which motivated me to get back into match shooting. Because of my fatherly obligations to my kids, I can’t spend my life in the reloading room, so I’ve been looking at ways to be more efficient. One of the efficiencies I came up with is switching from a single stage press to my Dillon 550 to take advantage of not having to change dies, and handle the brass less throughout the process. At the same time, I don’t want to compromise on accuracy, which requires some modifications to the Dillon equipment. Ultimately, the Dillon is being used as a slightly faster turret press as I will still do a lot of work off the press. This may be long winded, but the goal is to describe the process in a way that reloaders and non-reloaders with a basic understanding can follow.

I purchased 6 billet tool heads and storage studs from Jofer USA. I have no affiliation with these guys, but their products are high quality and a bargain. I started off making a storage rack using the 6 studs from Jofer. This will allow me to keep my dies all setup for quick caliber changes (more on that later). Purchased a piece of scrap plate, squared it up, countersunk some holes for the hardware (oddball M6 stuff) and added some ¼”-20 rubber feet I had leftover from another project. This setup fits perfectly on my reloading bench out of the way.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Next came time to “accurize” the heads. The heads on a Dillon slide into place and are retained by two .125” pins. This makes for quick toolhead changes, but allows for a few thousandths of upward movement when cycling the press. This movement can cause variances in your brass during the case resizing process. To alleviate the movement, each die head was drilled, tapped, and #5-40 helicoils were inserted. This allows for a screw to be used to cinch the heads all the way up, removing the play. As the heads are pulled up by the screws the top surface of the head sits slightly proud of the top surface of the press causing interference with the screws/washers, so a minor relief was milled into each side.

Attached is an image of the Dillon in "stock" 9mm configuration using on press priming and powder throw as Dillon intended. If you look close, you can see the standard .125" pin's head below the powder measure.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

The next theory is that allowing your dies to have a little bit of wiggle or “float” allows them to self center reducing runout. Reloading dies are usually threaded ¾”-17, so they will move in the threads until tightened all the way down onto the lock ring. If your lockring isn’t flat, or your press/die relationship isn’t perfectly inline, then any variance will show up as runout. To allow the dies to “float” you pin the lock ring to the head, which prevents die rotation, but still gives you that aforementioned wiggle to allow the dies to center. All play comes from the slightly larger hole (#31) in the lock ring than the 5/64” spring roll pin (#43 roll pin hole).

I chose to use all Forster brand lock rings as they are wide, easy to drill aluminum, and clamp tightly on the dies. For those looking to do this, I found a good location to drill for the roll pins was .280" up/down and .280" over from the center hole in the toolhead; in other words they are on a .560" square pattern.

Only 1 die is pictured in these images. Holes #1-3 will all be used, and #4 will also be used for gas guns that require a crimp die.

This particular toolhead was my test mule. The relief for the screws is larger than the rest because I was covering up a spot where I failed to raise my quil and smashed a centering drill into the edge of the toolhead.....rookie.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

The final thing I did to the Dillon 550 was to remove the priming mechanism that comes on the press. I do my priming with a separate tool that allows for more accurate and consistent seating depth. When removing this, the ram surface is below the surface of the silver ejection chute on the 4th stage causing the expelled cartridge to jam up. I made a space that bolts in place of the primer mechanism out of a piece of .500” aluminum scrap and a random ¼”-20 shoulder bolt I had. The ram head comes down and rests on the head of the shoulder bolt.

Maybe someone will find this interesting/helpful. All said and done, none of these ideas are “mine” except for the spacer above. These are all well documented modifications from far better reloaders and shooters than myself. Whidden Gunworks and Uniquetek sell fully decked out heads if you don’t have the tools or desire to modify them yourself. I’ve never personally used them, but they get stellar reviews. The nice part of all of this is there are no permanent mods done to the press and I can return it back to a 9mm machine in 10 minutes. I would say the hardest part of any of this was having to reverse engineer the head dimensions with calipers and an edge finder. It also took some experimenting to get the correct drill sizes for the lockring pin arrangement. The 5-40 helicoils are definitely a lesson in patience…...I don’t even want to get into that.

Reloading processes are unique to the guy performing them, but here’s my plan for this setup:

Deprime on a single stage Redding Boss with Lee universal decapping die. The single stage is super quick for this due to it’s short throw. It also keeps the carbon deposits off the Dillon, which wears on the ram shaft.
Dry tumble in walnut
Full length size on Dillon 550 in station 1 with no expander ball in die
Run a carbide “turning” mandrel in station 2 to expand neck to .002” under bullet diameter. This station doesn’t require a pin on the lock ring as mandrel dies usually float the mandrel itself within the die.
Trim, Chamfer, Deburr off press using a Giraud trimmer (huge time saver)
Prime off press on a Primal Right’s CPS tool (fast and precise)
Charge powder off press using an AutoTrickler V3 (fast and precise)
Insert charged case on station 3 and seat bullet
Station 4 is either empty or has a crimp die for rounds being used in an AR15 or the like. Rounds automatically eject out of station 4 into an Akro bin.

*I'll continue to add to this post as I get more of my setup put together (dies set, primer tool setup, trimmer, powder scale, etc. I'm waiting on some stuff right now and I've got some more stuff to make as time permits*

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I guess a quick write up of my other press is inline as it's a big part of my process....

This press is the smaller Redding "Boss" press. It loads some great ammunition, and has a nice, short throw. Years ago when I got it, nobody made an elevated mount for it, so you would mount it directly to the front of your bench. I bought a Dillon Strong Mount and made an adapter plate for the Redding. Now a days, you just go to Inline Fabrication and get it all turn key. I then added an aluminum tab that my Harrell's Benchrest powder measure clamped to, which is what I used to throw charges onto my scale pan.

Recently, I machined a bracket to hold 2 Akro bins to quickly be able to cycle through brass. For example, one bin would have spent primed brass and the other would hold brass after decapping. Because this press is now being mostly used for decapping, I went on ebay and bought the black dong looking thing that catches used primers as they are popped out. They then run down the tube into the little magnetic catch cup. Works great....looks like a dong.

 

[InDaRed2]

Not up to snuff with all the Dillion stuff but looks good.

I'm most interested in that primer catcher on the redding! Quick Google search and had my answer! My RCBS primer catch is horrible, gonna ****** up one of them for it!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm most interested in that primer catcher on the redding! Quick Google search and had my answer! My RCBS primer catch is horrible, gonna ****** up one of them for it!

They're 3D printed, so it may require some fitting, but mine works great so far. The Redding dropped about 20% of the primers before in stock configuration and now it damn near perfect and far cleaner.

 

[steves_001]

Very nice enhancements! I didn't know about the primer catcher tubes. Thanks for that!

 

[TMcCay]

I own a 550 also. Bought it 35 years ago and still love it. While I have never needed the a step up in the accuracy department since I wasn't shooting long range. I've always admired the guys that do and have thought at times about getting into it but couldn't justify another hobby.

I did understand why the 550 wouldn't be a long range shooters choice for a reloader just because of the inherent "slop" in it. Every case must be as close to identical as possible to achieve the kind of accuracy that is needed.

You have achieved quite the accomplishment. Great work!

 

[cspcrx]

Great stuff there! Funny I have a 550 and a Rock Chucker as well. These are awesome upgrades for making more consistent progressive ammo on this press. I have a few of the Unique Tek upgrades on mine. The primer process on these has been their largest source of headache for most owners. I found the plates Unique Tek sells fixed so much of it for me.

Without the primer seating process, that induces some shake into the machine, do you feel powder drops might be impacted?

Awesome stuff, may have to look into some of those heads.

 

[rattle_snake]

Man you have too many time intensive hobbies.

I almost got into a 550 setup long ago. I'm a fan of Dillon products including their calendars. I did internship at an electronic house in airpark, we made fire control joysticks for dillion machine guns.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Without the primer seating process, that induces some shake into the machine, do you feel powder drops might be impacted?

Awesome stuff, may have to look into some of those heads.

I don't think powder metering would be an issue with ball powder, but maybe flake? I choose to weigh each charge for ultimate accuracy as I use stick powder for all my rifle rounds, which doesn't meter well enough under the best of circumstances.

I know a lot of guys do use the Dillon primer setup for precision rounds, but I don't like how inconsistent it is with my 9mm. You can "accurize" the priming function, but I shoot 3 different types of large rifle primers, so I can't expect consistency when switching between the brands.

The Jofer stuff really seems nice for the money. Far cheaper than the bigger names with nice machining. A lot of guys on the Eno's forum spoke positively of them, which swayed me.

Man you have too many time intensive hobbies.

I almost got into a 550 setup long ago. I'm a fan of Dillon products including their calendars. I did internship at an electronic house in airpark, we made fire control joysticks for dillion machine guns.

That's why nothing ever gets done......typical guy that wants to do all the cool stuff with not enough time! I scroll through your thread and wonder how you're so productive.

I'm not gonna lie, I flip through their magazine they send out to see the employee of the month!

 

[cspcrx]

LOL that’s the first page that gets looked at by a lot of those who get their magazine. Your right ball will do much better.

Used to do IPSC and 3 gun when I was younger. Dad was always a reloaded so I learned early and have always enjoyed making my own loads.

A few years ago picked up a DPMS chambered in .260 rem from a bench shooter who wanted to try an auto loader. He loaded on a 550 as well and got the rifle, precision micrometer dies, head and load data. Picked it up because I have always wanted a long range rifle. Problem is it has an 18in barrel so drops a lot of velocity. Really need a 22 or 24 in barrel, but with the 6.5 creedmore taking off have really considered just getting a 22 in 6.5 barrel. Really want to do some 1000yd shooting with it for fun.

 

[slodat]

I got out of long range shooting, pistol shooting and reloading because it was diverting so much time and money away from my shop. I had a 1050 with bulletfeeder to crank out .45 and .233 stuff. Was a lot of fun. I’m happier in the shop these days.

I started out on a 550. It’s cool to see how things have progressed with improvements to the press. I used a Redding turret for my precision rounds. Reloading is very rewarding. Nice work on the mods!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I got out of long range shooting, pistol shooting and reloading because it was diverting so much time and money away from my shop. I had a 1050 with bulletfeeder to crank out .45 and .233 stuff. Was a lot of fun. I’m happier in the shop these days.

I started out on a 550. It’s cool to see how things have progressed with improvements to the press. I used a Redding turret for my precision rounds. Reloading is very rewarding. Nice work on the mods!

I really like the Redding T-7. I was actually planning on getting one, but decided to work with my Dillon as I already had it and didn't want to mount another one. Redding is my go to for a lot of things; always quality.

 

[Gummi Bear]

Nice!

I like what you’ve done with the 550. I’m following.


I also have a 550, which I use for bulk ammo (pistol and 223). Unique Tech has a lot of nice enhancements for the 550, making it a joy to use.

My single stage is a Redding Big Boss. I’ve had both for several years and I’m extremely happy with both.

My primer catcher is similar, but slightly different. The primer drops down the ram, and out the bottom, I use a kid size water bottle, and a short piece of clear tubing to attach it. Works great. I have also added a case ejector to my single stage. Once my brass has been deprimed, it’s kicked out of the shellholder, and it falls down a funnel into my pin tumbling bucket.

I reload all my long distance and hunting ammo on the Redding.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

 

[MJK]

Interesting to see what others do here.

I got into this a few years ago with the goal of trying to maximize rifle accuracy. My setup at moment is Redding T7, Lee decap, stainless pin tumble, Forster resize, LE Wilson trim, RCBS 505 manual weigh and Forster seating dies.

I'd love to speed up powder measurement, but have not been impressed with the electronic measurement done by a Hornady system a friend has. What are the precision-oriented amongst you all using? (mostly IMR4350 pin and H414 ball if it matters)

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Honestly, I wasn't impressed with any of the electronic scales sold by reloading companies. You really need a lab grade scale if trickling for the sensitivity. I like beam scales for long distance shooting if not using a lab grade scale. For 500yds or less a Chargemaster Lite would be my choice when trying to speed up over a beam scale. Granted, this is if you and your equipment are good enough to see the difference down range. I'm out of practice, but I hate blaming my equipment, so I spend a lot of time tuning my rifles.

 

[MJK]

I was afraid you were going to say that.

Sounds like I need to get a manual trickler and leave well enough alone.

Cheers and thanks for the sanity check.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm definitely no expert, that's just my opinion. I know plenty of people that are happy with the Chargemasters. Another option to look at is the Dandy Trickler. I recently picked up a used one, but haven't had the chance to use it.

 

[MJK]

I've been through a few manual scales before I found the one I have - Ohaus made and very sensitive/repeatable. Much more so than any affordable electronic scale I have used.

So, your comments mesh with my experiences so far. I was just hoping you knew of something I did not.

I had not heard of Dandy - Will check that out. Thanks again.

 

[Gummi Bear]

I was afraid you were going to say that.

Sounds like I need to get a manual trickler and leave well enough alone.

Cheers and thanks for the sanity check.

I do pretty well with an older Hornady charge pro. The trick to getting it to throw more consistent loads, is to run it at slow speed (especially with extruded powders, ball and flake tend to meter more consistently)

For my long range rifle, I let it throw about a half grain under, then trickle from there.

I really like the Redding trickler. It’s heavy, much heavier than the RCBS or Lyman that I have owned in the past.

A balance beam is good (my go-to) And a good set of check weights is a good idea to keep on hand. If you can afford a high quality scale (like the aforementioned Ohaus) you’re well on your way. I really like the Dillon that my buddy got too.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

 

[MJK]

Thank you!

I will do exactly that! Redding usually makes good stuff.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I will 2nd the Redding trickler; it's a nice little unit that I've been using for 12 or so years.

 

[MJK]

Must be... they are sold out everywhere.

Will put it on the wishlist for the next Midway order.

 

[gnpenning]

Always good to see what others are doing. Nothing like reloading your own. I like making things to make/fix things and reloading helps put food on the table.