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  • 8 months later...

I just bought a SDB. I was wondering if bullet seating depth flucuation is common? I am have seating depths that change + or - a few tenths of an inch. Now that I have been using Zero bullets it has been better. The Berry's seemed to fluctuate more though. I haven't been using any case lube. Would that help make things more consistant? I have heard that the Hornady One Shot lube is the way to go....

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Rocket, I have been loading on a SDB for about 3 years now and I have noticed the same problem. I load Precision & Zero bullets and I have noticed that the Zeros are less accurate in seating than the Precisions. I have never tried to fix the problem I just took it as the cost for loading cheap bullets. If you find something that fixes the problem please post it. :)

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I just bought a SDB.  I was wondering if bullet seating depth flucuation is common?  I am have seating depths that change + or - a few tenths of an inch.  Now that I have been using Zero bullets it has been better.  The Berry's seemed to fluctuate more though.  I haven't been using any case lube.  Would that help make things more consistant?  I have heard that the Hornady One Shot lube is the way to go....

I hope you mean hundredth's of an inch (0.0X") and not 10th's (0.X")!?

When I first got my SDB, I had more variation than I'd like in the OAL, myself, but something on the order of +/- 0.05".

Now it's down to half that, and if I load extremely carefully -- working the handle with the same speed and pressure, seating the bullet carefully, and using the same batch of brass, it's +/- 0.01". I rarely bother, though, loading this carefully (but always safely!).

My *guess*, is that the following things helped, in order: 1) experience, and consistent stroke 2) One-Shot case-lube, and 3) the Strong Mount (but I ordered that just to be able to load standing).

Enjoy the SDB, man. I keep wanting an excuse to move to a 650XL, and case-feeder, but I can load just fast enough.....

Next time you use a chrono, try shooting your SDB ammo head-to-head against commercial loads. I'll bet you'll be amazed at the results, if you look at the standard deviation (or CV, or whatever....).

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Boo-

You are correct- I meant thousanths of an inch. I am going to start using some One Shot lube and see my results from there. I am pretty sure that once I use the lube it will make the loading stroke far more consistant. I am using a strong mount for the same reasons as you, but I am sure it make things more solid as well. Everyone- thanks for you input. I appreciate the help.

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The bullets themselves could be checked for variation in length.

If possible, by swapping seating plugs, I try to make sure the bullet is seated with contact on the ogive of the bullet. The loaded ammo may show variation in length, but it's due to variations with the length of the bullet only, as the bullet is still seated to the same depth in the case.

I've got 3 of these presses (2 SDB / 1 SD) and love them.

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The bullets themselves could be checked for variation in length. 

If possible, by swapping seating plugs, I try to make sure the bullet is seated with contact on the ogive of the bullet.  The loaded ammo may show variation in length, but it's due to variations with the length of the bullet only, as the bullet is still seated to the same depth in the case.

I've got 3 of these presses (2 SDB / 1 SD) and love them.

Well, JFD, you're wrong. A longer or shorter bullet won't have much effect on oal. What happens is that more or less of the bullet is in the case depending on whether the bullet is longer or shorter. Think about it.

Bronson7

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  • 5 weeks later...

Yes- what "Bronson7" says has to be the correct interpretation. If the seating punch in the die is pushing the bullet down, then screwing it in and out will only change how much of the bullet itself goes into the case. The same adjustment with the same bullet should produce the same OAL.

I should think that the only other things that could be operating would be either 1) spring in the press frame itself, which should be nil, or 2) a shell plate that somehow has too much play in it. I actually experienced a third thing once, where I was getting grossly different, "visibly different at a distance" seating depths, but that is because the connecting link on my Lee press was in the process of fracturing, and hadn't quite got there yet. I'm loading all calibers on my XL650 now....

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  • 2 months later...
Rocket, I have been loading on a SDB for about 3 years now and I have noticed the same problem. I load Precision & Zero bullets and I have noticed that the Zeros are less accurate in seating than the Precisions. I have never tried to fix the problem I just took it as the cost for loading cheap bullets. If you find something that fixes the problem please post it. :)

It might be your brass. I have been revising my reloading protocol using Master Blaster Bullets (200gr Round Nose Moly-Coated I get locally) and found that .45 brass stamped R&P followed by PMC and CCI brass were inconsistant with bullet depth. The R&P was so bad, I stopped using it with the Master Blaster bullets. The Winchester Brass, for example, is always spot on.

Anyway, it is a thought I hadn't seen expressed here.... The softness of your brass combined with the bullet type may actually be the problem. I am not using an SDB, btw. WHat I am really trying to say is that different manufactures brass may have different pliability.

Edited by hmp32
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+/-0.005" is what a commercial reloader told me is a typical range for even for first time commercially loaded ammo, but individuals can get it lower by very consistent round to round loading technique (for me that means smooth and consistent pressure on both the up and down strokes on my SDB). It definitely helps to lube the cases for decreased resizing effort, and it also helps to have consistent and uniform bullets.

Depending on the bullet ogive profile and seating stem I use, the stem contacts the either the meplat (flat tip of a flat point) with the flat base inside the stem, or the curved/sloped "shoulder" of the bullet with the rim of the stem. If you have a bullet with a nicked or scored surface at these points (possible mostly, in my experience, with cast or plated bullets) then any raised area over the normal bullet surface with press the bullet into the case a bit deeper than a clean bullet.

Bullet lube is another culprit, either stuck onto an individual bullet in a position to cause the same problem as a nick, or a gradual buildup in the stem that will make the rounds at the end of the loading session shorter than the rounds at the beginning.

Another minor variable is the individual station in the shell plate. There can be a minor (perhaps 0.001") variation from position to position in the plate. To amuse myself one day I tried reloading just one station out of four on the shell plate, and they were a little more consistent for length, using Zero FMJ FP's.

YMMV, ;)

kevin c

Edited by kevin c
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Tightness of the shellplate is also a factor-- in order for it to turn, it has to be somewhat loose, which again doesn't do good things for tolerances.

But.. a business card is about 0.010" thick, so 0.005" is a pretty small distance to begin with.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 2 months later...

I got one when I got into handgun shooting, I think around 1995 or so....I was constantly switching from .45 to .38 and back, and finally stripped two of the scew holes that hold on the top part with the dies; its been held in place with a c-clamp for about 4-5 years now. And still cranking like new! (I know I could send it in to get fixed, but...)

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  • 7 months later...
I just bought a SDB. I was wondering if bullet seating depth flucuation is common? I am have seating depths that change + or - a few tenths of an inch. Now that I have been using Zero bullets it has been better. The Berry's seemed to fluctuate more though. I haven't been using any case lube. Would that help make things more consistant? I have heard that the Hornady One Shot lube is the way to go....

I know this post VERY old but the same problem happened to me recently. I began looking for the problem....watching for any abnormal play or give while operating the press slowly. I found a very simple fix to the problem. I tightened the bolts that hold the shell plate. They had worked themselves loose causing the shell plate to move up and down as the press was worked therefore giving me very inconsistent OALs.

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I just now noticed this thread (holy crap, did I miss it the first time???) and, as everyone here knows, I've been 'living with' the SDB for a few years now and love it. (It tends to go through magazine orifices kinda often, but they're ridiculously cheap so I don't overworry it.) I honestly wish I had room for TWO of 'em but I just don't. I can see why shooters often DO have two or three of them rigged up in different calibers...

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I honestly wish I had room for TWO of 'em but I just don't. I can see why shooters often DO have two or three of them rigged up in different calibers...

I find myself in a bit of problem .... I started with the SDB to do .45 and felt that it represented the best choice since I was only going to do one caliber ..... well, a few months into and I realize that I really do want to do two calibers .... and while I like the SDB I don't have room for two of them ..... guess I am going to have to try and sell the SDB and move into a 550 ..... if I had a big room and place for two SDB's maybe it would make sense to add another one ... but I don't .....

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a few months into and I realize that I really do want to do two calibers

Can't you just change calipers?

A.T.

yea, switching calibers on a 550 is no more or less work that switching a SDB. Get the caliber conversion kit so you don't have to remove the dies.

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a few months into and I realize that I really do want to do two calibers

Can't you just change calipers?

A.T.

yea, switching calibers on a 550 is no more or less work that switching a SDB. Get the caliber conversion kit so you don't have to remove the dies.

I had heard that changing the caliber on a SDB was a real pain ... very happy to hear it is about the same effort as on the 550 ... I obviously have not tried it but was told that it was a problem by a couple of different Dillon dealers at a couple of gun shows -- guess maybe they had a new sale in mind when they answered the question .....

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I started with a SDB and I'm glad I did. I learned the basics on it and it held its resale well.

Caliber conversions are not an issue, if you spend a little extra and pickup another tool head, so die adjustment doesn't change. Then its just 4 socket head cap screws, the primer slide and magazine and shell plate. With the tool head it took about 10 minutes.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have two SDB's-one with the small primer system (used for 9mm and .40), and one with the large primer system (used for.45). Changing calibers is real easy when you don't have to switch the primer system. I only have room on my bench for one so I unbolt the whole thing from the Strongmounts and and switch the press instead of the priming system. Now that I wrote that it might be actually easier to change the priming system but I've done this for years.

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  • 2 months later...

The weakest link in the SD that I’ve found is the primer shoot. I don’t use my SD’s very much but when I do more often than not they are being hauled to and from the range. Now I know that Dillon will ship out new ones for free but I decided to build mine a little more robust. Haven’t broken one yet.

post-6631-1244789400_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 year later...



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