Question for Big Blue owners.

[ChuckR]

Hi Guys,
I own a dillon RL 550B, I have used it to reload 9mm, 30-06, and .223 ammo. All works fine except the bullet seating station, No matter what I load, I will setup the die for a certian AOL and tighten the lock ring. I will then procede to seat 10 rounds, and then I will measure them. They will range from being right on to -.002 to +.oo8 range of the AOL I had set. No matter what I do I can not seem to get a consistant AOL. I have talk to dillon and they had me try a few things, but also said that the seatings were within tolerence. It seems to me I should be able to get within + or _ .002 without having to readjust the seating die each time? Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.

Chuck

Forgot to say I am using Hornady bullets, I was told they were very uniformed, in that they should not cause a variance in seating.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Have you tried measuring the length of ten or so bullets, then seat them and also record their OAL and compare those measurements to the bullet lengths to see if there is any correlation?

It could be there is some play in the shellholder plate, or you are not running the shellplate all the way up?

I'll measure a few and post the results here.

[ozo]

What brand seating die are you using?

[myfriendis410]

How are you measuring the loaded round? If you are measuring to the tip of a rifle cartridge you could expect to see some deviation. The proper way is to use a gauge that rests on the ogive of the bullet.

Even the polymer tipped stuff varies about the amount you are seeing.

[Kevin Rohrer]

I measured 36-rounds of .45LC I loaded on my 550. The rounds measured from 1.588-1.602, with most rounds just short of 1.6". Am guessing the variation is due to the slight difference in the length of the bullets.

[JohnTheCalifornian]

It may be something as simple as the die screwing down further into the shell plate as you attempt to tighten the lock ring on the die.

[03fxsti]

When you final tighten your seater, are you doing it with all stations full? Thats what Dillon told me to do. I was having the same trouble, then I put a case in all stations before tightening down and it fixed it.

[gdmoody]

Whether you use a Dillon or Lee or RCBS press or dies, the OAL is going to vary a tiny bit. It is not the machine or the dies, it is the bullet. They are not all perfect and the OAL will deviate.

[muddober]

[QUOTE=ChuckR;840646]Hi Guys,
I own a Dillon RL 550B, I have used it to reload 9mm, 30-06, and .223 ammo. All works fine except the bullet seating station, No matter what I load, I will setup the die for a certain AOL and tighten the lock ring. I will then proceed to seat 10 rounds, and then I will measure them. They will range from being right on to -.002 to +.oo8 range of the AOL I had set. No matter what I do I can not seem to get a consistent AOL. I have talk to Dillon and they had me try a few things, but also said that the seatings were within tolerance. It seems to me I should be able to get within + or _ .002 without having to readjust the seating die each time? Any help or info would be greatly appreciated.

No Chuck you cannot expect your 550b to get it any better than that consistently. As you know your tool head slides in and out and if you notice there is a lot of play meaning it is a sloppy fit. I would bet good money that if you only seated each round one at a time as if it were a single stag loader they would be far more consistent in AOL. The early Dillon's tool head was one piece, was non removable being monolithic to the machine causing it to make rounds AOL much closer in tolerance than the 550b. I have two 550b machines and for making bucket loads of good utilitarian cartridges they are great, but if I am going to load only 50 or so rounds of what I would want to be very consistent loadings I use one of my single stage machines.

Ron

[The_Vigilante]

One suggestion to reduce OAL variation is the Uniquetek Clamp kit which is described at this link: http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1333. I have used it in my 650's and it works great.

[LDBennett]

ChuckR:

You must use a bullet comparator to measure the cartridge length between cartridges, NOT the Cartridge Over All Length. It measures the comparison length by resting on the ogive of the bullet, just as the bullet does when chambered. It is not uncommon for the OAL of the cartridges to vary when the seating die pushes the bullet into the case on the ogive, as all rifle seating dies do.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/746...28-30-calibers

Also as stated above you must set up the bullet seating with all of the RL550B station filled.

LDBennett

[ChuckR]

Hi guys,
First of all thanks for all the input, I now have a better understanding of what I am trying to achieve.
1- I was measuring form the head to the tip of the bullet, instead of to the ogive.

2- After measuring 10 to 20 bullets from each caliber I have, I see that they are not uniform. I ASSUMED buying a brand name bullet, that they would be pretty much uniformed but you know what happens when you ASSUME.

3- I will look into getting a bullet comparator.

4- As of right now I do one station at a time with all cases, I feel more in control with this, as I get more experienced and comfortable with my system, I hope to start using the progresive function.

OZO- I am using dillon dies, as of right now I can not really tell if one brand dies would be better then another brand dies, so I have stayed with the dillon as that is what press I have

Thanks for all your help and as usual you guys are great.

Chuck

[LDBennett]

ChuckR:

As a Dillon RL550B owner for about 25 years, and as I reload 30+ different calibers I can assure you the Dillon dies are good but not necessary. You can use any brand you like but my favorites are RCBS, Redding, Forester but I do have and use Hornady too. I have not used any Lyman dies but have not heard anyone complain about Lyman dies. I am weeding out my LEE dies (bought when I thought price was more important than quality). I have not had good luck at all with LEE stuff but many here will quickly counter that they have been using LEE for decades and love them. I just happen to NOT love them.

What happens when you get into progressive loading is you develop a routine with your hands to support the press. I can do it in my sleep. My routine is pull the handle to size the case, push the handle to seat the primer, advance the table, holding on to the table I insert the new case, and then add the bullet. I guide the bullet into the seating die when I pull the handle the next time. All the time I make sure the press feels right as I operate it and the right noises come out of it. If anything seems amiss I check to make sure all is OK. Go Slow at first and don't jerk the table to the next station but move it smoothly or the powder may jump out of the case and make a mess.

Good Luck,
LDBennett

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by LDBennett

ChuckR:

As a Dillon RL550B owner for about 25 years, and as I reload 30+ different calibers I can assure you the Dillon dies are good but not necessary. You can use any brand you like but my favorites are RCBS, Redding, Forester but I do have and use Hornady too. I have not used any Lyman dies but have not heard anyone complain about Lyman dies. I am weeding out my LEE dies (bought when I thought price was more important than quality). I have not had good luck at all with LEE stuff but many here will quickly counter that they have been using LEE for decades and love them. I just happen to NOT love them.

What happens when you get into progressive loading is you develop a routine with your hands to support the press. I can do it in my sleep. My routine is pull the handle to size the case, push the handle to seat the primer, advance the table, holding on to the table I insert the new case, and then add the bullet. I guide the bullet into the seating die when I pull the handle the next time. All the time I make sure the press feels right as I operate it and the right noises come out of it. If anything seems amiss I check to make sure all is OK. Go Slow at first and don't jerk the table to the next station but move it smoothly or the powder may jump out of the case and make a mess.

Good Luck,
LDBennett

Lyman dies are made by RCBS, not sure the exact time that they started doing so, but it's been a good number of years now. Lyman dies are great quality.