The Alpha Dropper?

[chevrofreak]

8 hours ago, Dirtchevy841 said:

My guess would be copyright issues. Plus I’d want mine to look different also

i can tell you this black coating is slick as whale s$&t. 

Black nitride

[Dirtchevy841]

18 hours ago, ck1 said:

I spoke to SSI briefly the other day and they said it’s longer in order to change the timing of the powder drop a bit.

 

 Mine showed up this morning and you’re right about the coating, it is slick as s**t lol. Overall the part is perfectly machined and clean. It also seems to be hard as s**t too, which is what the gentleman at SSI pointed out when we spoke; he said one of the main things they were trying to improve upon is the overall durability of the funnel, as high volume loaders tend to wear out softer funnels like the MBF funnel and that makes them behave worse over time... this isn’t something I have any personal experience with at this point because I’ve just started my reloading journey, but is something I’m sure guys who’ve been pumping out thousands and thousands of rounds and wearing out funnels will appreciate.
 

That said, I hate to be “that guy”, but after setting it up in my press (XL750) I ended up pulling it right out and reinstalled my still-new MBF funnel... In my press, backing off the die-body 5 full turns as per the instructions (9/38 funnel) from where I had the MBF funnel wasn’t real close; I had to turn the die-body back down about 3 full turns from there to get in the ballpark of where I’d had my MBF funnel set. Then I had to come back down a bit more from there to get it to where there was enough flare to accept bullets without having them topple (ending up with a flare around .382-.385 depending on the case, about the same flare setting I was running the MBF funnel). Thing is, and this might just be me being unlucky and/or my specific press, but this had the Alpha Dropper sticking down further than where the MBF funnel would sit and actually below where my sizing/decap die rides, so with an empty shell-plate while sizing a single case the Alpha Dropper would actuate the powder measure a little bit... With a full shell-plate in the middle of a run I doubt this would be a big deal, but I just didn’t like the look/feel of it and there’s a chance it might add to my powder measure leaking powder when running single cases now and then (and I haven’t been at this long, but I can already see that the Dillon powder measure doesn’t need any help leaking as it’s already pretty good at doing that on it’s own lol). Also, and I only had the Alpha Dropper in my press for like 5 minutes so take that into account, I only ran about 10 or so cases through it once I had it adjusted down enough to flare correctly and still experienced a few cases sticking just as they would with the MBF funnel... YMMV.

 

So, long story short, doesn’t look like it’s going to work for me. I contacted SSI about doing a return because seriously the thing doesn’t even look like I took it out of the package, but if they won’t except it, you’ll probably see it in the classifieds section...

And I had no adjustments required. My 40 setup was the same with each. Didn’t have to turn the die at all. Maybe I got lucky. I even measured 20 case mouths for the flare before I took the mbf out and when I put the alpha in. All were the same. I guess I got lucky. 

[rooster]

I have a 550 so this might not pertain to you. Set it up just like you would any other funnel. It’s just longer. The 5 turns is just a starting point. You want the powder bar to travel it’s full extension, and the case flair should be good at .585 to about .588 for 9mm. Enough to set the bullet in place. What I do is over flair the case then run just the case in your seat die. Measure the flair again, then set your funnel to a few thou. over that. Doing this keeps the case straight because it’s contacting the die wall on the way to accept the bullet. The alpha dropper is a great improvement over the mbf, I get no stick at all, it worth every penny. 

[mveto]

On 7/21/2020 at 11:44 AM, rooster said:

the case flair should be good at .585 to about .588 for 9mm.

I’m sure this was a typo but he case flair for 9mm should be .385-.388, not .535 it would destroy the case.

[rooster]

6 hours ago, mveto said:

I’m sure this was a typo but he case flair for 9mm should be .385-.388, not .535 it would destroy the case.

Yes, good catch. Flair should be .385-.388

Edited July 25, 2020 by rooster
Change number

[78Staff]

I never used the MBF dropper, with the 1050 it's really not needed, as the swage backup/expander die and Dillon dropper provide enough bell/flare for bullet dropping alone when adjusted correctly - and that's strait from DAA.  I mostly load coated for pistol and have not had any issues with bullet tumbling, although I do have the ghetto zip tie mod.  I find being smooth on the handle (no auto drive here) with a consistent pace works better.  In fact, going too slow sometimes creates a bit of wobble - smooth but with a bit of tempo without racing and it be like water  (apologies to Bruce Lee :))

[HOGRIDER]

On the Station #3 expander on "my" RL1100, the upper step is .357", which should be good for most FMJ/JHP quality bullets plus the .356"-.3565" coated lead.  IMO, anything (bullets) larger than this will require further expansion at Station 5 via the Powder Funnel.

 

I still use a modified MBF powder funnel along with the Dillon Expander, and my "sticking" at the powder drop has been 99% eliminated!  Tamping of the Zero 147JHP coming out of the DAA Pro Dropper has been extremely stable!  Flair at Station #5 is averaging .381" OD.