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WARNING ABOUT UNIQUE POWDER IN DILLON 550B


glockdude1

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I have a 4 month old Dillon 550B and my first powder I bought to reload 45's was Alliant Unique powder...

3 months ago, I blew my new Sig 1911 Match Elite up because the Unique powder sometimes does not meter ANYTHING into the shell and when I was new to reloading, I wasn't looking into each casing to make sure the powder dispensed, and I had a squib (not hearing it during my match) and then the next round blew the barrel up...we finally got the barrel yesterday, after waiting 3 months to get one from Briley...I now check every casing very carefully...

I switched to different powders and they ALL metered just fine...Titegroup, N320, W231..never have had even one problem..

I did not want to waste all the Unique powder I had, so I loaded up a bunch of 9mm rounds yesterday, and 1 out of every 100 rounds I loaded, THE UNIQUE DID NOT DISPENSE ANYTHING INTO MY CASING...good thing I was looking...

My Dillon 550B works flawlessly, but I would not recommend anyone buying Unique powder!!!!

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loaded many a 9mm on my 550 with Unique including 500-750 through full auto guns

though I will say it is an older measure before all the newer linkage so maybe that is a possible problem spot

a few tricks/tips :

Dryer sheet to combat any static electricity rub inside the tube before pouring in powder reduces clumping

clean/degrease and if needed polish the inside of the powder funnel.

light check every round for powder, (trust but verify)

Hope this helps

John

there is a thread here somewhere as to "tuning" your powder measure where to check for burrs etc. and polishing

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I use a dryer sheet every time I pour new powder in....

I have loaded thousands of rounds with other powders and never had a meter problem..just with Unique..

Maybe it is because the flakes do clump...

The weird thing is...when I get an empty case, the next time I pull the lever, it puts in the correct weight of powder..

I don't get it...

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Weird... I've used Unique in thousands of loads on my 650 and never had an issue. Something definitely sounds suspect though... I've also loaded even more with Clays and it's the same type of powder in terms of flake size. Maybe excessive moisture? How big of a lot do you have? How old is it? How was it stored? Just some thoughts.....

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I'm sorry to hear about your barrel. Good it wasn't your hand. If I leave my powder in the hopper for a while (like a week) I always dump it out and return it to the hopper. Sometimes it does clump up a little. Checking your case before you seat the bullet is the best insurance you have. Now that you have had a squib you will be on alert for anything that's not normal. Good Luck.

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I just bought a pound of Unique in October and my reloading set-up is in my office (priorities, you know), so there wasn't any moisture...maybe my 550B just doesn't like bug flakes for powder....the Titegroup, N320 and W231 all metered without even 1 empty casing...yes, I do double-check every casing for powder before putting the bullet on...expensive lesson for me, unfortunately...

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I've had similar problems with an older powder measure, but using Titegroup powder. What was happening is that some powder granules would get wedged between the aluminum slide plates of the powder measure. And so the powder slide wasn't resetting, and I'd end up with a shell with no powder. Then the cycling of the press would cause enough vibration that the powder measure would reset. As there is no leverage on the older measures to force them back, they count on the springs to reset them. Try getting new springs and new powder bars if they are scratched from Dillon.

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I would check to make sure the return spring and Fail safe rod is set and working correctly. If everything is set correctly... Call or e-mail Dillon and get them to walk you through some troubleshooting.

Something that may help:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=96949

I have used everything from powders that are like graphite dust, to big flake, to stick powders with no issues as long as the failsafe is set correctly and nothing is wedged in the slide like postal bob is saying.

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While Unique is not my favorite powder, I have not had a failure to charge a case while using my 550b or my xl650. In most cases squibs or double charges occur do to some type of stoppage such as checking the weight of the charge or having a primer seating issue. Not having the fail safe rod in place or not properly adjusted will get you in trouble also. Visually checking each case for powder is reloading 101. I do it on the 650 even with the powder check die in place. Ray

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If you're getting no powder, then an accurate charge on the next, check to make sure your powder bar is not hanging up on the return cycle. I once carelessly got some of the foam seal from the powder container in my measure that would intermittnetly block the powder drop. That's not likely the problem if you're cleaning out the measure frequently. Only time I've had problems with Unique was loading very small charges. Anything over 3 grains or so meters pretty consistantly for me. Too bad about your barrel.

RR

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I suggest you watch your powder measure as it cycles to get an idea of where your "hitch" is coming from. I do clean my powder measure before every use, plus I've added a second return spring to it. My 550 is so old that it's not even a 550B. I do not have the fail safe linkage at all. In fact, my 550 is so old that Dillon replaced my powder measure and primer feeds because they were still the first generation design with zinc plated slides, which were prone to stick a lot. That was probably fifteen years ago, and the press was probably ten years old at the time. Is your press a newer version, or an older model like mine? Mine handles Unique just fine, Titegroup is another matter, like Postal Bob, I don't have good results with Titegroup. This meshes neatly with my all consuming, purple irridescent hatred of the stuff for cast bullets, so it's not really a big loss to me.

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Like many others I have been using Unique powder in my 550 for the best part of 25 years. I have loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds with it. I have worn out a Dillon 550 with it. I have never had the problem you describe so I would have to believe there is something wacky going on with your powder measure. I wore out the older type powder measure that came with my first 550 years ago and Dillon replaced it with the newer type measure. Still using Unique and not had any problems. It sounds like your charge bar is not totally resetting or you may have the rifle charge bar in the measure. I would not throw away the Unique because of this, I would fix the measure. Unique is one of the oldest gunpowders on the market and it has survived because it is just that good. When you compare it against some of the newest in .38, 9mm or any of the medium powder capacity rounds the old timer is still as good or better than any. After spending tons of money chasing powder I have pretty much settled on Unique in about everything I load. That's why they call it Unique. I hope you find your problem, things like this can drive you crazy.

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Your bar might have stuck mine has done it a few times or the Safety rod thingy (Technical Term) sticks every once and a great while on mine. But I check every round and have never been in a hurry to load rounds that I wouldn't check them like others have mentioned. Funny though I have never done the dryer sheet thing might give that a try when I load tomorrow.

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Thanks for the input, guys..

I called Dillon last week and the tech went over everything with me and concluded that my 550B was running great, with no problems....

I asked him what he would recommend me doing and he said.."Quit using Unique"

I wish the guy that trained me on reloading last October would have told me to check EVERY casing to make sure the powder metered...expensive lesson!!

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Thanks for the input, guys..

I called Dillon last week and the tech went over everything with me and concluded that my 550B was running great, with no problems....

I asked him what he would recommend me doing and he said.."Quit using Unique"

I wish the guy that trained me on reloading last October would have told me to check EVERY casing to make sure the powder metered...expensive lesson!!

Unless one checks every case to make sure there is powder one runs the risk of having a mishap. If one fails to check every case when reloading regardless of the brand of powder, Unique included, and there is a mishap, there is no way to tell what happen because one failed to check every case for powder.....Expensive lesson I would agree...Ray

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  • 2 weeks later...
My Dillon 550B works flawlessly, but I would not recommend anyone buying Unique powder!!!!

While I've heard people complain that they can't get Unique to accurately throw in their Dillon measures, I've never heard of the problem you describe. My 550B is over 20 years old and I use Unique in it all the time with absolutely no issues. However, I switched to W231 for loading .45acp. No real reason, other than it's a bit cheaper for the loads I shoot.

Sent from my Verizon phone using Tapatalk

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Unique is only the MOST popular handgun powder and has been for over 100 years. It isn't the powder--it's the measure.

Please forgive me, but they are CASES. Casings are used to make sausage and to frame windows.

Never had any problem with Unique not dropping a charge and it sure doesn't sound right to me.

Do you have the small charge bar installed? It is important to have the right charge bar installed.

Best is to also run an RCBS Lock-Out die at station #6.

Static should have no affect on the powder drop, just kernels clinging to the plastic hopper.

PS: 231/HP38 has been the most consistently accurate .45 Auto powder I have found. Next is AA2.

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You have check all the bolt, nuts and screws? I've had the arm with the plastic square come off the powder bar then pop back on it because the bolt was lose. I also keep an eye on the rebound bar to make sure its in adjustment. And I double spring the powder bar.

And I always keep the kids out of the loading room. :lol:

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Its easy to just start pulling the handle on a progressive press because you get into a rythem while trusting your press....gotta get into that habbit of leaning over a bit to make sure all is well once a charge has been dropped....good lighting also helps....that is if you want to have quality control.........just my .02

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Make sure the drop tube (inside of the powder funnel) is clean and relatively smooth. I have never heard of a bridging problem with a Dillon but I have read reports of a bridging problem with some shot shell reloaders. The shot shell loader had a problem when loading flake type powder with some static present that caused the powder to build up in the drop tube then all dropping at once double or triple charging a case. Some shot shell loaders would be difficult to see into the top of a hull and if you could you probably could not tell a half charge from a double charge.

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