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tunaman

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Everything posted by tunaman

  1. If you need a crimp for autoloaders, be sure to err on the light side as a tight crimp will certainly affect the accuracy and consistency of the round.
  2. I do use Lee seating dies in addition to Dillon, depending on the round and projectile. I find that one or the other seems to work best for each combination, and since components have been so challenging I find myself having to load unfamiliar projectiles more often than not these days. Good to have a couple of options and try them out when working up a new round.
  3. ^^^^ This... sage advice. I load 8 different calibers now, three pistol and five rifle, and my shelves are full. The 550 puts out plenty of capacity and is more readily adaptable to caliber changes. It is also more versatile if you have a need to load match or precision rounds and work in non-progressive mode. Either is a great press, but one or the other will be the best choice based on your usage and needs. Be sure to give it as thorough consideration as possible before making the plunge and you will be happy with your selection.
  4. Nice! I want an Edge at some point!!!
  5. They've turned around a couple of part orders for toolheads and stands within a week or so recently. I've got a delivery notification for my latest order, so that took about two weeks this time around.
  6. The above post points to one thought I had... what seater insert are you using (round nose/flat nose) and how well does it match the shape of your bullet? That could account for a discrepancy I would think?
  7. I bought one a couple of months ago and it works fine for me. I too developed a little shake motion which works well, and once the tube is loaded I just empty it directly in the top of my primer tube on the press. It takes a very short time to load up the next tube of primers and keep going on the press. I like it just fine.
  8. Agreed... I turn out a LOT of ammo on my 550, for 7 different calibers, and can also load match-grade ammo using it more or less in single stage. I load a lot of 30-06 in progressive mode.
  9. ^^^^ This is the reason I had ordered a 1050 from Brian... I had wanted to get set up for 223, and with the two toolhead setup it made the best sense. I also have my 550B for the other 8 calibers that I load for, and caliber changes are very simple and relatively cheap on the 550 as opposed to the 1050. If you load the volume, don't change calibers frequently, and don't care about the long term maintenance costs (warranty), then it might make sense for you. You will be hard-pressed to beat the output, that's for sure!
  10. As mentioned, two things will prevent that in the future: Uninterrupted, undistracted time on the handle; Powder that fills the case at least half full (with the appropriate level of attentiveness of course); The 550B is a great press and there is NO SUBSTITUTE for paying attention - you are engaging in an activity that can result in catastrophic failure if all isn't followed methodically. With low levels of powder, the COAL isn't going to tell you anything relevant, nor would it be helpful to try pushing the bullet in as there is plenty of room inside the case, and every bullet should be able to seat deeper regardless whether it is properly charged or not (depending on crimp of course). And a random weight check won't really help either, except to verify that the charge is proper and consistent, as it only takes one bad round. NO DISTRACTIONS!
  11. Wow... Things are still really backed up, although I saw someone ordered and received in record time. They're turning around toolheads and stands pretty quickly, as I've ordered a couple recently and got them in reasonable turnaround.
  12. I had some issues with small primers, and in addition to the suggestions for polishing the bar and such I found instructions to adjust the cup by turning the plate in between stations, actuate the lever to get the cup compressed against the bottom of the plate, and loosen/tighten the set screw to readjust the seating cup. That seemed to do it for me, and I haven't had any issues since. Also, if that doesn't quite get it set correctly you can leave a primer in the cup for a tighter tolerance... Just don't apply too much pressure against the ram.
  13. Stick powders do pose issues, mostly with the bottleneck cases. You have to be sure to be slow and methodical if you do so. Pistol cases don't seem to be affected much and I've had decent results.
  14. Sounds like a 650 would be a good choice for your circumstances. I'm quite happy with my 550, but I change calibers often, load 7 different cals, and also do quite a bit of single stage loading for match ammo so it fits my needs perfectly.
  15. Man, that is a tight window. Still haven't hit it right when I could actually try ordering anything.
  16. Man that sucks! I hope they work with you on it... You can't be the first.
  17. And it is awesome that you have so much support from your spouse! Good on you both!
  18. Wow! That is SO cool! Best of luck man - keep fighting and learning!
  19. Dillon is as quality as you can get. Solid, industrial construction for years of service.
  20. I've put in a couple of orders for toolheads and stands recently, and they turned them around pretty quickly. Nice to see that there is no reason to pay the gouger pricing/bidding prevalent on eBay!
  21. The hot tip, as far as I have been able to determine, is to have the swage and trimmer set up on a toolhead, with another head set up for the remaining load process. That is why I was going to go with the 1050, and I found many testimonies from happy users set up just so. Not a cheap solution, but certainly about the highest production setup for the money.
  22. We were told at the military match in February that industry word was that primers were going to be a severly constrained product until late in the year. Seems to me that primers are definitely in short supply and hard to come by, so I suspect that was a correct assertion.
  23. Not sure about a 650, but my 550 works great for bulk as well as precision match rounds... I use it as a progressive for some, and also use it as a single stage for my match ammo.
  24. Look into adding a baffle to the powder measure also... I've seen several reports that this cures alot of measure issues.
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