g56

Same here, never any drift...ever. I've got 5 total with 3 different generations in my Dillon powder measures, and none of them has ever drifted. My oldest powder measure is an original 550 pre B model that has been converted to a safety arm, it has (at minimum) well over 50,000 rounds loaded on it, and it has never drifted.

Personally, I don't like the heavier bullets in 9mm, 9mm was designed to use 115 gr bullets, IMHO the bullets over 140 gr don't seem to work as well as the lighter ones.

The vast majority of the smoke you see when using lead bullets is from the bullet lube, not the powder.

Years ago some people complained about the roughness of the two lever system and were recommending a downgrade to the powder measure, I tried it, to be quite frank...it sucked. I went back to the original system, I found out that a lot of the initial roughness of the measures smoothed out as they were used. I also noticed that your return rod was too loose and not allowing the slide to fully return in the second part of the video.

I have the exact same situation, when loading 44 magnum using Dillon dies in my 550, I have to lube them, every other caliber including 45 acp this is no problem, I just figured it was due to the size of the case.

As free flowing as 335 is, it still takes a couple of seconds to drop through that tight 22 cal case neck, when loading 223/5.56 you need to hesitate at the top of the stroke to allow enough time for it to complete the dispensing cycle. Its just not like pistol calibers where you can run as fast as you can pull the handle.

I've got a little fog in my crystal ball right now, what caliber are you talking about, it makes a lot of difference.

I think they have had 3 powder measure designs that I know of, at least I have 3 different ones. The original without the failsafe, which I have upgraded with a conversion kit, a model with only one lever arm and the current model with the two arms on the powder measure.

I've shot 7-8,000 223 out of various AR's using Winchester small rifle primers with no issues at all, primary powder used was A2460, but some A2230 and H335 powder as well.

That brass is a KB in the making, I would call it unsafe since a KB could not only injure the shooter but bystanders as well.

I have an original RL550 (preB) model I bought new in about 1985. I upgraded mine a couple of years after the conversion kits came out, I never had any problem with the original powder measure which used gravity and a small spring for the return, but thought the upgrade was a good idea. The primer warming system isn't necessary, my priming system worked just fine without it, but again I thought it was a good idea. If you have one of the old powder measures Dillon has a conversion kit for them as well, its a fairly simple upgrade, and I feel its a good idea. Interesting, I typed in the second letter of the alphabet and the board inserted a smiley in its place...a little weird, so I'll try it without the space between the pre and the second letter of the alphabet.

Now I'll admit I limit my long distance shooting to about 400-500 yards, beyond that it gets quite a bit more difficult to hit prairie dogs. I've never loaded 223/5.56 ammo on anything but a Dillon 550, every powder drop is from a standard Dillon powder measure, all the primers are seated on the Dillon, and the dies are Dillon, including the bullet seating die. I don't uniform primer pockets, I've never turned the necks of the cases, and I don't clean primer pockets, and I'm using mil surp brass, it gets trimmed on a Giraud trimmer, that's about it for brass preparation. I'm not one of those thousand yard guys, but my AR-15 does pretty darn well, here's a 5 shot group at 100 yards, I'm using Hornady 55 gr SP bulk bullets. I've run this group through the OnTarget software, using that software makes it a lot easier to accurately measure, it came out about 0.366" on the OnTarget software measurement.

Sometimes you can fix a situation like that by substituting a different spring on your extractor.

The Possum Hollow trimmer isn't bad, particularly for the price. I was using the Possum Hollow trimmer before I got my Giraud, you still have to chamfer and debur in a separate step, made easier on all counts if you have the power adapter. Possum Hollow power adapter

I like 231, its a great all purpose powder, very economical to use, and it meters perfectly. I've used it in 38, 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 acp, works well in all those and many more. 9/28/2006 115 gr hollow point Fed primer 70 degrees 4.6 gr WW231 Beretta 92 1 1107.00-- 1079.00 2 1073.00-- 1111.00 3 1074.00-- 1063.00 4 1088.00-- 1107.00 5 1113.00-- 1079.00 6 1059.00-- 1089.00 7 1110.00-- 1100.00 8 1092.00-- 1086.00 9 1065.00-- 1104.00 10 1106.00-- 1086.00 Average vel 1089.00-- 1091.00 High 1113.00-- 1111.00 Low 1059.00-- 1061.00 ES 54.00-- 45.60 SD 20.10-- 14.50 AD 17.00-- 11.90

If I remember correctly there is a screw at the pivot point, as I recall I had that one come loose one time, all I had to do was tighten it back up.

Thanks, that's what I needed to know!

Will the standard 30 cal powder funnel work with the Dillon powder measure in 300 Blackout? Its a fairly short case, minimum 1.348", substantially shorter than other 30 caliber cartridges, will it work and have enough travel to properly work the powder measure? Probably the press doesn't matter, but I have an old RL550, aprox 1985 vintage.

You left out the best answer in your poll, if you dry tumble you should be using both, you don't have to, but each type has advantages and disadvantages, so for best results using both is the "best" answer. Walnut shell is far better for cleaning, not too hot for polishing. Corn cob is far better for polishing, not as good as walnut shell for cleaning. Either one can be used exclusively, but the best combination is to use both. Walnut shell can be used for polishing, but to polish effectively it needs an additive. Corn cob will polish nicely, but an additive will make it work faster.

Good info!

I've been loading 4.6 gr of WW231 behind a 115 gr jacketed bullet for at least the last 25 years, I don't recall the OAL offhand, here's my chrono on that load in my Beretta Mod 92, 5" bbl. 9/28/2006 115 gr hollow point Fed primer 70 degrees 4.6 gr WW231 Beretta 92 1 1107.00- 1079.00 2 1073.00- 1111.00 3 1074.00- 1063.00 4 1088.00- 1107.00 5 1113.00- 1079.00 6 1059.00- 1089.00 7 1110.00- 1100.00 8 1092.00- 1086.00 9 1065.00- 1104.00 10 1106.00- 1086.00 Avgvel 1089.00- 1091.00 High 1113.00- 1111.00 Low 1059.00- 1061.00 ES 54.00- 45.60 SD 20.10- 14.50 AD 17.00- 11.90

That powder hopper is right in front of my face, so watching it is no problem!