Just purchased Dillon 550B. Whats next?

[JDucros]

I just ordered the Dillon 550B with 9mm conversion kit and Dillon carbide die set from the Brian Enos store. I went with the Dillon and Dillon dies because I am familiar with the 550B and I want to get as much accuracy out of my reloads as I can. As for the accessories(like a tumbler, scale, measuring devices, etc) I don't feel the need to purchase all Dillon items. I am on a budget and would like to spend as little as I have to but still have equipment that will last relatively well and not leave me hanging. For example, I plan on using the RCBS primer tray from Cabella's for $5.99 and the Lyman 1200 pro tumbler($39 at Cabella's). As for a case/media separator I am going to make my own.

What products have you guys found to be accurate and reliable without breaking the bank?

Also, I live on a third floor apartment and am looking for ideas of ways to muffle the sound of the tumbler. I was thinking of placing a rubbermade tub on it and lay a blanket over the tub to quiet the sound. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any info you guys can pass on.

Cheers,

-James

[Treym7]

From my understanding, the Lyman is a little on the loud side. I have the old Dillon CV-500, and a friend has the Cabelas tumbler, which is the Berry's tumbler, and his is not as loud as mine. I have also read that the Cabelas/Berry's is very durable.

With any tumbler, be careful covering it as the motor needs airflow to remain cool and last.

Trey

Edited October 27, 2010 by Treym7

[TexasShootR]

I would get a Lee "U" carbide sizing die. That will cut down the number of bullets that won't fit your casing gauge due to the glock buldge ( thats if you pick up rangs brass). Also some extra parts I would have on hand would be, primer seating punch # 13967 and primer seating cup #13824.For some reason I had problems with one bending. Get a couple more cartridge collection bins and I would lube/grease the reloader before using. As far as tumblers go the Lyman Turbo Pro 1200 is fairly quite and hasn't giving me any trouble. Other than that its all trail and error. Have fun and good luck.

[jid2]

A good digital scale for sure, saves big time on getting loads bracketed.

Edited October 27, 2010 by jid2

[Sparky]

I'm sure TexasShootR means well about the U die, but before you buy one

give the Dillon Dies a chance. I've had a 550 since 2001 and it has the

original Dillon Dies and I have not had any problems with any cases.

I carry a Glock on duty and usually get the range brass from our range

and have not had any trouble reloading it. And like he said; have fun.

[JDucros]

Thanks guys. As for the Glock bulge I am shooting 9mm in Limited and Production, not 40. It is my understanding the glock bulge was more of a problem with the 40 S&W cartridge. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Sparky, I will give the Dillon dies a chance before I purchase any more dies. If I have any bulge problems when I upgrade to 40 S&W I'll keep the Lee "U" Die in mind.

Trey, thanks for mentioning the motor needing to stay cool. I can rig up a fan in the tub or something to move air through it to keep it cool. I'll tinker with it and let you know what I come up with. Cabella's has their tumbler for $49. It looks pretty heavy duty for a store brand. I've had a LOT of people suggest that tumbler to me. It's only $10 more then the Lyman. I'll do a side to side comparison in the store and let you know what I go with.

TexasShootR, thanks for the heads up on the primer seating punch and cup. Any particular Lube/Grease I should look for?

jid2, thanks. I'm going to look a digital scale reviews right now.

[Kyle O]

A Chronograph to check the ammo is a fairly important accessory.

It is often overlooked, but I would say goes together like PB&J.

[G+16]

A chrono is a must, even for shooting minor in 9, and a safe range would be nice, I bought a chrony master years ago, with the tape read out, must quicker and easier, just my 2 cents

[Sparky]

James,

I shoot 40sw.

We have some good 9mm Production shooters in the area I shoot in. I'm not sure

what load you are planning for the Production 9mm, but the one they use is a

Montana Gold 9mm 147gr cmj bullet with 3.3 gains of Winchester Super Target (WST).

Ron, aka/Sparky

[Sarge]

Digital Calipers. Knowing oal is a must and the digitals make it much easier and faster.

I wonder if one of those little dorm room fridges would work to put a tumbler in. Cut a little notch in the door seal and set the temp for not too cold.....

[calishootr]

an the bullet puller(kinetic hammer) is your friend, to take care ofthe 'mistakes' we all make from time to time to save an reuse our components

a good set of calipers(steel, plastic flexs and gives inconsistent readings) eyeballing rounds placed next to each other is not a good idea

down the road a chrono is a good investment, so you know your velocity, not just assume its there because some book says so, every gun/barrel/bullet/powder/primer combo is different

[Kyle O]

Digital Calipers.

Just a note on Digital. Twice I needed mine and the battery was dead, the first time I had to go to the store the next day for a few extra, the next time I couldn't find the spares, and had to go back to the store the next day again.

I recommend analog/dial, I will be getting some very soon.

The only dial caliper I currently have is in millimeters (a gift), so there is always some math to do.

[Sarge]

Digital Calipers.

Just a note on Digital. Twice I needed mine and the battery was dead, the first time I had to go to the store the next day for a few extra, the next time I couldn't find the spares, and had to go back to the store the next day again.

I recommend analog/dial, I will be getting some very soon.

The only dial caliper I currently have is in millimeters (a gift), so there is always some math to do.

I treat these the same as any other shooting accessory I have packs of batteries laying around. I also never put myself in the position of having to reload, "or else" I keep a few thousand loaded at all times.

[aclundwall]

My recommendation is a Lee Factory Crimp die. IMO, your dillon sizer die with a Lee FCD will give you great results. If you had dies other than Dillon, I'd definitely reccommend the U-die as well, but in my experience, the Dillon sizers are also undersize dies. Admittedly, they have a slightly longer lead-in than the EGW, so they won't size down quite as far... but I just don't think it's enough of a difference to justify the expense.

I use range pickup brass, some of which I'm pretty sure has come from USPSA major nine guns, and I still only get about 1 in a thousand that won't drop cleanly into a case gauge.

My experience with .40 has been the same, FWIW. I really believe in the FCD... I use it in all the calibers I load.

Art

[aclundwall]

From my understanding, the Lyman is a little on the loud side. I have the old Dillon CV-500, and a friend has the Cabelas tumbler, which is the Berry's tumbler, and his is not as loud as mine. I have also read that the Cabelas/Berry's is very durable.

With any tumbler, be careful covering it as the motor needs airflow to remain cool and last.

Trey

I've got two tumblers, a new Dillon CV-750 (??) and an old Franford Arsenal. Both work pretty good. As far as noise goes, I think the Dillon is a little louder, and it's DEFINITELY hotter running. Both seem to have a certain point where adding more brass makes the noise level go up exponentially. I suspect it's this way with all of them.

I bought a little digital lamp timer at home depot so I could set the tumblers to run for a set time. It was about $20, if I remember right. It works great, but I lost the instructions, and I can't remember the steps to reprogram the countdown timer

[benos]

Also, I live on a third floor apartment and am looking for ideas of ways to muffle the sound of the tumbler. I was thinking of placing a rubbermade tub on it and lay a blanket over the tub to quiet the sound.

Definitely not a good idea. As was mentioned, it is critical that the tumbler motor is ventelated with good air flow.

be

[JDucros]

Montana Gold 9mm 147gr cmj bullet with 3.3 gains of Winchester Super Target (WST).

That sounds like a good load to me. Do you think Berry's Prefered 9mm 147gr Round Nose would work with the 3.3 grains of WST?

To start out I'm going to buy a small amount of bullets, primers(Winchester or CCI), and powder(Winchester WST) from Cabela's until I get the hang of things and find a good load for my Glock 17. At that point i'll buy in bulk. For now I don't mind the $1-3 price difference per item.

[JDucros]

Digital Calipers. Knowing oal is a must and the digitals make it much easier and faster.

I wonder if one of those little dorm room fridges would work to put a tumbler in. Cut a little notch in the door seal and set the temp for not too cold.....

I've got a pair of digital calipers on order. As for the mini-fridge, that's an excellent idea. I'll give it a try and let you know how it works out. If it turns out to not have enough air for the motor then I'll rig up a box with two computer fans(one for an inlet and one for an outlet) to get some good airflow. I've got to find something though because this is a quiet apartment community and people are picky about anything audibly intruding into their home(as am I.)

[JDucros]

I bought a little digital lamp timer at home depot so I could set the tumblers to run for a set time.

This is a great idea! Cost effective too. It's genius! This should be added to the list of loading essentials as I'm sure it would save the life of your tumbler's motor and help keep your cleaning media last a little longer.

[Sparky]

Montana Gold 9mm 147gr cmj bullet with 3.3 gains of Winchester Super Target (WST).

That sounds like a good load to me. Do you think Berry's Prefered 9mm 147gr Round Nose would work with the 3.3 grains of WST?

To start out I'm going to buy a small amount of bullets, primers(Winchester or CCI), and powder(Winchester WST) from Cabela's until I get the hang of things and find a good load for my Glock 17. At that point i'll buy in bulk. For now I don't mind the $1-3 price difference per item.

James,

The load I gave you was with a Jacketed bullet. The Berry's are Plated and are kinda

like lead bullets. So I would start out at around 3.0 grains of WST, chrono that and

check the primers and move up if you need to. You need only make 125 power factor, so

you have a little wiggle room. The load I gave you is being shot through Glock 34's.

Also the guys with the Glock 34's are using 13 pound recoil springs. Also they are

using a solid metal guide rod, one uses the captured rod and the other a non-captured

guide rod. Maybe someone on this forum has used Berry's in a Glock barrel. I do not

know if they shoot good or not. The Montana Gold bullets cost more, but in my mind

they are better bullets; but thats just my opinion.

Ron

[sal3coach]

We have gone through about 20,000 Zero Bullets and 10,000 Montana Gold in 9mm(about 70% in Glock), another 5,000+ of each in 45 and several thousand in other calibers. I don't think you can go wrong with either of these "low cost" manufacturers.

[GrumpyOne]

I bought a little digital lamp timer at home depot so I could set the tumblers to run for a set time.

This is a great idea! Cost effective too. It's genius! This should be added to the list of loading essentials as I'm sure it would save the life of your tumbler's motor and help keep your cleaning media last a little longer.

Not only did I put my tumbler on a timer, I also wired a switched outlet to run it. I got tired of yanking the cord out of the outlet to turn it off.

[aclundwall]

I was wrong... the timer was only $17....This is a link to the one I use

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgg/R-100685884/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

It has two grounded outlets, so I can use it to run both tumblers. It doesn't specifically say, in the item description, that it has a countdown timer, but it does.

[Treym7]

I did the same thing, this is the one I am using: Lowe's Timer This one was $14 when I bought it, looks like it is only $12 now. It is the same one a shooting-reloading company sells for $25+ship. 2 outlets on it as well.

Trey

I was wrong... the timer was only $17....This is a link to the one I use

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xgg/R-100685884/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

It has two grounded outlets, so I can use it to run both tumblers. It doesn't specifically say, in the item description, that it has a countdown timer, but it does.

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[38supPat]

Spammer dealt with