Moving toward the blue light

[Ritten]

I went ahead and decided to START to make the move out of the dark ages and purchased a Dillon 550b this morning. Up till now, the many tens of thousands of rounds that I've reloaded have been done on a RCBS Rockchucker, which I will keep, but after spending a few hours yesterday to load a hundred or so .50ae rounds I decided I needed to go progressive. Pistol rounds simply suck on the single stage.

I purchased it set up for .223 and will get the caliber conversions for others as I get used to it. I'll use it for plinking, bulk, and hunting ammo but will probably work off of the RCBS for match stuff since my brass prep is much more detailed during the process.

Anyway, my pocket book just wants to give a big "F-U" to all those who have been pushing the blue kool-aid......thanks a lot!!

 

[tactical723]

You will not regret it, just think all the free time you have now you can go pickup some lawn grass cutting jobs to pay for it

 

[hdfinder47]

Welcome to Blue World. Good choice.

 

[Storm52]

I have a SDB & 550. Customer service with Dillon is excellent as is the no BS warranty. Buy once, cry once.

 

[dzelenka]

I purchased it set up for .223 and will get the caliber conversions for others as I get used to it. I'll use it for plinking, bulk, and hunting ammo but will probably work off of the RCBS for match stuff since my brass prep is much more detailed during the process.

Do all of your case prep and priming using the RockChucker and hand primer. THEN, use the Dillon for charging and seating. It will speed up your loading without sacrificing accuracy. Trust me on this.

Don't forget to buy some 77s and 80s so you can get to work on your distinguished badge.

 

[Akajun]

That requirement went out the window when the AR became popular. They never issued ammo for the ar and Lake City never had a match load.

 

[dzelenka]

Also, the army decided that it was not cost effective to sell each competitor 60 rounds of LC M118LR, M852 or M72 for $1.

 

[Ritten]

Don't forget to buy some 77s and 80s so you can get to work on your distinguished badge.

What do you think the drop shipment was mostly for? Thanks for the tip on using both presses. I was wondering what kind of routine ya'll used.

 

[captain-03]

How does the Dillons do with cast pistol bullets? Also thinking about getting one .. interest in 9mm, 40S&W, 45acp and .223 .... Which model ...???

 

[dzelenka]

Oh, there is plenty of match ammo available for the 5.56. Atlanta Arms produces 77gr Sierra ammo for match use. The AMU issues 80 gr ammo. And certain special ops units issue Mk262Mod0 and Mod1 which is mag length 77 Sierra ammo built by Black Hills. The Marines for some time used Black Hills. The problem is that all of these rounds cost too much for the military to be giving it to the civilians who bought it for them in the first place. I would be happy to shoot the mag length 77s for $1 per box four times a year.

 

[RStewart]

I went ahead and decided to START to make the move out of the dark ages and purchased a Dillon 550b this morning.

Damn. Something else to add to the Christmas list.

 

[dzelenka]

Speaking of M72, I'll bet any remaining quantities of THAT is worth its weight in dope...

.

There is more out there than you would believe. CMP used to practically give it away and from time to time I bump into guys who have plenty left over from their M1 shooting days. I had some LC62 Match on Garand clips that I sold rather than shoot because people are so retarded about the stuff. Face it, M72 and M118 are not that good. They have crappy bullets compared to Sierras. Speaking of the M118 projectiles, CMP used to sell them by the .50 ammo can. I have a half can that I picked up a couple of years ago for $25. I don't know how many are in it, but it would make some OK 200 yard M1/1903 loads - sort of faux M72.

 

[Ritten]

Happiness is...

 

[RStewart]

Ooohhhhh! Very nice.

 

[hdfinder47]

How does the Dillons do with cast pistol bullets? Also thinking about getting one .. interest in 9mm, 40S&W, 45acp and .223 .... Which model ...???

I have loaded many 9mm, 38, 357, 40, 45acp, 45lc and 44mag cast bullets with my old, used 550 without ANY issues over the last 18 or so years. And the no B.S. warranty is the real deal (you can just trust me on this one cuz I ain't gonna' share the facts).

 

[Barney88PDC]

Ritten you are going to LOVE that press. If you ever have any quarks with it you can probably find a fix or nice trick at the enos forum. I bought mine at the beginning of the year and have loaded about 6K rounds so far. I could not imagine having to load pistol on a single stage.

You also went with the right press. For those thinking about getting a progressive press you cannot go wrong with Dillion. However, I advise against the SBD for 2 reasons. 1) you can ONLY load pistol on it. 2) You ONLY can use Dillion dies specifc for the SBD which the threads are not the standard 7/8 - 14.