Alan550

I agree in part with John Wayne, but the 550B w/case feeder will do all you need/want for now. It will speed up production about 25% as Dillon advertises, but the bottom line is "How many rounds/month are you shooting?" If it gets high enough, by your judgement, then go for the 650, but until you run into a time factor for the rounds you shoot, keep on with the 550B. You can always sell it for nearly as much as you have in it. I have a 550 (the older version before the "B" modification) and a 1050. I use the 550 for rifle and a few low-production pistol rounds. The 1050 is dedicated to the high-round-count stuff for speed of loading ammo. Whatever you decide, keep the 550B, even if you think the 650 is more advantageous for now. You'll be glad you kept it! Alan~^~

It's a 5-station press. 1 - size/deprime/prime, 2 - powder drop, 3 - (in this case) expand neck, 4 - seat, 5 - crimp.

The last shot fired stays on the display until you fire the next one. Alan~^~

Generally speaking, your assumption is correct, but...............there are so many other variables to consider. It's not just "feel" as you said. A lightened slide will move faster in both directions, all else being equal, so you need to keep it from battering the frame, and returning to battery so hard that it causes the muzzle to dive on you. There's a fine line on recoil springs that can be a pain to balance. (Darn! BeerBaron beat me to it!) Alan~^~

Definitely separate tool heads for each caliber, so you won't have to re-set them when you change over. An additional powder measure would be a good idea too, to keep from having to swap out the powder bars between 5.56 & 9mm. Alan~^~

Be SURE to do your final settings on the dies with a full shell plate! Otherwise, you won't have repeatable powder drop, bullet seating, crimp, etc. from setting it up one die at a time. Alan~^~

I have some by the same company from 2008. You need to be sure to clean out your ears on a regular basis. Otherwise you're just cramming the wax in further when you use the plugs. The original fitting may have something to do with it as well. Just because that's the name on the plugs, they have several different folks fitting them. I got mine at Bianchi, and Kathy fitted them. So far, no problems like you describe. YMMV Alan~^~

Lyman trigger pull gauge works fine for anything up to 12 lbs. which is certainly in your range. Alan~^~

Results posted anywhere?

Maybe it's not the blocked driveway, but the sound of manual labor that's repelling the neighbors?

The only thing worse than a "law-abiding citizen" is 2 of them side by side on the Interstate!

So many possibilities! Have you disassembled the lower to check for a gummed up trigger-bow channel? Not enough pressure on the sear spring? Need more info on when/how it happens. Alan~^~

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ +100!

About the only option you leave open is to buy a used Gilmore with the mover lead in it as a knob adjustment. There are plenty of them around, just not in use anymore. I'd bet someone on here has one they'd be willing to sell at a reasonable price for your needs to keep the appearance of your gun as is. Alan~^~

Yep, that's where the member name came from, and the ole 550 outlasted wife #3. Nutt'n but abuse from you guys, huh? Alan~^~

I watched the race & SIG was the primary sponsor on Morgan's car in GREAT BIG LETTERS! Alan~^~

Another possibility is that you're going too fast. If you're used to loading pistol (straight wall cases) you need to hesitate at the top of the ram stroke to allow time for the powder to drop into a rifle case as opposed to the pistol rounds which drop the powder quickly. It takes a bit for the larger powder amount to drop into that small case mouth. Alan~^~

Things will stay tightened after you get things ironed out. I bought a 550..........before the 550B back in the mid-80's, and experienced all that you've seen so far. After the first few thousand rounds reloaded on it with multiple caliber changes,it settled down and only VERY occasionally will something loosen up. As dillon said, things loosen up with use, but it's sorta like a new gun...........it does have to be "broke in" to run flawlessly. After you become accustomed to the rhythm and the feel, you won't find a better, more versatile press on the market anywhere at that price. Just my 30 years experience with one of the "oldies but goodies"! Alan~^~

It makes it easier to pull the trigger on a sub-compact GLOCK, believe me! One of the guys at our range was having accuracy problems with his 27 (40 S&W) and tried the middle finger on the trigger. It made the pull seem lighter and his accuracy didn't suffer at all! Now for a full sized competition gun in a match, not really an option for the above mentioned problems, but for a self-defense scenario with a sub-compact, it will work for those having problems with a heavier trigger pull on a semi-auto, such as a lady using it as her first gun or someone not used to shooting in competitions. The middle finger is stronger than the index finger making the pull seem lighter. Just my $.02 Alan~^~

Actually, pretty much all semi-autos head space on the extractor. One problem you may run into using a 9mm in a .38 Super barrel is the fouling that you'll get in the chamber with the shorter cartridge that will hamper if not prevent loading the longer Super if not cleaned out completely. I've shot a few 9mm rounds from my 9X23 with no problems, but it is set up for low PF loads (125-130 PF) in a Bianchi gun. Accuracy was a bit off, but the rounds did run fine with no extraction or ejection problems. If you decide to do that and want to run Supers later, be sure to do an extreme cleaning of the chamber area after the 9s are run through it. Alan~^~

What about the slide dropping on an empty chamber at the end of a mag. The majority of people set up their guns to not slide lock. So they are damaging it every time they run the gun dry? Possibly. The difference there is that they probably still have the trigger pulled, i.e. holding it back until after the slide has returned to battery. I'm not fast enough to release a trigger before the slide returns. Alan~^~

There were 3 Metalform 9mm mags in my bag. Not sure if they came from Midway or directly from Metalform, but there should be a "Thank You" on that list to Metalform, IMHO. Alan~^~

Empty chamber slide-drops have more impact than when chambering a round, so you're likely to get "trigger bounce" on a really light trigger job. If you hold the trigger back when dropping the slide on an empty chamber, it's probably going to be OK, but most don't do that when they are unfamiliar with the 1911. Alan~^~

Try this one....... http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/trigger-group-parts/trigger-parts/triggers/1911-auto-ultralight-match-trigger-prod26350.aspx Should work fine for your needs. Easy to do the fitting yourself if you know how to detail strip the frame. Alan~^~

I like Grumpy's idea! I would add some kind of pipe/tubing around the mounting bolt, inside the square tubing, to slow down any attempt at cutting through the whole thing with a Sawzall. It would spin on the mounting stud instead of being cut. Anything to slow 'em down and frustrate them. Just an idea........ Alan~^~