NIGHTMARE LOADING 223 !

[mrjohns]

I have a 550B and loading 9mm & 40 S&W has been great. Today I tried to load 223. I damaged 10 out of twenty cases on station three. Station one would not lineup, so I set bullet on top of case in station three and moved case on station one till it would go in. I am using RCBS dies. Would this be easier with Dillon dies? I need some advice.

[George]

Any brand dies should work fine with 550B even though I highly recommend the Dillon .223 die set.

First off, are you using the proper shell plate buttons for .223? The .223 ones look very close to the 9mm ones but they are NOT the same and cases will have a sloppy fit if you do not use the proper locating buttons on the shell plate,

Check this first as it is the most likely issue I can think of.

[mrjohns]

I just purchased a 223 conversion kit from Dillon. Number 3 is on the top.

[ckell101]

I have a 550B and loading 9mm & 40 S&W has been great. Today I tried to load 223. I damaged 10 out of twenty cases on station three. Station one would not lineup, so I set bullet on top of case in station three and moved case on station one till it would go in. I am using RCBS dies. Would this be easier with Dillon dies? I need some advice.

Recently setting my 223 setup, I wrestled with my machine as well. Take off your shell plate, clean it up and put her back on there. Make sure you have the plate tightened down all the way, otherwise the cases will wobble around and catch the edges of the dies and chew up your brass. As far as how much to tighten, I always tighten down until the plate won't move and then back it off unti you get a smooth rotation that still indexes.

Other than that, look at your tool head, you may have one that is improperly drilled, but I highly doubt it.

I hope this helps.

[mrjohns]

The conversion kit is new. I put it on today. I thought the problem was the wire that holds the case in on station one. I have made several adjustments to it and connot get the case to linup on size die. I think I will contact Dillon tomorrow.

[benos]

The conversion kit is new. I put it on today. I thought the problem was the wire that holds the case in on station one. I have made several adjustments to it and connot get the case to linup on size die. I think I will contact Dillon tomorrow.

That's your best move - they'll get you squared away.

On the "wire/station 1" topic. I was loading on 550's press long before they had that wire. My trick, to get the case to always lay bottomed out against the inside grove of the Shellplate, was to put a 1/4" washer between the press and the bench, under the right, front mounting hole. Depending on whether your bench is perfectly level, you may have to experiment with shims/washers under different mounting holes - the goal being to have the press slightly tippped toward the back left, so that when you insert a case in Station one, the force of gravity holds the case against the inside groove of the Shellplate.

be

[mrjohns]

I like the washer idea. I did pit a level on the table last night and it is only 1/8" out of level.

[sierra77mk]

I have a 550B and loading 9mm & 40 S&W has been great. Today I tried to load 223. I damaged 10 out of twenty cases on station three. Station one would not lineup, so I set bullet on top of case in station three and moved case on station one till it would go in. I am using RCBS dies. Would this be easier with Dillon dies? I need some advice.

I'm not a dillon guy and it sounds like a press issue but if you do get new dies, I recommend the hornady with the sliding sleeve in the seating die. Centers up bullets well. Even flat based bullets.

[hrt4me]

have you ever had your 550B apart? Dillon offers a realignment tool to properly reassemble it...

[njl]

On the "wire/station 1" topic. I was loading on 550's press long before they had that wire. My trick, to get the case to always lay bottomed out against the inside grove of the Shellplate, was to put a 1/4" washer between the

Wow...I can't imagine loading without that paper clip in station one. Just tonight I was loading some 9mm, and must have had the paper clip adjusted just a little loose. I had a case where the priming stroke just didn't feel right. I stopped, pulled it out, and the primer was obviously not fully seated. Put it back in, pushed on the handle, pulled out the case...no change. Put it back, pushed harder...finally there was a loud pop, the case flew out of the shell plate, the case in station 2 jumped enough that it lost 1gr of its powder charge.

My first assumption was, I'd managed to set off the primer. Looking at it, that doesn't seem to be the case. I did apparently shear off part of the case rim. I don't know if it was the clip being too loose, or if there was something wrong with this case. The primer does look fully seated now...but the case is in my collection of misfit primed/junk brass now. I haven't decided yet whether to try depriming such cases, put them in the trash, or put them in a gun (without powder or bullet) and fire the primers.

[dillon]

Adjust the bent paperclip looking wire so it is within .002-.003" of touching the side of the case. Think of it as an adjustable locator button.

Next, push down on the edge of the shellplate between stations 2 and 3. If it feels springy, then the shellplate bolt needs to be tighter.

When setting up the dies, always tighten the die lock nut with a case up in the die and the handle down. This ensures the die is straight in the toolhead.