whistlepig

I have a 650 dedicated to large primer and a 650 dedicated to small primer... I seperate crimped primer stuff and swage by hand every so often. It works for me.... I do load for several calibers and converting a 1050 is not a simple task. I find that the ability to swap a toolhead on the 650's is good for my uses. Having read what you want to do and if you are sure you will be sticking with those two calibers, I would +1 the above posts for the 1050. I have used one and it is nice. The ability to handle crimped primer is a big plus. That would be a big time saver for you, if that is a consideration.

For .223 on a progressive I actually have found that what you propose is a bit of overkill. I check my brass, setting any crimped primer stuff aside for later, and while doing so give it a good visual check. I then tumble, lube with one shot, then run them through the Dillon resize die with no primers in the machine. I remove the cases as they clear the first position. I then case gauge and set aside any too long for a later trimming. (I have been known to do this part on a single stage as well) I then stockpile this "ready brass". When I am ready to load, I set up the press (a 550B) with a full toolhead and primers. It doesn't hurt the brass a bit to pass through the size die again and each station works as designed. I guess what I am saying is, I seperate brass prep from "loading" I have found that the .223 ammo made on my 550B is very consistent. It is hard to tell unless I run it through a custom bolt gun. For AR work, it is the ticket.

I suggest to check the function of the S&W with factory hardball and see if it duplicates. If it does not, then look at the load. It may not be that the combination of springs, ejector, ammo, etc will not work well. You will at least know if you need to fix a gun or customize a load.

How many fit into a 5 gallon bucket? I am tempted to say "all of them" but that would be not helpful........ I can't add to the above list. Good stuff.

I am not a 3gunner but I have a lot of time on an AR to include loading under duress. We insert mags, finishing with a slap of the palm and do a quick tug with the fingers as a matter of habit, really quick when practiced. I don't know how it would translate to the game. Let me know what you find out. Good Luck

Is it a spray? or like a rub-on wax type substance? Any other ideas to "lube" mags, graphite/non oil lubrication? Plexus is an aerosol spray liquid. It is a plastic polish, usually used for cleaning plastic lenses and some off road motorcycle/ATV plastic parts. I have never tried it on a gun part.

If nothing is wrong with the mag and If nothing is wrong with the mag catch, consider that you MIGHT have loaded 31 rds in the mag. Some mags will take a 31st rd and there is NO give if you try to push down on the rds in the mag. When you seat a loaded mag on a closed bolt in an AR, the top rd touches the bottom of the bolt and is pushed down a bit. If there were 31 rds in the mag, there is no way for the rds to move down. The mag can stay in place by friction, but the mag is not engaged with the mag catch. As soon as you start moving the gun around, the mag falls free. Try it under controlled conditions. Also with double stack mags like AR's have odd and even numbered rd on different sides of the mag. With 30 rds in place, the top round will be on the right and if you push down there will be some play. If you do have a defective PMAG, Magpul will make it right.

I have loaded a bunch of .223 on a 550B and a bunch of .308 on a 650. In both I use Dillon carbide dies with great success. I use the .223 ammo in several AR's and the .308 in M1A's. The Dillon carbides do great with sizing. Never had a function problem in the semi autos. I also run Dillon dies in my pistol calibers, .45 .40 and 9mm. I do use other brand dies in some single stage precision loading, but I have never seen a need to do anything else in the Dillons. Good choice on the press. Can't do any better in a progressive.

You is supposed to measure before seatin..... The LR primers will be slightly taller and will be harder. If you have no need for LR primers and you have a bunch, just ask around your fellow shooters. Somebody will use LR and you can work out a trade.

You should never ever load those...... you should send them all to me Ha... load em. shoot em. repeat as needed. Case life is a small problem, just check your brass as you get ready to load. The above post on steel cases was interesting, but I can't see the pro to that.

Good info above on doing some research... Even if you are not interested in competition, I suggest finding a club match in your area and attend. Competitors in any shooting sport will have bunches and bunches of reloaders in the group. Introduce yourself and see if you can find out which ones would love to show you their setups.... every club has some. Many will have no problem showing someone the basics. Be careful and good luck

I will try to be short. I think press selection is a matter of amounts more than precision. I do think that single stage setups are more precise than a progressive, BUT NOT BY MUCH I use both. I use Dillon progressives (I don't want to admit how many, it is sad.....) But I also use 2 rockchuckers. Progressives do volume. When I want pistol ammo, I go to one of the 650's and chunk em out. Quick easy and good. when I want hoser ammo for a .308, I make it on a 650 with Dillon carbide dies. When I want AR stuff, it gets made on the 550 also with Dillon carbide dies. When I need precise, perfect rifle ammo, I get a bit silly. I sort cases by weight, I gauge every case, I do all case prep by hand and turn necks. I seat those primers by hand seater. I throw powder with a Harrell powder measure, use bushing dies and that doesnt even get into sorting bullets... I did check my 550 for accuracy in .223 and a 650 in .308. I wondered if they could hang with a singel stage. I could not tell a performance difference in semi-auto guns, but I could with custom bolt guns. Realize that it was a small difference and also look at all the extra steps I put into single stage work. In short, with that many rifle calibers, you will probably find yourself with a setup of both a single stage and a progressive. High volume pistol and average rifle rounds = progressive.... very precise = single stage. You can use a progressive as a single stage if you wanted to make an amount of more precise ammo. You could size and deprime, hand seat primers, hand measure powder charges, seat and the crimp all as seperate steps. The issue with powder throws in the Dillon system depends somewhat on your powder choice. Some powders are hard to meter that way and some work very well. Good luck!

In the Savage, barrel removal and re-installation is not difficult with proper tools. For what you are doing, the work will not change headspace. If you are unfamiliar with how a Savage barrel mounts to a receiver, it is not the traditional Rem or Win style. It actually is a big part of why Savage rifles shoot so well.

Lee makes some good products, but for a progressive press, go Dillon. You will never regret the descision. Even if you have to put off the purchase, go blue.

If you can get the 77 gr SMK..... wow.

I know the problem has been solved, but keep in mind it would be very difficult to load a 55 gr bullet to a length that is magazine tolerant and would come anywhere near the rifling. As far as the blackened cartridge marks go, an AR chambers a round pretty roughly. marks are not that unusual

I have been doing some work with 8208 XBR in .308 and a few other calibers, but so far all in bolt guns. The powder so far has produced very good results, with low SD and ecxellent metering in the measure. It seems to be very tolerant of temp variations as well. As far as an M1A goes, op rod issues are real. The issue is to make sure the projectile weight and the burning rate of the powder fit inside fixed parameters to cycle the rod as designed. Too little, gun is a fancy single shot. too much, op rod no worky no more. I am curious and will look into it as well. I will post any findings.

My kids sort all of my brass to earn extra trigger time. They actually work hard when extra range time is on the line.

Welcome to the wonderful world of reloading on a Dillon....... my only tip there would be to keep a pack of spare de-capping pins on hand. Commercial brass, either virgin or previously fired, does not use crimped in primers. No special step is needed between de-priming and priming on your 550. Military or "Mil-Spec" brass is fine to use. It is usually of high quality. The hitch is that the primers are crimped in place, ususally visible by a depressed ring around the peremiter of the brass circle closest to the primer. Crimped in primers will actually deprime ok on your machine, the issue is that the crimp needs to be removed prior to seating a new primer. It takes a dedicated tool to do so. The good news is that once swaged, that brass will never need that step again and you could use it just like commercial brass. Some loaders loath and despise this issue and won't consider mil spec brass. I don't find it to be an issue. I will collect mil spec in it's own container and when it gets close to full, I will break out the swage tool and fix them all. As far as using previously fired brass, I will collect and reuse the same pistol brass over and over and over........... and with .45 .40 and 9mm I load them..... lots. I have cycled the same piece of .45 brass through my 650 and a pistol so many times I should be ashamed of myself. I check my brass well and discard obvious flaws. You will actually see overly tired pistol brass split during the load process. That is why it is just as important to inspect loaded rounds as well. I get more picky with rifle brass for loading. The pressures are higher, the brass is worked more, and necks split sooner.

Look on Wikipedia under .408 cheytac and you will actually see good info on the parent case and some other details. When Cheytac started they very closely controlled the retail sale of ammo and components. I believe in the beginning there was only one licensed source. Unconfirmed reports and rumors state that the business has gone under. Other posts around this forum discuss that the phones are going unanswered and that emails are not returned. Sounds fishy. Ref the 1050, not sure but I think the round is too big for that apllication. The performance of the round is unreal, but really it's a narrow narrow market.

I have a LaRue mount with a 30mm Leupold and you can fuss about the price tag, but not the quality or performance. As far as wanting it higher due to the front post, have you shot one mounted lower? The front post is really not an issue. As far as eye relief goes, the eye relief of the scope should be available in the paperwork that came with it or on the website of the manufacturer.

The C-more will stand up to it, but you may find the sight limited depending on your intended use.

+1 on the post from Pat. Fiber optic or any dot for that matter, can be great to help find the front sight under speed, but for a tight shot, go for traditional sight alignment.

In the game you were fine. That comment is meant for a defense encounter. It is a tactical issue. Different forums for that.

I vote to stay away from cheap red dot. For what you are doing, no good will come from one of those. +1 on the above posts about small targets at distance and the size of the dot, not to mention it won't hold up. If you want fixed sights, go with a traditional front sight base (easy to change and you can go back to your low profile gas block if you go scope or red dot) and maybe fine tune your thickness of front sight post. There are several clamp on rear fixed sights that will fit your description.