emptying a Dillon primer tube.....

[3006guns]

I've owned a Dillon 550 for several years now and am pretty happy with it. It's well designed, well made and produces good ammuntion. There's one thing I've never figured out though......if I change from one cartridge to another and have to change primers, how do I get the wrong size primers out? Do I have to operate the press repeatedly until they're all gone? Tried removing the inner primer tube...ONCE...mistake. Took almost an hour of very ticklish work to "worry" the primers out of the tube.

There may be an obvious answer, but I don't see it the manual and I don't want to goof anything up. Thanks!

Update: After going through the manual again, I finally decided that the answer is to simply remove the entire priming tube assembly (as if you were changing primer punch sizes) and turn the whole thing upside down over a container. If there's another way though, I'd sure like to hear it.

[kevin45acp]

I've owned a Dillon 550 for several years now and am pretty happy with it. It's well designed, well made and produces good ammuntion. There's one thing I've never figured out though......if I change from one cartridge to another and have to change primers, how do I get the wrong size primers out? Do I have to operate the press repeatedly until they're all gone? Tried removing the inner primer tube...ONCE...mistake. Took almost an hour of very ticklish work to "worry" the primers out of the tube.

There may be an obvious answer, but I don't see it the manual and I don't want to goof anything up. Thanks!

Update: After going through the manual again, I finally decided that the answer is to simply remove the entire priming tube assembly (as if you were changing primer punch sizes) and turn the whole thing upside down over a container. If there's another way though, I'd sure like to hear it.

I load until the tube is empty, then switch over. I normally try to only put in enough primers for the brass I have available to load. My Dillon is always free of primers and powder at the end of a run.

[uncledeck]

I try to load until empty on primers also, but if not raise the handle enough to allow you to jimmy the rod that moves the primer slide free of the follower wheel, then with the ram partially raised so the primer slide and cup clear the shell plate pull the primer slide back by hand to pick up a primer and then let it ease forward and remove the pimer by hand. Repeat as needed to remove all the primers.

[unclebill]

remove the entire priming tube assembly (as if you were changing primer punch sizes) and turn the whole thing upside down over a container.
thats how i do it.

[garandsrus]

Yep, turn the whole primer assembly upside down.... Pulling the rod out just dumps the primers all over the place.

John

[3006guns]

Thanks everyone. I also try to "time" the primers to the number of rounds, but it doesn't always work that way and I've ended up with as many as 40-50 left in the tube. "No big deal" says I, "I'll just check the manual and see what Mike Dillon has to say about that"......nothing. So I had to figure it out myself and removing the entire assembly seems easiest. Dillon designed a great unit and did all of us a wonderful service, so I guess I can forgive an oversight. After all, the end user is supposed to have SOME intelligence............DOH!

From now on I'm going to pay more attention to number of rounds left.

[Calamity Jake]

I always load in quanity's of 50 or 100 so I put in that many primers, then I don't have to worry about extra primers in the tube.

[yondering]

Yup, put in the number of primers you plan to use, and no more. It's that simple. Want to load 20 rounds? Put in 20 primers. That's how I keep track of how many rounds I've loaded in that session, when the primers run out.

[Dan Cash]

Since I can't count primers for shucks, I do like Uncle Bill, dismount the primer feed and dump the primers in a can. Of course, I have been known to feed a few large pistol primers to a large rifle case but NEVER the other way around.

[Tom Herman]

That's how I do it as well.

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

remove the entire priming tube assembly (as if you were changing primer punch sizes) and turn the whole thing upside down over a container.
thats how i do it.

[yondering]

Dan, you don't really have to count the primers; when you take them out of the box, just pull the plastic holder out of the cardboard so only the number of primers you need are exposed. If you need 40 primers, pull out the holder so 4 rows are exposed, flip it over onto a primer tray, and the other 60 stay in the box. Keeps me from getting primers mixed up!

[unclebill]

sometimes i change my mind and want to load something else.
no biggie.
ive got a can for each size
and a special one for the .454 casulls SRP's

[Dan Cash]

Dan, you don't really have to count the primers; when you take them out of the box, just pull the plastic holder out of the cardboard so only the number of primers you need are exposed. If you need 40 primers, pull out the holder so 4 rows are exposed, flip it over onto a primer tray, and the other 60 stay in the box. Keeps me from getting primers mixed up!

Perhaps the primers stay in the box for you. For me, it is an odds on bet that some end up on the floor just waiting to ignite the old Electrolux when I clean up.