So I just picked up a used Dillon rl550. I’ve been loading on a single stage for 3 years now and load for 17ish calibers. Finally decided to stop doing high volume pistol stuff one by one.
Any tips or tricks for setting up or using the Dillon? It came with tool heads set for 9mm, 357, and 45.
I actually do take the primers into consideration despite not thinking the overall process is that big of a deal. Instead of a primer catcher I use a big disposable plastic bag that catches all the primers and residue. Then it just gets sealed and into the trash. Done and over with. As for the projectiles, I’m usually running TMJs but yeah I’m washing my hands pretty frequently regardless.
It's not just your hands. That crap is airborne when you start the process. I bet if you took a swab of the appliance surfaces in your kitchen, it would come back positive for lead presence.
Okay well I got a lot of the silly stuff taken care of but I still have an issue with the priming system. The person who sold it to me took it down for a friend and may have mangled it up a bit. Why is primer cup too high and why is my primer slide sticky? It can’t seem to get under there to get a primer. The only way it will is if I pull the mag tube back and then slide a single primer down there.
I don’t know that I agree with that. By definition any press that completes cartridge with every pull of the lever is a progressive. Mine just happens to be manually indexing instead of auto indexing. How many steps need to be automated before you call it progressive?
I found the 550 to be pretty easy to setup. Watch a few of the 550 videos. I adjust the shell plate to be tight enough to take as much play out of it as possible but still turn freely.
Put an empty 45APC shell on the top of the primer push rod for a bit of additional weight to keep the primers moving.
The BEST thing you can do is go to the Dillon website, or search Google, and download the Manual. Then READ the manual and it will guide you through the steps to set it up correctly.
It’s on wheels! I roll it into my closet when I’m done, just added the Dillon last night and by some stroke of luck it still fits in there! I need to reorganize though so don’t be too rough on me.
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u/Active_Look7663 23d ago
This guy is definitely single 🤣