3gunnah Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 I was just wondering if any of you guys that have Dillon SL 900 presses have had good luck with the high strength Winchester AA hulls. Mine loads the old compression formed AA hulls like a champ but eventually I will run out. I have a few of the newer hulls around and I was wondering if I will be able to load them or if I should just switch to the Remington STS hulls now and save myself the pain of even trying. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrdog Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 works great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 The AA HS hulls are a strange animal regardless of the press. There are a couple of wads that load better than others. IIRC, I had good success with the DownRange wads - DRA12, TGT12 & Spolar. There was one wad that would hang up and cause the hull to buckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3gunnah Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 Thanks guys. I may just try some over the winter when I get bored and find out what the result will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveZ Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 I've reloaded the AA-HS hull using the CB-1000 wad and 7/8oz and had good luck reloading them on my SL900. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeHunter Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Had one for about two months. I love it. Not my first Dillon so setting powder and shot weight was familiar. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mastiff Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Once you dial in an SL900 they are awesome. I only use AA hulls and winchester wads and they load and shoot great. Just make sure the hulls are in decent shape. I mentioned it before in another thread, one of the biggest bummers with setting up the machine is when you "accidentally" spill shot all of the floor. Ask me how I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3gunnah Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 Once you dial in an SL900 they are awesome. I only use AA hulls and winchester wads and they load and shoot great. Just make sure the hulls are in decent shape. I mentioned it before in another thread, one of the biggest bummers with setting up the machine is when you "accidentally" spill shot all of the floor. Ask me how I know. Did someone forget to put the tube on the hopper before they poured in the shot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkS_A18138 Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 (edited) Sorry read the post wrong.. Edited September 15, 2013 by MarkS_A18138 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mastiff Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Once you dial in an SL900 they are awesome. I only use AA hulls and winchester wads and they load and shoot great. Just make sure the hulls are in decent shape. I mentioned it before in another thread, one of the biggest bummers with setting up the machine is when you "accidentally" spill shot all of the floor. Ask me how I know. Did someone forget to put the tube on the hopper before they poured in the shot? Of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 I have 2 SL-900's, one for 12 gauge and one for the sub gauges. Both perform like all the other Dillons I have. I settled on the Remington hulls, Gun Clubs and STS's. The first 1K of my GC's are on their seventh reload and will likely go a couple more. I load 1 1/8 oz. of 7 1/2 shot with a Claybuster wad over 18.0 grains of Clays and Winchester 209 primers. Not a wimpy load. The Remington hulls are a straight forward load with no surprises and go bang every time. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Freeman Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Great machine. In 12 gauge. Not so great in other gauges. I bet I loaded 10-15K rounds in 2-3 years. Nothing but AA hulls and Claybuster wads. If it was offered in 410 and 16 I would have kept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Norman Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Just started using my SL 900 recently, Due to low prices in the past I had a supply of 12ga, now that the days of $35 a case SG ammo are behind me, I am ramping up production of my own loads. So far I've dumped a bit of shot, had primers hang up allowing 20 grains of powder to filer into the workings of the machine, darn near ran the powder measure dry, had issues with the case feeder funnel meeting the drop tube, adjustment of the initial crimp die, adjustment of the final crimp, and the occasional shell not inserting into the shell plate. Of all the issues above the only one I have net satisfactorily solved is the last. The shell plate is aligned, it indexes to the correct position. I think it is the shell hanging up just a little in the tube. It may be I try to go a smidge too fast and the shell isn't dropping all the way before I start to move. All in all this is an easy machine to operate and makes great loads, it does take a thorough reading of the instructions and a basic understanding of how things work and interact. I would buy again. My next step is to make different loads for different guns and sports. Right now I am still getting in the groove so I load only 1-1/8 oz #8, I plan to drop this to 1 oz for trap and SC, but keep it for 3-Gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Build4u Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I run two Sl 900 presses. One in 12 and one in 20. The adapter that holds the 20 in the primer seating station is rubber and pushes over the spring. It comes off enough to be annoying. The priming system is the largest draw back to the machine. I have learned to watch the primer feed bar up at the primer tray to make sure it picks one up. Sometimes they miss the primer arm at the shell plate and you want to watch for the familiar feel of seating. I keep a little tray of spare primers near by. It is not as easy to feel as a metallic press, however it is easy to remove the hull and check. It is not a big problem to not have a hull in a station until you forget and still put a wad in the tilt out arm. A wad will activate the shot dropper with out a hull and then it is get out the shop vac time. A lot of guys run a 20 gauge shot drop, wad seating tube in a 12 gauge set up. The smaller diameter is less like to catch on a less than perfect wad petal. The little draw backs to the press are still made up for by the case feeder and press speed. They make a good shell. You want to hold a small pause at the top of the stroke for the crimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Build4u Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I forgot to answer the original post on the Hulls lol. I have loaded all styles of AA hulls without issue using Winchester 1 oz pink wads. I have heard about issues on the two piece hulls but I have not had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeHunter Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Powerfactor show guys have a great video about tweak to eliminate primer issues. I did as they suggested and I have zero primer issues now. Love the press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Build4u Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I modified my top cover, eased the corners on the primer feed bar and run Mag Slick on the tray. I will check out the tweak on the show. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Powerfactor show guys have a great video about tweak to eliminate primer issues. I did as they suggested and I have zero primer issues now. Love the press. Yeppers, add a washer... it works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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