FromTheWoods

Not at the shop, but it rather fits the mentality of these posts-- Two of my sons were in Hunters' Safety class together. At that time, they were on both sides of 11-years-old. Fortunately, I was allowed to take it with them as an observer. In the classroom portion of the course, they had already read and been shown the proper way to check to be certain a gun is unloaded--visual and finger. We were at the local range for the Field Day portion of the course--handling real/live firearms and shooting a bit. At one station, a small, overly energized, enthusiastic, older woman instructed the youngsters in how to ensure that the chamber was indeed empty. She pulled a 20 guage pump from the back of a rig. Turned toward the cluster of attentive youngsters, and racked the action maybe six times as fast/fiercely as she could. (An ugly sight!) She emphatically stated, "Now you know it is not loaded!" No visual, no finger check. She turned and put the gun down. My sons both looked up at me with the "Daddy, is she really that much of an idiot?!" look that only boys can purely express. They are in their twenties now, and when we pretend to be her, or we mention her, they still shake their heads. ----------------- For the sake of the other youngsters' lives, I should have spoken up and mentioned the possibility of a round being stuck in the chamber and extractors malfunctioning. But, on looking in their faces, they too knew she was a bit off the beam.

Dang! I thought I had a complete set-up on my bench. Now I see-- Forgot the toilet paper roller! Glad you came out of it in good shape.

Some of the manuals list the magnum primer for certain powders. We use the combo in a few of our older Winchesters.

The older press is now set up and working well in the reloading room! I should have bought a strong mount for it, but had a wild idea that I would just build my own. After a day and a half, I have a mount that is an "artful" blend of plywood and angle-iron--turned out well, but I doubt Dillon will be asking me for the blueprints; their mount is a bit more advanced than mine. Rather like the new bobsleds compared to the cardboard box I piloted off a steep dirt mountain as a kid--both go fast down hill, hold the driver inside, but something is just a bit different in the breaking system. I called Dillon about switching out the powder springs to the positive return mechanism. The fellow said there was no need to change the older one to the newer system. I'm concerned, what about those squib loads mentioned above by George? Should I change the older mechanisms to the newer?

"Mutant super-deer"! We all should use that method!

You are right on with your #1 statement. Brian is an honorable person. His knowledge and expertise will save you from purchasing improper and excessive equipment. He answers email queries promptly--even those asked more than a year after the sale! His advice is given in your best interest! While researching presses, I had heard he was a good man to contact regarding purchasing a Dillon press--I'm fortunate I had his help. My intent was to load for obsolete and modern calibers, and I was having difficulty determining which press would best serve me. After he answered my questions and asked me several too, the 550B was chosen. Then came the muddle of 12+ calibers--powder funnels, shell plates, pins, accessories. I had never seen a Dillon press, so I was unfamiliar with the parts. Didn't know which were needed for each set of dies, nor which could be shared among the calibers. Brian performed his magic. When my press arrived, I had everything I needed to load every caliber. So, I agree. If someone is in the market for a progressive press, contact Brian Enos. He is a wonderful person.

Sounds good and makes sense--calling Dillon for the primer bar business, and using the older press for small primer cartridges. Advice worth following. Thank you all.

"The difference was related to the height of the press, if I had a die set up for 1.15 OAL it would be 30-40 thou different if I just slapped that toolhead in the other machine and started loading. The dies had to be adjusted to go from one machine to the other." That was what I was wondering about. Bad news for me. I'd rather have two presses that I could work freely between. Guess I'll have to figure out how to sell/trade this one for the current model. Thank you all for your responses.

Well, I said "yes" prior to knowing the specifics-- Today I purchased an older 550B. The advertisement stated it was a "new, unused" press. I was looking to get another press to accompany my new-model 550B. I told the fellow over the telephone that I would buy it from him. When I arrived to pick it up, it was not the newer version of the 550B that I had assumed it to be--(I hadn't known there was an older version that differed slightly from the present model.) Since I had agreed to purchase it, and did not want to trouble him, I paid for it. It is a beautiful press. I have yet to set it up, so I may not have noted all of the differences between the two models. A concern I have is the availability of replacement parts for it--does Dillon still have the older powder thrower springs, etc? Also, will I run into any surprises attempting to interchange the tool heads/dies between presses? Will I have to adjust dies for the individual press? Other problems? I'm wondering if it would be best to offer it to someone who would like to trade with me: my unused older model for a present model 550B? Is this older press an valuable item since it is still "new"? (Original instruction manual and accessories.)

You appear to be a patient man, Neal.

Thank you for the advice, Dillon. I'll study the options. It's likely I'll buy the 30Carbine funnel and play with that.

To get the 30 carbine die to work without hand feeding, do you see any problems if it were ground down to a shorter length?

Thank you, GM. As you suggest, I'll just have to get a bit creative if I choose to expand in the second position. It's part of the enjoyment--as long as success is the norm. Yes, I was a bit too wide with that 8mm idea. I thought perhaps the 8 would not expand excessively. Some of my dies after expanding still make it a challenge to fit a proper bullet into the case. I had called Dillon a couple days ago with this problem. In retrospect, I likely did not ask enough funnel questions to move the conversation to a solution. I'll hit the books and the internet. Maybe another call to Dillon--this time, with my head on straight.

I recently purchased a 550B. Loaded a few thousand handgun cartridges of various calibers. When I switched to loading for rifles, I ran into a problem. There seems to be no neck expander for the old Winchester rifle calibers. The instructions call for Powder Funnel "B", but that is a short, straight tube--no expander, no mouth flair. I'd prefer to expand the case necks and bell the mouths in the Powder drop station. Are there powder funnels that expand the necks and mouths of .308 and .321 caliber cases. (I'll likely run into this with a few more of the calibers I load for. As yet, I haven't checked them for this problem.) Would a .30 carbine funnel "C" work for the .30-30? Does the 8mm funnel "M" have the expander tip on it? --For the .32-40 and .32 Win Special?