Straight line seating die for use with 550?

[Jack Stanley]

Does anyone here use a straight line seater die in a Dillon 550 press ? I did a little snooping in the achives and Forster dies came up a lot but the press was rarely mentioned .

The thought here is for jacketed ammo and not so much for cast lead . While I only normally use two different bullet weights a couple of my rifles like much different seating depths to work well . With that in mind I'm thinking of a micrometer scale and log the different settings . Redding , Forster and RCBS make such dies I believe but RCBS suggests an "extended shell holder" when using theirs . If that is so the I don't think I'll be able to use that in the Dillon .

The cartridge to be loaded for is the .223 if that makes a difference . As always , thanks for your insight .

Jack

[Mike Kerr]

I don't have any insight to such a setup but I wonder what is the benefit of an inline die in a Dillon 550?

[220swiftfn]

I understand that the thought is to make adjusting for length easier with the micrometer headed seating die. That being said, what dies are you using now?? If you have Hornady dies, you can just replace the seating stem with their micrometer stem and be done with it. If you're looking SPECIFICALLY for a supported "in line" micrometer sleeved die, then the Forster "Ultimate" or the Redding is the way to go with a progressive (Yes, the RCBS does need the extended shellholder for the .223, it won't work in progressive loading....) That being said, you can maximize the benefits of using a match-grade seating die on the 550 by making two upgrades to the press. The first is to take the slop out of the dieset by tapping and helicoiling the toolhead, and bolting it in instead of using the two pins. The other is to remove as much play in the shellplate as possible with a needle bearing under the plate bolt.


Dan

[Jack Stanley]

Currently the seating die is a Dillon , it does seat bullets but is a pain to adjust and I'm really not sure about the runout of the ammunition . Performance has been about what I'd expect and probably as good as I can shoot . But then , I don't know that I've ever shoot really excellent ammo unless it was rimfire match stuff . Now that I can tell a good batch from a bad one .

Jack

[garandsrus]

Jack,

I use the Redding Competition Micrometer seating die for .223 on both a Dillon 550 or 650. I load 69, 77, and 80 gr bullets for High Power so I have multiple OAL changes. It is very easy to adjust to get the correct seating depth and works well. I would recommend it.

[John J]

I use the RCBS comp seating die in 223 & 308 on a 650....just have to modify it so you don't have to use the extended shell holder

you would have to get a new button head screw that is 1/2 inch longer and a 1/2x1/2 washer (I used a plastic spacer) and your good to go.

John J

[Jack Stanley]

It sort of sounds like a Forster or Redding is a plug it in and go to work die . I may need to get the Sinclair catalog out and check my budget again .

Jack

[garandsrus]

Jack,

I didn't change anything on the Redding die to get it to work with either the 550 or 650 in .223.

John

[Jack Stanley]

Thanks John , It looks like other than the twenty-five dollar price difference is the lock rings and the Redding number scale is highlighted . You think the performance of the two is the same ?

Jack