Reloading Rifle Ammo

[Walleye Hunter]

Reread my earlier posts. You are supposed to screw the die till it touches then 1/8 to 1/4 turn DOWN. I don't think you are even close to fully sizing your case. I guess you didn't try my dry erase trick either.

I would do a hard stop and don't reload anything until you do some reading and understand what you are doing. Then get out your single stage press and start reloading rifle cases there. I always full length size rifle cases in a single stage anyway. Then you trim and prep the cases.

From the Dillon manual...

1. Move the handle down to raise the platform.
2. Screw the sizing/ depriming die into station
one of your reloader.
3. When the die contacts the shellplate,
back the die off 1/ 2 turn.

And I did read the marker part of your post and marked the shoulder of the shell and the marker is getting rubbed off at the base of the shoulder. I did not mark the whole neck but will and see what it yields. I also got one shell stuck already and don't want that to happen again.

[85MikeTPI]

From the Dillon manual...

1. Move the handle down to raise the platform.
2. Screw the sizing/ depriming die into station
one of your reloader.
3. When the die contacts the shellplate,
back the die off 1/ 2 turn.

Forgot you were doing this on a Dillon with Redding dies.. The thin shellplate of the dillon does require 1/2-turn back.
Normally a single-stage with a thicker shellholder will be flush or 1/2-turn down...

[Delkal]

From the Dillon manual...



And I did read the marker part of your post and marked the shoulder of the shell and the marker is getting rubbed off at the base of the shoulder. I did not mark the whole neck but will and see what it yields. I also got one shell stuck already and don't want that to happen again.

OK now we are making progress. If the dry erase marker is rubbed off the neck and the shoulder you are full length sizing the case.

So your problem is with your expander not being set deep enough. It looks like it can be adjusted deeper so try this. Run a deprimed case all the way in the die. Then try and loosen the expander and screw it in more. If it doesn't turn take the case out and screw the expander a half turn at a time till the primer pops out. You don't want to go so far that it bottoms out in the case

[Walleye Hunter]

I theen I have it...with the handle pulled all the way down, the shell plate has enough pressure on it that it can't be rattled and I get that light bump at the very end of the stroke, the marker gets rubbed off on the neck and the primer drops out. The next step would be the cut to length and I need a pilot tip for my Lyman case cutter. Thanks for all the help so far.

[Delkal]

If you have a drill press that can hold a 1/2 inch bit you might want to look at the Lee trimming system. Chuck the cutter and guide and run the drill at its lowest speed. Then you can trim the cases as fast as you can load them into the trimmer shellholder. Those Lyman lathe type trimmers where you hand crank them are slow and not as consistent. And it always leaves me with a blister on my thumb if you do a lot of cases.

[Walleye Hunter]

If you have a drill press that can hold a 1/2 inch bit you might want to look at the Lee trimming system. Chuck the cutter and guide and run the drill at its lowest speed. Then you can trim the cases as fast as you can load them into the trimmer shellholder. Those Lyman lathe type trimmers where you hand crank them are slow and not as consistent. And it always leaves me with a blister on my thumb if you do a lot of cases.

I do and I'll check that out, thanks.

[Brick]

If you have a drill press that can hold a 1/2 inch bit you might want to look at the Lee trimming system. Chuck the cutter and guide and run the drill at its lowest speed. Then you can trim the cases as fast as you can load them into the trimmer shellholder. Those Lyman lathe type trimmers where you hand crank them are slow and not as consistent. And it always leaves me with a blister on my thumb if you do a lot of cases.

The Lyman trimmers work well also, There's a conversion unit you can buy from Lyman that permits the use of a drill or even a battery powered screwdriver (which is what I use) to turn the lathe. Don't forget: You check case length and trim AFTER resizing. After trimming you need to deburr both inside and outside of neck. Unless you're loading and shooting super-duper extra magnum loads, it isn't needed to check length and trim every time. Also once you've trimmed your brass 5 times ditch the brass for new. Heavy loads might not last as long.

[Walleye Hunter]

I have to wait on the pilot for the trimmer so I'll probably chip away at decap/resizing until it gets here. So...you keep track of how many times it's been loaded, eh?

[Brick]

Yup! And I always make a dummy of every caliber cartridge I reload for each bullet type and brand. I also keep a trimmed case that is the correct "trim to" length. for each caliber. That way any changes of die settings or trim lengths are quickly accomplished. For setting dies I back every thing off (except the resizing die) put the exemplar in place and seating depth and crimp are quickly done. I neck size All rifle calibers and full length size all pistol calibers, so the sizing die is set up ready to go in a Dillon tool head. For trimming I loosen the adjusting screws, chuck the exemplar case in place and push the cutter tight against the case mouth, slide the adjusters into place, tighten the screws and I off and running.

BTW if you have a caliper set it at the MAXIMUM case length and lock in place, after resizing check the cases, any that pass though the jaws do not need to be trimmed. Fast and dirty and you don't have to measure each one. It's just go or no go!

[Pete D.]

My opinion......i use my 550 for pistol and rifle loads. Once the brass has been cleaned and then lubed for sizing, I perform all the other operations on the 550. The rifle cartridges that I load most often are .30-06, .375 H&H, .416 Rigby. The ‘06 gets the most use.
Trimming...my experience with these three cases, as well as quite a few others, is that they do not need to be trimmed after every use. Maybe every fifth loading.
The problem with progressive presses or semi-progressive presses like the 550 is finding a way to drop enough powder.
I use a Lee Perfect Powder measure which fits nicely into the expander die. It drops the large charges within a grain or two of the target charge weight. My experience is that being fairly precise (as opposed to exact) is more than acceptable when dropping the large charges for .338, .375, .416. A grain or two on a charge of 75 to over 100 grains of powder is not going to make any detectable difference.
After the cartridges come off the press, I clean the lube off with a paper towel and lighter fluid.