ar10ar15man

I heard you the first time. Bad analogy though. If my connecting rods fail, or my fuel injectors fail, nothing blows up in my hand, I simply can't get to where I am going. You keep saying "trust the machine" but keep in mind that machine has to be fed/supplied with primers, powder, brass and bullets and set-up by humans and if there is a mistake in any aspect, the repercussions can be bad. There is a lot of expertise needed to make good reliable ammunition, the machine is only one part of it. I appreciate adding controls to my process (lighting, powder check die, etc.) to ensure quality production. Otherwise, I could just train a monkey or my six year old to pull a handle of a machine. That being said, I trust my process more than factory ammo at this point. your doing 75 mph down a busy highway, a conn rod fails. locks the engine, you spin in rush hour traffic.......the repercussions can be bad....... 20 years of using dillon presses...no powder check die, no light to check with.......21 tool heads with dies in them...... learn to trust the machine 10 fingers, ten toes, all the guns still work.....

do you guys pull the pan off your engine every morning to check if the connecting rods are all bolted in correctly ?? do you inspect the fuel injectors to make sure they are sprating correctly every day ?? do you realize that gasoline is more powerful than tnt ?? you use the car the way it was designed and you never look back.... do the same with your dillon.... i am not saying to be sloppy, but use the machine the way it was designed....400 plus rounds an hour... a nice smooth work flow......if you cannot TRUST the machine to do its job... GO BUY YOUR AMMO

QUIT WORRYING ABOUT A NON-ISSUE... its a machine..you pull the handle..it drops powder.... it only screws up when the operator gets anal and "thinks" something MIGHT BE WRONG..... I HAVE WORN OUT 2 550'S..I HAVE OWNED 4 MORE........ IT IS A NICE MECHANICAL TOOL...USE IT THE WAY IT WAS DESIGNED. NEXT

i use accurate number 7 for 38 spcl with 158 gr bullets. i load rn at 1.44 with 8 gr for about 1000 fps with a 6 bbl and just below 17kpsi... so adjust for the shorter hp bullet and start a little less and work up... i agree interupting the flow of work is most likey the cause of the missed powder......

change your load..... pick a powder that gives a 50% or more case fill.... i have loaded thousands of 38's without a single failure/not double charge......all on a 550..... i do not weight check once set up..i peek at the case ocassionally........ same rule as always. a powder that gives greater that 50% fill a velocity normal for the bullet weight and bbl length a pressure that is in an area that gives a clean burn...upper 2/3s or so of the pressure band. what bullet ??....

my exact point..i think the newer once have some diference from the old one's i had no issues with my old one's

ok..i'll try looser... but no more ammo for a while

so i tried graphite on the slide... at round 90 of 100 the slide began sticking...... no one else has this issue ??? only me ???

i'll give the graphite a try..i have a one pound can !

sorry...but it is the other way around... brand new primer slide straight from dillon and it started sticking in less than 200 rounds.... with a grooved slide i can typically do 500, and then clean. theroy is the nice square slide on top of the flat shim should "sweep" it self clean. in practice the clearance between the slide/guide/shim allow debris under the slide where it is crushed, embedded and builds up till the slide sticks. my original guess was sloppier tolerance in the new press...leaving room for the debris build up.

for the record this is once fired indoor brass cleaned and polished. 380.9mm.38 spcl.40s&w.......plinking practice ammo, and 45 acp on the large primer press.

ok....so bandaids as oppose to correction of the problem. when i ran into this when i first bought the presses, i took the slide and cut grooves in the bottom to reduce contact area, and hopefully scrape some debris out of the area. this does typically work for about 500 rounds then sticking occurs. during the 500, i will clean with a tooth brush what i can get at...top of the slide shim, bottom of the slide in the extended position. if i get sticking when i have a bunch of primers in the tube..i will add lube to bandaid till the tube is empty..... like i said...this NEVER occured in the first 15 years or so on the early presses...never.

primer "dust" from deprimming. everytime you press forward to prime you crush /compact this carbon based debris...it builds up on the shim/slide..it actually embedds in the soft aluminum of the slide. how much ?? enough to stop the return spring from pulling the slide closed....... what is chemically different in primers today and primers from late 90's/2000's ?? like i said old presses did not do this , only todays presses. i currently clean the slide on the small primer machine ATLEAST every 500 rounds...that is complete dissassemble, clean and re-install. i currently do about 5000 a month on the small and about 2000 a month on the large primer press.....doing a lot less (pistol) shooting now that i am semi retired.

ok one very cheap safety tip..... buy some software like quickload.... then look for a powder that: provides reasonable velocity for bullet weight. pressure in the upper 75% or so..nice clean burn FILLS THE CASE MORE THAN 50%..... if you fill the case more than 50%( try 60 or so)...you cannot double charge...'cause the bullet will not seat.... yes you pay slightly more for powder, but just how much are your hands and eyes worth ???

Every round I load gets placed into a gauge to measure for SAAMI spec. When I place the round in the gauge, I look at the primer. 25000 rounds, 2 seconds per round is 14 hours just for inspection....if you can do it in 2 seconds....