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Lets see some groups with Dillon reloaders


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I have a RL550B, and I like it.

I have seen some statements made about poor accuracy with Dillon ammo, I know this to be BS for the most part

Some guys are blowhards about their Dillions and won't accept the results. Being that defensive of their beloved purchase tells me something about these machines.....

Guy at the range is a serious Bullseye shooter who reloads A LOT. He likes the Dillion but made more accurate ammo with the Hornady press as well as progressive RCBS (piggyback).

Chronograph, Ransom Rest, measurements with calipers\micrometers, pulled bullets (weigh charge) proved the Dillion to make the worst ammo. That's not to say it was bad or unacceptable but it wasn't as consistent. It also had the most primer seating issues. The ammo was certainly good enough to deer hunt with yet registered a few flaws for competition ammo.

I told him he needs to do this again and let me photo everything then send it to "Box of Truth" or make a freebie site with the results.

I can usually spot ammo made on a Dillion press With Dillion dies when placed next to better made ammo.

Most notable is the off-center bullet and\or some sort of primer issue (usually because they tend to go in a little crooked).

I saw the measurements, including out-ofround, taken on ammo made from a Dillion - that was no lie. I also saw what it did in the Ransom Rest from a match gun (I was there for that), and it was proven to be not as good. Not saying it was bad or terrible but just not as good.

Seems odd how some folks get mighty defensive when their beloved Dillions don't receive some serious praise. I chose not to buy one because out of the box results were not that great for Bullseye shooting. Most serious shooters I know reload using a Star press.

I don't have a Star but I have seen those results.... and that's worth defending.

NOTE folks these are not MY words, I see no basis for them, I'm pretty picky about my ammo and I do not see these defects in the ammo I make on my RL550B.

I know there have to be a ton of guys here with very accurate Dillon made ammo, I know the AMU uses the machines as do a lot of other people who reload for competition.

Hep a brother out here with some little tiny dillon ammo groups.

Bill

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my 300 yd and under 3gun rifle ammo groups at sub moa. load is 26.5 ww748 with 55 gr hornady HP's. done on a 550 with no case prep (use only once fired and leave them). so i'm more than happy with what that 18 year old press can do with 223.

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The first .40 S&W long (major) combination I tried for my STI was loaded on a Dillon Square Deal B. That load gave 5 shot groups under 1.25" at 25yds off a pretty bad sandbag rest. I posted a pic of the first group here to say thanks as it was a load someone suggested starting with. I'm guessing that from a machine rest that group size would be cut in half (they were fired indoors with poor lighting).

I'd imagine that loading that combination on a 550B or 650 with something like the Redding Competition Pro Series dies (competition seater die is awesome!) would make it even more accurate.

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"Most serious shooters I know reload using a Star press"

I guess I have never met a "serious shooter" because I can't think of anybody that I know who uses a Star in anything I have shoot(IPSC, ICORE,HP, IDPA)

I remember a couple of used up Star's sitting around in storage areas of small PD's but that's about my only contact with them. They were a fine machine, from what I understand. Didn't they go out of business sometime in the 90's.

Where did you get that quote anyway? It sounds sort of like another quote from a High Power site just ripping everybody into practical shooting as a bunch of lowlifes.

Everything still comes down to the shooter

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Probably the BEST ammo you can reload is with single stage presses where you pay close attention to every single detail. Of course, you will load at a rate of 10 rounds per hour. The Dillon and any other progressive press today are very good compared to the best you can achieve. Being able to do 300-600 rounds per hour is a very big trade off to being near perfect vs. to being perfect.

Why are you worried about what a few say anyway? Do you need to shoot 0.2" groups at 50 yds?

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Yea, them Dillons aint worth a dern.....

DSCN0769.jpg

...now, I did measure each powder charge, but the rest was pure 650 action.

5 shots at 100 yards...

Close_up_44_gr_Varget_175_SMK.jpg

ColdBore11Nov.jpg

Just found a pictue of partners group...loaded on a 550 (target says 700 yards if you can't read it). Both of these are 308's by the way.

DSCN0761.jpg

Edited by HiCapMag
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Some guys are blowhards about their Dillions

He likes the Dillion but made more accurate ammo with the Hornady press as well as progressive RCBS (piggyback).

I can usually spot ammo made on a Dillion press With Dillion dies when placed next to better made ammo.

I saw the measurements, including out-ofround, taken on ammo made from a Dillion -

My guess would be he must be talking about some cheap clone (Dillion) not a real Dillon press LOL!

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308

175gr SMK

Lapua cases

45 grains Varget

Once fired case, neck sized only

CCI BR2 primers

Fired from customized Rem 700

Partner had about the same load for 700 yard group.

I would like to say we (me and the gun) shoot like that all the time but......

....I would be lying :D

But it does show accuracy potential.

Wind was blowing right to left, so the horizontal is (largely) from the wind.

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Would this go under the heading of "reloading snobs"? As far as good ammo goes all my shooting problems center on..ahh...me. Not my Dillon, not my gun and not what I feed it. Now if any of those "serious" shooters have a Dillon they just can't stand cuz of the poor ammo it makes send them my way. Im sure I could find it in my heart to help a fellow shooter out by taking that Dillon off their hands. You know just to foster good will to other types of shooting :D

Edited by VeryBadshot
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308

175gr SMK

Lapua cases

45 grains Varget

Once fired case, neck sized only

CCI BR2 primers

Fired from customized Rem 700

Partner had about the same load for 700 yard group.

I would like to say we (me and the gun) shoot like that all the time but......

....I would be lying :D

But it does show accuracy potential.

Wind was blowing right to left, so the horizontal is (largely) from the wind.

Need more input!

Barrel, maker, twist, contour, chamber?

Stock, pillar bedded, bedding block?

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Yea, them Dillons aint worth a dern.....

DSCN0769.jpg

...now, I did measure each powder charge, but the rest was pure 650 action.

5 shots at 100 yards...

Close_up_44_gr_Varget_175_SMK.jpg

ColdBore11Nov.jpg

Just found a pictue of partners group...loaded on a 550 (target says 700 yards if you can't read it). Both of these are 308's by the way.

1.5 " @ 700 yds. Pretty good, considering that the WORLD RECORD at 600 yds is 1.071 inches. Maybe your buddy ought to get into bench rest and shot 3/4 inch groups.

DSCN0761.jpg

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Maybe he should...I'll tell him...he would get a kick out of that. He wont tell you he can do that everytime either.

Don't know how current your 600 record info is or what game.... a guy shot a 1.4 inch 5 shot 1000 yard group in the last month or two.

Found the link: LINKY

Dan, I don't know if I have all your info but....

308 match chamber ("not benchrest" - whatever that means)

24" Lothar Walther 1-10 twist

action is trued up etc, skim bedded in an AICS

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I have seen some statements made about poor accuracy with Dillon ammo.

There were some pretty good shooters at the S&W match- around 300 I believe. It was nice to beat the 9-time Bianchi Cup Champion in his own house. Doug did whip my ass pretty bad at the Single Stack Nationals this year, but he had a golf cart. I had to carry all my gear around.

To answer your question, YES, accurate ammunition can be loaded on a Dillon.

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