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mrblue
03-25-2014, 03:28 PM
Looking into a Dillon 550 basic to start. Im gonna use lee dies for the time being. My problem with this is i usally have to flare/expand the case mouths with rifle dies. For a dillon this seems like a fifth station. Is there a powder die that will expand that i can use for the dillon. I see the one they make does not expand/flare.

Sgtonory
03-25-2014, 03:47 PM
What caliber are you reloading for? The dillon conversion kits come with a powder thru flare die. Or you can use a Lee powder thru flare setup both work fine.

Tatume
03-25-2014, 04:02 PM
Rifle die sets don't usually have a flare die. I use Dillon 450 presses for loading much of my ammo (I have several). I do not charge cases on the press. Instead I use the press in semi-progressive mode. I size and flare (Lee Universal Flare die) in one operation, charge those 50 cases at my RCBS Uniflow station, then seat and crimp in a second operation on the Dillon. This gives me an opportunity to inspect the 50 charges with a flashlight before seating any bullets.

Lee dies work fine on Dillon presses but usually the lock ring does not. You will probably have to replace the aluminum lock ring and O-ring with a thin lock ring. The Lee lock ring is too thick to allow the die to be adjusted deep enough into the press. Dillon sells the thin lock rings for $1.35 each.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/24576/catid/4/1_quot__Dillon_Die_Lock_Ring

Take care, Tom

Larry Gibson
03-25-2014, 05:51 PM
Put the M-die in station 3 and the seater in station 4. Put the bullet with the left hand in the expanded case mouth before rotating the shell plate with that cartridge to station 4 for seating on the next stroke. Easy to do, done thousand of cast bullet rifle loads that way. If yyou want to crimp as a separate step (other than when seating the bullet) simply load all the cartridges then put the crimp die in station 1 and crimp them.

Larry Gibson

wild bill wildbill59
04-03-2014, 01:00 AM
I like the hole to be big enough that it appears to be ghost image very quick on game

wild bill wildbill59
04-03-2014, 01:01 AM
Wrong post

mrblue
04-03-2014, 06:08 AM
Wow. My mind was in the gutter reading that one!

imashooter2
04-03-2014, 06:23 AM
Rifle die sets don't usually have a flare die. I use Dillon 450 presses for loading much of my ammo (I have several). I do not charge cases on the press. Instead I use the press in semi-progressive mode. I size and flare (Lee Universal Flare die) in one operation, charge those 50 cases at my RCBS Uniflow station, then seat and crimp in a second operation on the Dillon. This gives me an opportunity to inspect the 50 charges with a flashlight before seating any bullets.

Lee dies work fine on Dillon presses but usually the lock ring does not. You will probably have to replace the aluminum lock ring and O-ring with a thin lock ring. The Lee lock ring is too thick to allow the die to be adjusted deep enough into the press. Dillon sells the thin lock rings for $1.35 each.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/24576/catid/4/1_quot__Dillon_Die_Lock_Ring

Take care, Tom

Or you can put the Lee lock rings on the bottom of the tool head.

pls1911
04-06-2014, 09:38 AM
Larry's recomendation makes a lot of sense.
I crimp on station 4 using a taper crimp or profile die with a taper crimp, so it's not for me.
When preparing brass, every case mouth is chamferred inside using a drill press chucked with a common RCBS chamferring tool. Good results can be had by hand turning, but I chamfer a few hundred cases at a time.
The chamfer acts somewhat like a centering "funnel" to seat .312 gas checked bullets without shaving.
The gas check is hard enough open the mouth if needed and my bullets actually finish out at about .311.
The action of the crimp and/or neck profile die holds bullets firmly. The technique works fine for .30-30, and .308, and should be fine with many others.