Dillon 550 dumps rounds on the floor

[meshugunner]

I've been reloading .380 acp in my 550 and about every other completed round fails to make it into the bin and falls on the floor. I have this problem with other calibers that I reload but it's worst with .380. Problem is the chute has a hole to accommodate the handle when seating a primer. The only trick that I have is to flip the indexer sharply, giving the completed round enough momentum to clear the chute.

Any tips or tricks for this problem?

Thanks.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I just can't resist - buy a Hornady LnL or an RCBS Pro 2000.:kidding:

[wv109323]

I have the same problem. About 40% of my 9MM end up in the floor. I would think the "ejector" could be modified to get the finished round into the chute more reliably.
Also the spent primers end up all over the floor. I reckon I feel better because I can pick up the spent primers and the loaded rounds with one trip to the floor.

[Mk42gunner]

It has been more than twenty years since I had a 550; but I don't recall these problems, of course the smallest round I loaded on mine was the .40 S&W.

My suggestion is to tape a deflector upstream of the hole. A piece of milk jug plastic held on by ordnance (duct) tape should work okay.

Robert

[Nueces]

I have this problem with 45 Colt on my 550 if I index the plate with the ram too high. It has to be near the lower limit for all rounds to reliably fall into the blue bin.

[retread]

I have had a occasional 9mm fall through but nothing larger. I found that a sharper indexing of the star lessens the problem. I can see how 380 could be a bigger problem. Maybe locate another catch tray and/or chute to catch the offenders?

[silverjay]

I don't have this problem with 380-223's. I index at full bottom.

[runfiverun]

You might have to move the slide over closer to the machine and grind the support a little to clear the handle.
sometimes the rounds are just too short and don't tip over straight and miss the slide altogether.

[dikman]

Buy a Lee :lol::lol::lol:. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself after everyone keeps saying buy a Dillon. :dung_hits_fan:

[wrench man]

IIRC? my 550B dropped a round now and then on the floor?, then I got the strong mount and an over sized bin and haven't dropped one since?
If you're dropping spent primers the catch chute is binding, the cotter pin may be a little to tight, it NEEDS to be FLOPPY LOOSE!

[MrWolf]

Mine has never dropped a 9mm but never tried a 380. I use the Harvey Deprimer; no dropped used primers and no junk near my press.

[crawfobj]

I added a magnet to the side of my primer catcher. Solved my binding issue.

[garym1a2]

Never had this problem on my loadmaster.[smilie=p:

[rosewood]

I have been using a 550b for about 12 years and never had a problem with primers missing or rounds falling either. Never loaded .380, smallest is 9mm so far. Maybe you need to mount the ammo chute closer to the press? I have mine mounted directly on top of a table. Never bought their mount.

[kweidner]

You can change elevation of ejector slightly.......If using a strong mount sometimes you have to play with geometry of plate to make it work. By description thiugh it sounds like no strongmount. May try and tweak that angle a bit as well.

[Petrol & Powder]

Never had that problem but occasionally get a 38 Special cartridge sideways in the chute that must be helped along. You might consider polishing the wedge shaped wire device that forces the cartridge out of the shell plate. If you can "pop" that finished round out of the shell plate a little quicker as you index the shell plate it may travel past the cutout in the chute faster.

[lpspinner]

Like most here, I haven't loaded .380, but 9mm. Never had a 9mm fall thru. The only time they fall out of the bin is when it's full and I forgot to empty it. I normally don't deprime on my Dillons, but when I do, they fall right into the cup. Mine are mounted directly to the bench. No Strong Mount used.

You may want to call Dillon, perhaps the guys there can go over what the cause may be.

[StratsMan]

I've found that getting the right 'feel' for the best speed to index has helped me the most... I put a thrust washer under the shellplate bolt to help smooth out the action, but it had litttle effect. I now see offers for a pin bearing plus washer setup, with a new star, to smooth out the motion of the indexer. It's available on FleaBay... they include a low-density indexing ball to smooth out the movement of the shellplate, too... Will that help the drop problem for .380's??? I dunno, but it may allow you to speed up between stations... if the cartridge has enough velocity, it may not drop down the handle cutout....

You could always move up to a larger caliber, too....

[Swede44mag]

I have had loaded rounds fall on the floor when the bin is to full. Sometimes they fall on the floor anyway. I have had a lot of empty primers fall on the floor. Just something you have to live with unless you want to use a single stage press. ;-)

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not sure I would want to start complicating the shell plate with bearings and thrust washers, etc.
I occasionally clean and grease the large center bolt and detent ball. The shell plate is installed cleaned and dry. When tightening the center bolt, I tighten it until the shell plate will not turn and then carefully loosen it just to the point that it will rotate with minimal effort before snugging down the locking screw. The simpler that interface is, the better.
The rotational speed of the shell plate is very low and with a little grease it never wears. There's just no force on that center bolt to warrant a bearing.

[bhn22]

Hmmm. I'm missing out on something somehow. My 550 doesn't drop anything on the floor either. Is your handle fully forward when you're doing this? If it isn't let it go to full forward rest, then turn the index star. It's also possible, as noted above, that your chute isn't located correctly.

[btroj]

Mine never drops em on the floor. If I don't rotate the shell holder fast enough they will fall under the shell plate. Happens with any cartridge of the rotation is too slow.

Wouldn't be be too hard to make a small sheet metal extension to get the chute closer to the tool head.

[Duckiller]

Use a single stage press and you won't have this problem!

[altheating]

Dillon knows most of us are overweight, so they built in a exercise program causing you to get off the stool and bend over a few times each hour. Thank you Dillon !

[MtGun44]

Strange. Never had any rounds fall out unless the box was slid forward and left a
gap to the bench edge.

Bill

[FLHTC]

Is the chute in the correct position? The chute has a slight adjustment which will cause this or eliminate it. I had the issue with 9mm so I repositioned the chute and the problem was solved

[Mike Kerr]

I mean no disrespect but I have never had a completed cartridge miss the chute, the cartridge bin and fall to the floor when loading at normal operating speeds. Only way I have seen a cartridge do what you describe is if you are moving in slow motion or not ejecting the case at bottom of the ram stroke.

Primers that miss the primer chute are the weakness of any 450 or 550 that I own but are held to a minimum by making sure the "pivot" portion of the primer chute assembly moves freely on the upstroke and downstroke of the ram. Generally takes care of most primer spillage.

[MBTcustom]

Some calibers miss the chute. It's no big deal. They just get popped out harder.
I have this problem when I'm loading 308 with the 550 while listening to Metalica and dreaming about what would happen if I actually saw a real zombie while I'm in arms reach of my M1A (sigh).
Anywho, I just make some cardboard shields and tape them to the box. I have a bunch of SFRBs here and several have been sacrificed for this cause.

[dudel]

Never had this problem on my loadmaster.[smilie=p:

Never gotten any completed rounds out of your loadmaster? :bigsmyl2:

To the OP, I load 380ACP along with a few others, and never had that problem on my 550 unless the catch bin was full. Never a problem if I remember to empty the catch bin when I load the next tube of primers.

The chute and the catch bin holder are one piece; it's always aligned with the catch tray (if the catch bin is fully seated). The only way I can see that happening is if the catch bin is not fully back on the bracket (the back of the chute lines up with the back of the catch bin when fully seated), or if the chute was installed too far forward of the 550. The back of my chute is lines up with the pin hole on station 4. Hope that helps.

[ioon44]

I mean no disrespect but I have never had a completed cartridge miss the chute, the cartridge bin and fall to the floor when loading at normal operating speeds. Only way I have seen a cartridge do what you describe is if you are moving in slow motion or not ejecting the case at bottom of the ram stroke.

Primers that miss the primer chute are the weakness of any 450 or 550 that I own but are held to a minimum by making sure the "pivot" portion of the primer chute assembly moves freely on the upstroke and downstroke of the ram. Generally takes care of most primer spillage.

I have started removing primers before wet tumbling, so this solves the primer chute issue and keeps the priming bar clean. I have loaded over a thousand rounds with out having to clean the primer bar.

[wv109323]

I started loading a 100 rounds of 9mm. About 20 rounds in, the primer mechanism failed to feed primers. There were spent primers blocking the mechanism. I disassembled the mechanism and found some problems. The gate was too long and at times would bind against the housing. This would cause the gate to bind closed allowing primers to land all over the place. I shortened the gate with a file. Hopefully this will stop my problem. Others may want look at their press. The gate would stick at random and you would not know it.

[257]

I have a 550 and a 650 the 550 did it until I moved the chute as close as possible to the exit point since then it never does it I have never had a primer feeding problem on either press