rustybayonet

The biggest investment is time. 1000 9mm coated bullets best price $70 Lead price varies from free to $1 a pound if you look around Pewter resale shops and garage sales cheap Lee melt pot $60 9mm mold on ebay $30 Lee swage die $30 Toaster oven $20 Powder coat $6 per 16 oz. at harbor frieght, and use a tbl spoon per batch. Acetone $7 per qt. Again very small amounts per batch. I do black powder and sinker casting so I already had the pot, ladel, ingot mold and turkey cooker to purifie the lead. I use my 1980's rcbs rock chucker for swaging. So, yes there is investment, but I figured after 3000 bullets I'm in the green. P.S. I work in the industrial trade so the weld gloves were free!

With the shape of the bullet r1 rn at my seating depth the differance in coating thickness runs in to the groves. I try to max oal to keep the jump from case to rifleing minimum.

I have a dillon 550. In the perfect world, I run at least 500 rounds then re-adjust powder and seat. I use the quik change setups per caliber. If you can afford a quik change for subs and one for major that would be a better way to go.

I always chamfer and deburr, may be I'm bored, but it makes the loading easyer and the shooting better. P.S. I don't bell my rifle cases.

On a 550, I think the dillon tool heads work fine. The only thing I do for my long range bottle necks is add powder by hand. On the 550 your case sits on the ram plate, so even if your seating die and tool head have play, you can still get a consistant oal.

With the shape of the bullet r1 rn at my seating depth the differance in coating thickness runs in to the groves. I try to max oal to keep the jump from case to rifleing minimum.

Yes, I stop by there a lot. I noticed there were casters here and thought I would post some results.

Finally got out to shoot my cast bullets. 20 rds lead lubed 20 rds coated with enamel open bottoms 20 rds coated with enamel all around 20 rds powder coated all around I used pure lead just to keep the testing on the coating. These were 125gr. 9mm. Enamel paint was baked on. Lubed lead: smokey Enamel lead bottom: just as smokey Enamel full paint: not bad at all. Problem is that the coating is thicker than the powder coat and needs to be seated deeper. Powder coat: really nice, pretty much the same as the hightech coating. I was at an indoor range with a good vent system, so I didn't notice any smell. I wish they would start a casting section here.

My favorite thing for the little stuff are those (what I call screw bins) cases with all the little clear plastic draws. I have my press parts, odd brass cases, dillon allen wrenches, loose primers, small gun parts, odd brass, rivets for my leather holster work. Etc...

I like the acme .45acp

+1, I try to keep the on the out side.

I'm running a 550 with the dillon die set. It comes with the crimp die, so I have always used it. I figure it can't hurt and with 3 different AR's it never has.

Drill and a lyman hand reamer is the way I do it. Brass in the drill. Saving up for the lyman case prep station.

Is that an ITV OR A FISTV? The hammerhead looks different from the ITV's in my scout platoon ITV in Germany.

I have only used it with 9mm. Running 147gr plated with 4.2gr.

I use a harbor freight wood bench bolted to the wall with minor mods and it works great.

On my 550, I get that. I use a used dryer sheet and give it a good polishing. It happens about every 5k.

So far, all I have broken was two e-clips on the sizing dies.

Yes and No. I am a 550 fanboy, but if your only loading one caliber 650 will kick out the rounds. Once you get used to the 550 you may want to sell both sdb's. I use my 550 with a quik change setup for all my handgun rounds and 223. The only thing better than a 550 for multible calibers is 2 550's one large primer and one small primer. Again, if you are doing a lot of one caliber then 650 is the way to go.

Heck, on ebay start it out at 80% on an auction and see where it goes. I have seen used dillon stuff sell for more than new. You get some clowns that just like bidding.

I love Dillon even more

I have started casting ang coating bullets and the biggest thing to do in coating is to make sure it does not flake off. You may have gotten a bad batch? To test cast bullets that you coat, you smash it with a hammer and make sure the coating sticks to the lead. If it gets large flakes there is a problem with the bullet. If it gets shaved off the it is the loading. Most leading in a barrel is from the gas passing by the bullet. I shoot .356 as someone mentioned earlyer and have not had a problem.

Just a thought here, would it be a problem to add a bullet casting group to the reloading section? From the info I have gotten so far, There seems to be some casters on the forum.

Lol +1

AR and BE86 worked perfict, unique was +/- .1