550b for 223?

[arguy57]

Is the Dillon 550 a good press to load 223 ammo on? Is it worth getting the Dillon dies to go with it? Or should I be researching a different press?

[ClutchUSMC]

Are you loading for other calibers as well? What kind of volume are you going to load? What kind of precision are you looking for?

FWIW, I use my 550b for all my 3gun rifle ammo and think it does a great job. However, without some more information I can't really answer your question.

[arguy57]

Are you loading for other calibers as well? What kind of volume are you going to load? What kind of precision are you looking for?

FWIW, I use my 550b for all my 3gun rifle ammo and think it does a great job. However, without some more information I can't really answer your question.

Not right now. Just 223. I've got at least 3000 shells. I want some good accuracy for ranges out to around 300 yards. Nothing bench rest though. I'll be using a ball powder since powder measures don't do well with the extruded. At least thats from what I've read. It would mainly be for plinking and defense rounds right now.

[BOOST]

550 works great for me for .223 . I'm using 24gr H335 behind a 55gr MG . One inch groups @ 100yds thru a 14" barrel AR that I use in multigun. Just as accurate as my dads 24" Les Baer AR.

[arguy57]

550 works great for me for .223 . I'm using 24gr H335 behind a 55gr MG . One inch groups @ 100yds thru a 14" barrel AR that I use in multigun. Just as accurate as my dads 24" Les Baer AR.

Do you crimp your ammo? My 55 gr fmj's have a cannelure and I wasn't sure if I would get better results with or without a crimp.

[67 LS1 Camaro]

A slight crimp. Just enough so the bullet does not setback during feeding. I'm sure its required for semi-autos.

Edited January 26, 2012 by 67 LS1 Camaro

[BOOST]

550 works great for me for .223 . I'm using 24gr H335 behind a 55gr MG . One inch groups @ 100yds thru a 14" barrel AR that I use in multigun. Just as accurate as my dads 24" Les Baer AR.

Do you crimp your ammo? My 55 gr fmj's have a cannelure and I wasn't sure if I would get better results with or without a crimp.

Yep. Not too much though ..

[ClutchUSMC]

Lee makes a factory crimp die that I really like for .223. Sounds like for your needs the 550 will serve you well.

[oraysor]

Case trim is important, I use a Dillon rapid trim.Next area Primer pockets prep, use Dillon's Super Swage 600.The Lee factory crimp die and you should be able to load all the .223 you can shoot. Works for me

Edited January 27, 2012 by oraysor

[oraysor]

Forgot this, take your time when loading. It takes time for the powder drop to clear 25 + grans of powder. You are not in a race but can load two or three hundred rounds with proper preparation.

[arguy57]

Thanks for the info. I got the 550 with Dillon dies.

[prreed10]

Only issue I had was with powder. I went with a ball powder and it's been fine since.

[dmc_md]

I use a 550 for my .223

The powder measure works great with ball powder. It doesn't like Varget very much. I use Reloader 15 and it works pretty well.

I wouldn't limit myself to ball powder.

IMHO crimping a .223 is completely unnecessary. I don't do it. But I'm shooting a 15lb service rifle with 77gr bullets. There's not enough recoil to cause a problem. YMMV.

Darren

[usmc0326]

Is the Dillon 550 a good press to load 223 ammo on? Is it worth getting the Dillon dies to go with it? Or should I be researching a different press?

I did a bunch of searching in the last couple months. I use mostly 223 and 9mm for comps so I got the 650 with case feed. The dillon dies are pretty good. I got the carbide sets, but only use the carbide sizing dies. The seating dies I use are actually hornady with micrometer seater adjustment. I am currently evaluating the lee taper crimp die. The 650 is killer for 223, (need to make some changes for pistol loads due to powder spillage. but there is a fix)

Hope this helps

[burnjus]

+1 for the carbide dies, I load 223 with dillon dies, but they are not carbide so the cases must be lubed and its a pain in the butt. the rounds come out all tinged and without shiny brass anymore. Its almost sticky and makes you want to put loaded ammo in the tumbler to get rid of the tinge. After that fiasco I get nothing but carbide dies. The lube is just another step to likely forget someday and get a peice of brass stuck in your die with the potential to marr up or evern break your die. (almost happened to me)

[burnjus]

I use a 550 for my .223

The powder measure works great with ball powder. It doesn't like Varget very much. I use Reloader 15 and it works pretty well.

I wouldn't limit myself to ball powder.

IMHO crimping a .223 is completely unnecessary. I don't do it. But I'm shooting a 15lb service rifle with 77gr bullets. There's not enough recoil to cause a problem. YMMV.

Darren

I use IMR 4198 which is not a ball powder and has worked flawlessly. My AR loves that powder. Varget worked fine, but like someone else said, you have to give the powder time to trickle down...sometimes even give it a tap. (not worth it in my opinion).

[iLuv2Shoot]

Just curious...what twist and bbl length is your 15lb svc rifle?

I use a 550 for my .223

The powder measure works great with ball powder. It doesn't like Varget very much. I use Reloader 15 and it works pretty well.

I wouldn't limit myself to ball powder.

IMHO crimping a .223 is completely unnecessary. I don't do it. But I'm shooting a 15lb service rifle with 77gr bullets. There's not enough recoil to cause a problem. YMMV.

Darren

[iLuv2Shoot]

I got the Dillon Cal Conv kit for my 550 to load .223 for my YHM AR 20" bbl 1:9 rate. I've used Viht N140 (extruded) as successfully as AA2230 which is a fine ball. Once I go through all the trouble of case prep...esp w/ primer crimped brass...the loading process on the 550 is pretty straightforward. I don't do a rush job since i load for HP mid-range matches out to 600 yds. I've found it usefull to also take the time to OAL guage my chamber with each specific pill and to seat as close to the lands as my mag will allow. I also load a batch that seats too long for the mag but I just single load manually for slow fire. It seems to me the important thing is consistancy whether I'm .020" or .050" off the lands. Using a comparator and measure off the ogive is crucial for this process esp with long and heavy BTHP. It's all a work in progress In any case, my carbide Dillon die set seems to work just fine.

YMMV.

Thanks for the info. I got the 550 with Dillon dies.

[Solvability]

I use the 550b for 223 and 308 and it works fine - I get great results with TAC powder and good results with Varget - do wait for the powder drop it takes longer than you expect.

[MARKAVELI]

Ok guys I don't mean to drift the thread but I have a few questions, I am new reloading for .223/5.56 military specs DPMS AR15. Loading on a 550B RCBS resizing/depriming w/Dillon seating and crimp die. My supplies are Hornady V-Max 55gr. #22271, H335 powder, Remington 6 1/2 SmRfl primers. I put my calipers to my mag and it measures 2.260-2.263 hornadys reloading manual calls for 2.250 and when I put them in my mag they look and feel like the C.O.A.L is to long ~ gets caught up in the mag. I seated the bullet to2.230 & it seems to be fine no hang ups. I loaded the mags up with dummy rounds and seem to cycle fine and ejects perfectly except the drop in test. I drop the bullet in but it will not fall out when I turn my rifle upper around to see if the round falls out but no go, I can push the bolt in as im assembling it and it grabs the round with no problem from the barrel,taper crimp is .251-.253 shoulder is .355.. My question is is my C.O.A.L& crimp sufficient enough? And I'm using H335 will 20gr. Be a good starting point for this powder? Thanks in advance

Or will this get more help if I start my own post on this topic?

Edited April 12, 2012 by MARKAVELI

[Shooter115]

I use a 550 to load .223 for 3-gun as well, but I do all the case prep on my single stage. That way I can go through and trim, chamfer and debur as well as clean the primer pockets and check for crimped primer pockets. Then they go in the Dillon for primer seating, charge and bullet seating. I’ve been loading for AR’s for 15 years and have never crimped a case neck. There is plenty of neck tension to hold the bullet in a .223 cartridge without it moving around. If you start crimping necks unless you case length is 100% uniform it’s going to affect accuracy . For 3-gun I use 25 grains of H335 behind a 55gr Hornady FMJ loaded to 2.250 OAL, easy sub-MOA round. I should mention I’ve had much better accuracy results using Hornady FMJ’s than any others. Accuracy loads are all done an a single stage using 69 gr SMK’s and 25.3 gr of Varget.

[NicVerAZ]

FWIW if you visit the Dillon store in Scottsdale, you will see they have 3 550B on their demo bench and one is set up and reloading 223.

I think you can take this as a statement.

I would suppose that 223 is one of the most popular starting calibers or die sets bought at Dillon.

[Powder Finger]

Ok guys I don't mean to drift the thread but I have a few questions, I am new reloading for .223/5.56 military specs DPMS AR15. Loading on a 550B RCBS resizing/depriming w/Dillon seating and crimp die. My supplies are Hornady V-Max 55gr. #22271, H335 powder, Remington 6 1/2 SmRfl primers. I put my calipers to my mag and it measures 2.260-2.263 hornadys reloading manual calls for 2.250 and when I put them in my mag they look and feel like the C.O.A.L is to long ~ gets caught up in the mag. I seated the bullet to2.230 & it seems to be fine no hang ups. I loaded the mags up with dummy rounds and seem to cycle fine and ejects perfectly except the drop in test. I drop the bullet in but it will not fall out when I turn my rifle upper around to see if the round falls out but no go, I can push the bolt in as im assembling it and it grabs the round with no problem from the barrel,taper crimp is .251-.253 shoulder is .355.. My question is is my C.O.A.L& crimp sufficient enough? And I'm using H335 will 20gr. Be a good starting point for this powder? Thanks in advance

Or will this get more help if I start my own post on this topic?

for mag fed rounds you need to set your OAL to your shortest front 2 back mag and allow maybe .010 wiggle room.

not sure I follow what the "drop test" is ?

[MARKAVELI]

Ok guys I don't mean to drift the thread but I have a few questions, I am new reloading for .223/5.56 military specs DPMS AR15. Loading on a 550B RCBS resizing/depriming w/Dillon seating and crimp die. My supplies are Hornady V-Max 55gr. #22271, H335 powder, Remington 6 1/2 SmRfl primers. I put my calipers to my mag and it measures 2.260-2.263 hornadys reloading manual calls for 2.250 and when I put them in my mag they look and feel like the C.O.A.L is to long ~ gets caught up in the mag. I seated the bullet to2.230 & it seems to be fine no hang ups. I loaded the mags up with dummy rounds and seem to cycle fine and ejects perfectly except the drop in test. I drop the bullet in but it will not fall out when I turn my rifle upper around to see if the round falls out but no go, I can push the bolt in as im assembling it and it grabs the round with no problem from the barrel,taper crimp is .251-.253 shoulder is .355.. My question is is my C.O.A.L& crimp sufficient enough? And I'm using H335 will 20gr. Be a good starting point for this powder? Thanks in advance

Or will this get more help if I start my own post on this topic?

for mag fed rounds you need to set your OAL to your shortest front 2 back mag and allow maybe .010 wiggle room.

not sure I follow what the "drop test" is ?

Sorry Powder Finger, the "drop test" i would drop them in the barrel and see if it will drop in with no help from myself as it falls into the barrel. I beleave i got it with as much crimp as i can give it(taper) im not trying to give it much.My dummy rounds cycles fine by hand when i pull the bolt back, im just not sure if it will be wise to try my loads with a 2.230 C.O.A.L my hornady manual calls for a COAL 2.250. thanks for your reply andim still stuck in limbo with this one

[arguy57]

Ok guys I don't mean to drift the thread but I have a few questions, I am new reloading for .223/5.56 military specs DPMS AR15. Loading on a 550B RCBS resizing/depriming w/Dillon seating and crimp die. My supplies are Hornady V-Max 55gr. #22271, H335 powder, Remington 6 1/2 SmRfl primers. I put my calipers to my mag and it measures 2.260-2.263 hornadys reloading manual calls for 2.250 and when I put them in my mag they look and feel like the C.O.A.L is to long ~ gets caught up in the mag. I seated the bullet to2.230 & it seems to be fine no hang ups. I loaded the mags up with dummy rounds and seem to cycle fine and ejects perfectly except the drop in test. I drop the bullet in but it will not fall out when I turn my rifle upper around to see if the round falls out but no go, I can push the bolt in as im assembling it and it grabs the round with no problem from the barrel,taper crimp is .251-.253 shoulder is .355.. My question is is my C.O.A.L& crimp sufficient enough? And I'm using H335 will 20gr. Be a good starting point for this powder? Thanks in advance

Or will this get more help if I start my own post on this topic?

for mag fed rounds you need to set your OAL to your shortest front 2 back mag and allow maybe .010 wiggle room.

not sure I follow what the "drop test" is ?

Sorry Powder Finger, the "drop test" i would drop them in the barrel and see if it will drop in with no help from myself as it falls into the barrel. I beleave i got it with as much crimp as i can give it(taper) im not trying to give it much.My dummy rounds cycles fine by hand when i pull the bolt back, im just not sure if it will be wise to try my loads with a 2.230 C.O.A.L my hornady manual calls for a COAL 2.250. thanks for your reply andim still stuck in limbo with this one

You shouldn't have a problem with your COAL at 2.230. I have reloaded close to 2000 rounds since i started this post. (I now use the 550 with dillon dies, AA2230 powder, Winchester primers, and Horndady 55gr FMJ's) In the beginning I had been reloading mine to 2.250 and they shot great. I now prefer loading mine to 2.240. You'll get good results with both though. Will your shell chamber fine if it's empty? Your crimping problem could be a sizing problem. Is it a full length sizing die or a neck sizing die? You could have bulged cases. I've seen a few other forums where they were having close to the same problem.