kingdarb

I have a 550. I check a few drops at the beginning of a session with a spend case before I start loading to make sure it is good. Then I usually just check every couple hundred rounds. Never had a problem.

Enjoy the machine. I have one and I love it.

Nothing wrong with shooting plated bullets out of glocks.

Hey folks. For awhile I have been loading 125 zero JHP-C's with 5g of WSF with good results. That said, recently prices have changed for the worse and as a result I have some 124g Frontier CMJ plated bullets to load. They are 25 bucks less per thousand projectiles, hence the change. Has anyone loaded these bullets (frontiers) with WSF? What data did you use?

I am in Canada, so I cannot buy from Brian unfortunately. Having said that... I looked at this site and these forums a great deal before I made my decision to buy a press. After reading all of the info that Brian provides as well as this thread, I made the choice to buy a 550b approximately 1.5 years ago. I have a couple of tool-heads set up for the two calibres that I load right now (9mm and 38 special) with powder measures and such. Changing calibres is a breeze. I had never loaded before I bought this machine, nor did anyone teach me. I learned myself on the 550 (with some manuals), and it wasn't hard. Because of the manual indexing, I was able to go really slow with one case at a time to really learn how the machine and the reloading process worked. I have never managed to get to the 600 rounds and hour output with this machine, but I usually can do 3-400/hour with no issues. The only issues that I have ever had with respect to ammo was when I was brand new and working up a new load for the glock 17. Initially I loaded them a bit light and they did not cycle the action fully. Since then, I have had no problems. The ammo that I load functions perfectly and is as accurate as I could ask it to be. I may set up to load .223 in the near future as well. The only issue that I have had with the press itself was my fault. I took the machine apart to clean it and lost the "little white nail" from the priming system. I called Dillon, told them that I lost it and that it was my fault. You guessed it - new part in the mail to me, all expenses paid. I think that it will be awhile before I outgrow the output of this machine. That said, I just started shooting IPSC, so will see how it goes. My thinking is that I should still be good to go for a long time with just this one machine. One more note: Many people seem to think that double charges and squibs are more likely with this machine due to it being manually indexing. I have not had a problem with either situation yet. I am set up so that I can see into the case in station 3, and I always look into the case before I set the bullet. Doing this, I am not sure how I could miss this problem. This is a great first machine to get, and I think that most people would never outgrow it. If I ever shoot enough that this machine does not keep up, I will likely look towards a 1050. But like I said before, I don't see this happening for a long time....

I use WSF for 9mm and really like it. I switched to it from Titegroup and prefer it.

So my new CZ Shadow arrived the other day - a quick clean and immediately off to the range to blast through a couple hundred factory rounds. She shoots nice, and I am happy with her. I have been reloading 9mm for my glocks for awhile. I have been loading 125g Zero JHP-C to 1.135 with 5 grains of WSF. I tried to chamber some dummy rounds with these projectiles (no primer/no powder) and they just jammed the gun up. The slide wouldn't even rack - had to take the gun apart to get the round out. Should have chamber checked them in just the barrel first - DUH ME! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; not all chambers are the same size after all. So, in order to figure out a max OAL, I put a about ten projectiles into ten different pieces of fired brass, and pushed them into the chamber as far as they would go - thought process being that the chamber/rifling would seat the bullet and give me an OAL to work with for this particular projectile. I then subtracted 0.015 from the average measurement from these ten rounds, to allow for a little variance in possible OAL's while reloading. What I came up with is an OAL of 1.08. I made some dummy rounds up at this length and they drop in and out of the chamber easily. When I start to get above 1.10-ish, the start to get hung up when I try to drop them out of the barrel (just by inverting the barrel). This is shorter than anything I have ever loaded before, and shorter than anything I have managed to find in any data. The data for WSF calls for 4.7-5.3 grains. I am thinking that given the pretty short length, I may need to start at 4.7g due to the increased pressure, as opposed to the 5g that I normally use. Does anyone have similar experience loading zeros for a CZ Shadow?

Hmm cool. I will just crank it a bit tighter!!!!

Not sure why I waited to buy this thing for my 550. It feels alot better to use than the ball style handle. I'm glad I spend the cash to get the thing. Do you guys who have these find that you can turn the handle this way and that after it is tightened on? Mine will turn with a bit of pressure, but it doesn't seem to cause issues. I tightened the nut on with a wrench, but didn't torque it too hard as I didn't want to be too rough on anything. Did you guys really tighten it down hard to stop it from being able to turn, or are do your handles pivot a bit when turned? Thanks!

Hey thanks. Yeah its not really hard to power thought it. I can still move the handle easily enough despite the sticking. I just wanted to see if it is correctable or not...

Heya folks. I load 9mm on a 550 and I am a fairly new reloader. I have done about 3k rounds on the press, and so far, so good. That said, I am having an issue now. I am finding that cases are sticking a bit after being charged with powder. I had a closer look and it appears that the cases are hanging on the part of the funnel that bells the case (the belling is set right - not too big or too small - the funnel is not getting rammed so far into the case that this is the issue). The brass is all various types of once-fired factory. I have never lubed pistol cases. I am going to give it a try before too long. That said is there something else that may be causing this? Could it be that I have to take some steel wool to polish the funnel? Has anyone else encountered this?

Thanks guys. I think I will give it a go with the one-shot and see how it goes. I will let you guys know.

I do. Only the ones that I pull but I have no issues with it. With plated bullets I am more careful to check for signs of overcrimping on the bullet. If I am using FMJ (currently using zeros) I look but not so hard.

I went with the 550 myself and I am very happy with it. It was the first machine I loaded on. I learned to use the machine by reading - it isn't hard to teach yourself. I have loaded probably about 2k 9mm so far (not alot I know) and I have had no issues. Because it manually indexes, you can operate it like a single stage with one round at a time until you get the hang of it. Some people claim that it is easy to double charge a case on a 550. I don't really agree with that. If you are paying attention and look into your cases before you set bullets, it will not happen. I also dig that the 550 can change calibres really easily. Like you, many people recommended that I buy a single stage to learn on and then progress from there. I am really happy that I didn't do that. It might work for rifle, but not for pistol (quantity). With the 550, I believe that I learned all of the steps involved in safely reloading ammo, and I can also do it at a reasonable pace. I don't churn out 500/hour like some folks do, but 300/hour is pretty easy for me while going at a fairly relaxed pace. I probably shoot about 500-700 rounds a week, and the 550 is perfect for me. If I ever end up shooting a tonne of ammo, I might consider moving to a 1050 for a particular caliber.

I bought a Jory Gorilla Light. Its has three arms than can be used to grip the press. I set it up so that it shines light into station 3 of my 550. Works well.

Yeah. Its not that crossfit is bad; I think it can be pretty good. For me and what I do however, it just isn't the right fit.

Excellent replacement knobs for Dillon can be ordered from this fellow - http://home.comcast.net/~videodog/ I bought some Mr. Dials. They work really well. http://www.mrdial.com/ Dillon dropped the ball by not doing this themselves.

A single stage press would be nice...

Great thanks. I am going out today and the store carries the one shot but not the dillon. I might pick some up and give it a try...

Heh so thats one for and one against cleaning off the cases after loading! The Hornady product says that it dries to the touch in minutes. If the lube has dried on the case, will it still work well for sizing afterwards? Also if the hornady product does in fact dry to the touch, is there really any need to clean it off?

I gave crossfit a serious try. It just didn't work too well for me. I lost strength doing it and I always felt beat up. I have done bjj for about ten years, and if I did crossfit and bjj on the same day, I always felt flat on the mats. I know some people love it and swear by it, and thats cool. Some people even treat crossfit like a sport in and of itself, which is also fine. For my part, I seem to get my best results with a high weight low rep weight lifting routine (something like a 5x5) 3 times a week and lsd type cardio another three times a week. That never leaves me burnt out for other activities, and I feel strong with gas in the tank.

Ah good thanks. Thats what I wanted to hear! So am I good if I just: Get an old box and some hornady one-shot, put the cases in the box, squirt the lube in then roll them around a bit? Also, how much product do you need for the cases generally?

So far I have only loaded pistol cases without lube. Alot of the folks here seem to recommend some one-shot one pistol cases before loading them so I might give it a try. Having said that, do you need to clean the cases after loading them if they have been lubed? What method do you folks recommend for applying the lube, and what method do you recommend for removing it? I load on a 550, and I am hoping to keep things moving quickly...

Don't do a 5x5 and crossfit. You are going to overtrain yourself on all counts and not make any progress. Crossfit is hard. It is a jack of all trades and master of none program. You push yourself, and if you are after some weight loss and overall conditioning, then it isn't bad. Even with crossfit only, you have to watch how hard you go as it puts a beating on your body. Personally I don't always even think it is good training to supplement a given sport, as depending on how taxing the chosen sport is, crossfit can take too much out of a person. 5x5 is great for building strength. It has worked great for me. It is taxing but not overly so. A key component of it is letting your body recover and ensuring that you do not overtrain. If you overtrain while doing the 5x5 you will likely lose strength. Just my take FWIW. I've made many mistakes working out before and I am finally starting to get it right..

Honestly don't buy new. Figure out what it is that you need, and then watch craigslist. With gym equipment, people often buy it and never use it, then sell it later for a song. My basement gym has a walk-in squat rack that I got for about 100 bucks off craigslist or kijiji, and 350lbs of oly weights with a bar that cost be about 150 bucks. The only thing I spent alot on were my powerblocks. I have also made some stuff (dip station/chin-up rack/benching spotter bars) out of threaded gas pipe and flanges. You can get the gas pipe cut to length at home depot, and it is plenty strong to support weight. Roguefitness makes good stuff, but it is a bit costy. Ironmind also makes good stuff. The pillars of power system is very strong and also very mobile and you can use them for many things, especially with the adjustable spotter racks. That said, if you watch you can often find workout stuff for half price or less once it's been lightly used.