Dillon progressive modifications

[1moaoff]

To those that have modified the powder bar set up. What modifications did you do and what were the real world results?

 

[Huskydriver]

You loading for precision rifle?

 

[1moaoff]

Going to try that path yes. I dont need to but I want to give it a run. Currently I'm trying to use a stock 650xl to load 308 practice ammo. It works quite well so far... EXCEPT, for inconsistent powder throws. Running TAC I weighed 20 charges. .3 above and below were evident amd common. Staball with the larger kernel size was more consistent but with 308 and 125's i couldnt get over 2500 fps.

I have a ton of TAC and the gun will shoot 125's with it. The nodes below 3000 fps are not as fat and I dont want the speed.

So long and short I need to figure out what can be tuned etc on powder set up. Its the only lacking part so far.

 

[J McGriddle]

I put a rubber band around the powder bar and the hopper. It seems to help. I am +/- .1 with 6.5 Staball.

 

[pmclaine]

I did all the polishing of the funnel and bar.....

Ball powders are the shizzle.....

Sticks I pull and weigh.

Im a sucky reloader.

FGMM is my go to when I want it to matter but my ammo is good enough.

 

[DanGroves]

I just went through an issue of inconsistent powder throws with ball powder. Turns out I had static electricity in the powder tube. Cleaned it out and pulled a dryer cloth through it and consistency came back to ~ 0.1 grain.

 

[Odysseus1911]

I tried to use a flake powder (Red Dot) on my Dillon and was getting +/- .3 gr. Somehow, I got the idea to tape a vibrator to the hopper. Variation went down to +/- .1

Not long after, I decided I'd rather use a different powder than have a vibrator taped to my press.

 

[pmclaine]

I tried to use a flake powder (Red Dot) on my Dillon and was getting +/- .3 gr. Somehow, I got the idea to tape a vibrator to the hopper. Variation went down to +/- .1

Not long after, I decided I'd rather use a different powder than have a vibrator taped to my press.

Has Mrs Odysseus1911 asked for it back yet?

 

[Odysseus1911]

Has Mrs Odysseus1911 asked for it back yet?

yes

 

[MrSmith]

With a 550 I resize/decap on a single stage, corncob tumble the lube off and run a universal decap in the first hole to clear anything from the flash hole. Just smooths out the whole operation. Cut my ES in half.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[Rover31]

A mini fish tank aerator zip tied to the powder hopper works also.

 

[1moaoff]

Thank you

 

[Anb618]

A mini fish tank aerator zip tied to the powder hopper works also.

I use an old rechargeable electric toothbrush. Same idea, but I figure someone might have one stuck in the bathroom closet not getting use like I did. Saved me a few dollars.

 

[GhostFace]

My SDB throws Longshot within .1 everytime. I'm impressed with that measure. The measure on the 550 isnt as good as the SDB but once i got everything adjusted and tightened it does pretty well. It throws ball powders within .2 almost every time but every now and then i will get an odd charge that's .4 +/-. I polished the measure that i use on my '06 toolhead because i wanted to see how it would do with extruded powders, i tried IMR 4350. It threw the first 10 charges on the money! I was tickled to death, then all of a sudden a reality check hits. Charges would vary about 1.3 grains light. So i will put the Redding measure back on the tool head for my '06 loads for extruded powders and when i run through the IMR I have some StaBall I will put in the Dillon.

 

[FishDr]

Making the Dillon measure run consistent takes some work, and some technique. I have polished the bar, the square area in the frame where the bar slides, and the powder funnel area in the hopper. I've polished the powder funnel internals in the case activator. None of this was difficult... probably an hour on all of it. For consistent measures, I put the springs around the powder bar and the hopper and removed the "failsafe" portion.... it makes the powder system "jerky" in my opinion. The springs are much smoother. Also, lubricate with grease, as shown in the manual, the external portion of the frame that slides up/down, the ball crank joint, and the square joint on the powder bar. Set these adjustments carefully.
Last - the technique. Give the handle a small "bump" at the bottom to make sure all the powder falls into the case, and another small "bump" at the top to ensure the powder settles consistently into the measure. Almost the same type of action used on a manual powder measure.
Loading 308 using 2000MR powder, my SD is under 5, extreme spreads around 12fps.
Good luck.