Ready to load 45LC in my Dillon 550B, what are your favorite dies?

[Walstr]

Getting into Cowboy Action Shooting, & ready to start loading 180g, hardcast, RNFP, 45LC. Have 700 cases, plenty of Unique & Lrg. pistol primers. Looking for sage advice re: your favorite 45LC dies that work in a Dillon 550B.

Thanks for watching Pardners...& pls. PM me as well.

[MtGun44]

Dillon dies are easy to pull apart to clean in the 550, optimized for the machine.
Wide mouth and radius on the sizer die, generally really good dies and set up
different to work best with their machines.

IMO, Hornady New Dimension with their extremely slick sizing ring which actually
polishes the cases and particularly, the floating sleeve boolit alignment system to
get the boolit straight into the case, make them superior to most die sets.

Usually, you pay double or triple for 'benchrest die sets' to get this floating sleeve
in Bonanza/Forster or Redding - std in Hornady - without the micrometer seating
stem, tho.

Bill

[btroj]

I have gone to using the Hornady sizer and then buying Dillon seating dies and it have many different crimp dies, mostly Redding profile crimp.

The Dillon seater is nice because it come apart easily for cleaning without changing the setting on the die. That makes it very nice for cast bullets as lube will build up in the seater over time.

[HATCH]

I run dillon dies and they work great on the 45lc.
I am gonna setup my 650 to do 45lc this spring.

The problem I am running into is that I am over the limit on powder and primers. To my knowledge there isn't a limit on loaded ammo so its time to start converting primers and powder into loaded ammo

[Walstr]

I run dillon dies and they work great on the 45lc.
I am gonna setup my 650 to do 45lc this spring.

The problem I am running into is that I am over the limit on powder and primers. To my knowledge there isn't a limit on loaded ammo so its time to start converting primers and powder into loaded ammo-
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Thanks for response. Since when are their limits on owning powder or primers? To what are you referring? Does it relate to Wisconsin as well?

Wally

[Walstr]

I have gone to using the Hornady sizer and then buying Dillon seating dies and it have many different crimp dies, mostly Redding profile crimp.

The Dillon seater is nice because it come apart easily for cleaning without changing the setting on the die. That makes it very nice for cast bullets as lube will build up in the seater over time.
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What is the Dillon "...accu-crimp for revolvers."? Don't I require a 'roll crimp' die? My commercial boolits do have a distinct crimp groove.

[HATCH]

The limit is how it is stored. Federal guidelines tell you how to build a powder magazine for up to 50#s but don't tell you how to store more then 50#s.
It doesn't say you can't store more or have more it just says how it must be stored.
I live in SC and there is no state restriction. I have spoke to the fire marshal and in he town I live in there isn't a restriction either.
So it all boils down to how to store more then 50#s of powder.

[mazo kid]

There is a guideline for storing up to 50 pounds of black powder, does that apply to smokeless as well? The powder magazine is for storing more than 50 pounds, as I understand it.

[Doc_Stihl]

If it were me looking for new dies for a 45 Colt I'd get a set of Hornady dies.
When I seat I reach in and grab the floating stem and hold it as the bullet/brass enters. If something is crooked I can feel it and fix it, when everything is right you can feel it align the bullet and sit on the brass and then you let go.

[HATCH]

I haven't had any seating/crimping issues using dillon dies.



10-3 SMOKELESS PROPELLANTS. 10-3.1 Quantities of smokeless propellants not exceeding 25 LB (11.3kg), in shipping containers approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation, may be transported in a private vehicle.

10-3.2 Quantities of smokeless propellants exceeding 25 lb (11.3kg) but not exceeding 50 lb (22.7 kg), transported in a private vehicle, shall be transported in a portable magazine having wood walls of at least 1-inc. (25.4-mm) nominal thickness.

10-3.3 Transportation of more than 50 lb (22.7 kg) of smokeless propellants in a private vehicle is prohibited.

10-3.4 Commercial shipments of smokeless propellants in quantities not exceeding 100 lb. (45.4kg) are classified for transportation purposes as flammable solids when packaged according to U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations. (Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Park 173.197a), and shall be transported accordingly.

10-3.5 Commercial shipments of smokeless propellants exceeding 100 lb (45.4 kg) or not packaged in accordance with the regulations cited in 10-3.4 shall be transported according to the U. S. Department of Transportation regulations for Class B propellant explosives.

10-3.6 Smokeless propellants shall be stored in shipping containers specified by U. S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

10-3.7 Smokeless propellants intended for personal use in quantities not exceeding 20 lb (9.1 kg) may be stored in original containers in residences. Quantities exceeding 20 lb (9.1 kg), but not exceeding 50 lb (22.7 kg), may be stored in residences if kept in a wooden box or cabinet having walls or at least 1-inc. (25.4-mm) nominal thickness.

10-3.8 Not more than 20 lb (9.1 kg) of smokeless propellants, in containers of 1-lb (0.45-kg) maximum capacity, shall be displayed in commercial establishments.

10-3.9 Commercial stocks of smokeless propellants should be stored as follows:
(a) Quantities exceeding 20 lb (9.1 kg), but not exceeding 100 lb (45.4 kg), shall be stored in portable wooden boxes having walls of at least 1-in (25.4-mm) thickness.
(b) Quantities exceeding 100 lb (45.4 kg), but not exceeding 800 lb (363 kg), shall be stored in non portable storage cabinets having walls of at least 1-in (25.4-mm) thickness. Not more than 400 lb (181 kg) may be stored in any one cabinet and cabinets shall be separated by a distance of at least 25 ft (7.63 m) or by a fire partition having a fire resistance of at least 1 hour.
(c) Quantities exceeding 800 lb (363 kg), but not exceeding 5,000 lb (2268 kg), may be stored in a building if the following requirements are met:

The warehouse or storage room shall not be accessible to unauthorized personnel.
Smokeless propellant shall be stored in nonportable storage cabinets having wood walls at least 1 inc. (25.4 mm) thick and having shelves with no more than 3 ft (0.92 m) separation between shelves.
No more than 400 lb (181 kg) shall be stored in any one cabinet.
Cabinets shall be located against walls of the storage room or warehouse with at least 40 ft (12.2 m) between cabinets.
Separation between cabinets may be reduced to 250 ft (6.1m) if barricades twice the height of the cabinets are attached to the wall, midway between each cabinet. The barricades shall extend at least 10 ft (3m) outward, shall be firmly attached to the wall, and shall be constructed of 1/4-inc. (6.4-mm) boiler plate, 2-in. (51-mm) thick wood, brick, or concrete block.
Smokeless propellant shall be separated from materials classified by the U.S. Department of Transportation as flammable liquids, flammable solids, and oxidizing materials by a distance of 25 ft (7.63mm) or by a fire partition having a fire resistance of at least 1 hour.
The building shall be protected by an automatic sprinkler system installed accordingly to NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems.

(d) Smokeless propellants not stored according to (a), (b) and (c) above shall be stored in a Type 4 magazine constructed and located according to Chapter 6.

[Iowa Fox]

I use Dillon dies for the Dillon machine even if I have a duplicate die set for the single stage.

[David2011]

The Dillon dies really are good for the cast boolit shooter because they're so easy to clean. The decapping pin is also nice because of the way it "snaps" and kind of flings the primer off of the pin so it doesn't get pulled back into the primer pocket. If anyone finds a decapping pin pulling primers back into the pocket, you can grind an angle onto the end of the pin. It needs to be smooth when you finish- very fine snadpaper or stoning is adequate. A symmetrical decapping pin can stick in the anvil but if there's an angle it is more likely to fall free.

Any die that roll crimps is suitable. Since you have 4 positions, you can seat and crimp separately. That helps prevent shaving the lead at the seating stage.

David

[MtGun44]

I keep powder in an old oak kitchen cabinet hanging in my basememt.

Bill

[6bg6ga]

Favorite dies?

I guess it depends on what I am loading. I won't use Lee at all after trying a taper crimp die of theirs. Favorite rifle die is Redding because of form, fit, and function. Favorite production die would be the Dillon in my 650 press and a run of 45acp. Just about any dies works as long as it doesn't start with the letter "L". RCBS is a favorite simply because they back up their product. So, small runs I use RCBS but they do require the shell case be positioned correctly so that they will enter the FL resizing die. Any die with the exception of Lee seems to work good for me. As mentioned some need to be positioned a little better but in all they seem to function. I guess Lee dies also work but my opinion is they seem to be more aggressive when it comes to case wear.

[Baltimoreed]

Favorite dies are RCBS but I have a few others that work ok. The lee seating pistol die is nice because of the easy no tool needed adjustment. I use it on my dillon that’s always set up for 45acp or 45ar. Only takes a second to change it from a 200 gr swc to a 230 gr rn.

[onelight]

I have gone to using the Hornady sizer and then buying Dillon seating dies and it have many different crimp dies, mostly Redding profile crimp.

The Dillon seater is nice because it come apart easily for cleaning without changing the setting on the die. That makes it very nice for cast bullets as lube will build up in the seater over time.

That is a handy feature on the Dillon seating die . Thanks

[Petrol & Powder]

Old thread but..........

I have a collection of dies installed in a collection of Dillon 550 tool heads. Some tool heads have multiple brands of dies installed on them.

The Dillon dies work fine but over the years I've tweaked my set up to include dies from other manufacturers. Redding is probably my favorite. The new style Dillon dies can be separated for cleaning without affecting the adjustment, that's a nice feature.

[ioon44]

+ 1 on the Hornady dies.

[hotshot357]

I like Dillon dies. I am relatively new to reloading so a forum like this one helps me. I can hear from other people that have "been there-done that".Who knows, I might find out about something that is better!!!!

[Taterhead]

My 45 Colt dies are RCBS. I like that the expander plug can be switched for a 45 Cowboy. It is more correctly dimensioned for cast. Alas, that is of no use for the 550 press with its integrated expander and powder funnel in station 2. My press has 5 stations so I'm able to make use of it.

Mine are PC, so lube buildup is moot for me. I can see the utility in the Dillon design

[MrWolf]

I prefer Dillon dies but do have ones from the other manufacturers for those that Dillon doesn't make.

[j4570]

RCBS carbide with Dillon seat die

that's easy to clean

[6bg6ga]

Went thru my dies while packing for our move to AZ. It would seem that I have Dillon and RCBS dies for each caliber which allows me to setup on the 650 or the Lyman-T- Mag press.

[gcf]

My 45 Colt dies are RCBS. I like that the expander plug can be switched for a 45 Cowboy. It is more correctly dimensioned for cast.

What is the OD of the 45 Cowboy expander? Just curious.

I use new style Dillon .45 Colt dies for my 550B, but expand in a separate step, w/ a "stepped" Lyman M (.449") die. It's an extra step - as it's NOT powder through, but worth it, as it makes cast bullet seating alignment much easier.

Mr. BulletFeeder does make a powder through, stepped M style neck expander for Dillon 550's. Bit on the pricey side, but I've been using one in conjunction w/ Dillon 9mm dies, & it works well.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Dillon. If not those, then Hornady and probably others have cowboy action dies available. I use them for my 45-70.

[rmantoo]

I only use Dillon whenever possible for decapping/sizing. For seating and/or crimping, I always seem to end up with 5 or 6 of each caliber, and cycle through them until I find one that works best for my load.

I love Forster, overall, as well as Whidden for precision rifle- there aren't many better- or more pricey than Whidden.