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Posted: 7/26/2010 5:25:30 PM EDT
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Hey guys & gals-
I recently picked up a 550 with some niceties and caliber conversions for 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP and .223REM. My question is about using it with .223, more specifically after resizing and cleaning brass. My process is to tumble, lube, full resize, trim, swage, and then tumble off the lube. Question is about running the cleaned, non-lube brass through the 550. Do you leave the resize die in position 1 and put the brass through it with no lube? Or do you lube the walls of the die and run them through? Or do you pull the resize die out for the actual primer seating/charging/bullet seating/crimp process? Much appreciated. |
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If you put the brass in there with no lube, already resized or not, it's going to stick. Most people, myself included, run two tool heads. One with the decap/resizer and a trimmer in station 3 if you've got one. A second tool head with a decap only die in station 1 to make sure the flash hole is clear of media. The lee universal decap die is the best deal $10. I've had problems with the shoulder on the pin catching on the mouth of brass so I chuck the pin up in a drill and round off the shoulder with a file. |
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Quoted:
Hey guys & gals- I recently picked up a 550 with some niceties and caliber conversions for 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP and .223REM. My question is about using it with .223, more specifically after resizing and cleaning brass. My process is to tumble, lube, full resize, trim, swage, and then tumble off the lube. Question is about running the cleaned, non-lube brass through the 550. Do you leave the resize die in position 1 and put the brass through it with no lube? Remove the sizing die, the case is already sized. Otherwise press function is the same as pistol rounds. Or do you lube the walls of the die and run them through? No Or do you pull the resize die out for the actual primer seating/charging/bullet seating/crimp process? Yes Much appreciated. Read the 4 part Tutorial (loading 223) at the top of the page for more info. Link. 
Some 223/550 p0rn for you. 
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Quoted:
Hey guys & gals- I recently picked up a 550 with some niceties and caliber conversions for 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP and .223REM. My question is about using it with .223, more specifically after resizing and cleaning brass. My process is to tumble, lube, full resize, trim, swage, and then tumble off the lube. Question is about running the cleaned, non-lube brass through the 550. Do you leave the resize die in position 1 and put the brass through it with no lube? Or do you lube the walls of the die and run them through? Or do you pull the resize die out for the actual primer seating/charging/bullet seating/crimp process? Much appreciated. Sir, I'm going to cut to the chase rather than quote you the exact portions of the links Mr. Dryflash has provided. While I agree with most of what is posted in those tutorials there are different ways to skin the cat so to speak. First as already mentioned I do my case prep independently on a single stage press. You can use a seperate tool head for case prep on a Dillon 550 and that works OK if you're using a Dillon trimmer. My personal preference when reloading .223 Rem. is to include repriming the brass before I put it into the first stage of the Dillon 550, I use a Sinclair Int priming tool for the purpose. I also use a Giraud trimmer so prepping brass independent of the 550 makes sense for me. When I put the prepped case into the first stage of the Dillon press the first stage tool head is fitted with a case neck expander mandrel which is my final step of case prep just before charging and seating. If you do not choose to use an expander mandrel in the first stage of the Dillon I agree with what the others have already posted. A universal decapping rod is helpful to make sure the brass flash hole is clear of tumbler media but I've never thought that was such a great idea because tumbler media discovered that way is likely to end up mixed with the unseated primer immediately below. Do not leave your resizing die in station one even without the decapping rod unless you lube your brass again. HTH, 7zero1. |
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Quoted:
Hey guys & gals- ....... My process is to tumble, lube, full resize, trim, swage, and then tumble off the lube............... .......... That's the same process I used to use 25 years ago on 308 with the addition of manually cleaning out the primer pockets after the final tumble to get stuck media out. I apparently missed one round in preparation for a Deer hunting trip to Sligo PA. That round had one kernel of corn cob media in the flash hole and it didn't go off when I drew down on an 8 point buck. Now I never tumble deprimed brass. |
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Quoted: If you do not choose to use an expander mandrel in the first stage of the Dillon I agree with what the others have already posted. A universal decapping rod is helpful to make sure the brass flash hole is clear of tumbler media but I've never thought that was such a great idea because tumbler media discovered that way is likely to end up mixed with the unseated primer immediately below. Do not leave your resizing die in station one even without the decapping rod unless you lube your brass again. HTH, 7zero1. Using a decapping rod can cause a freak failure as well, it's been posted here a couple times in the past, that is when the decapping pin gets stuck in the flashhole and after a number of rounds later the reloader discovers it missing then the big question is in which round is the decapping pin in? I use a decapping die at station 1 though, but I keep it so it doesnt actually decap. It's function is when I get a primer that's halfway seated because of a non-decrimped primer pocket or a non completely decrimped primer pocket, I'll screw the decapping die down to punch out the stuck and usually mangled primer, then I rotate the die so it doesn't decap anymore. I inspect all my primer pockets while trimming and remove any media in the pockets at that time |
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I set mine up the same way 7Zero1 does and use a Sinclair International neck sizing or neck turning mandrel depending on how much neck tension I want. The neck turning mandrel gives me another .001" more neck tension if I so desire.
A visual inspection can insure that each case is clear of media in the primer pocket, it will most certainly sloe the opertion. I tend to prime rifle cases (almost always) and pistol cases (sometimes) prior to running them through the Dillon. I can concentrate on my powder levels (in the case and in the hopper) and keeping the bullets stocked and really fly that way. I don't get interupted recharging primers and I think hand priming or using my RCBS bench mounted priming tool does a better job in that I have more control and feel for the process. Each person decides what works best for them and what they feel is more important. I want the best possible ammo I can produce and am willing to take extra steps to get there. As far as handgun ammo goes I could probably do that just as fast and as progressively as the press will allow and not be able to tell a difference on target. Virtually all of my rifle ammo is fired in tournaments or in practice for tournaments. I want the very best process that I can come up with for that. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Hey guys & gals- ....... My process is to tumble, lube, full resize, trim, swage, and then tumble off the lube............... .......... That's the same process I used to use 25 years ago on 308 with the addition of manually cleaning out the primer pockets after the final tumble to get stuck media out. I apparently missed one round in preparation for a Deer hunting trip to Sligo PA. That round had one kernel of corn cob media in the flash hole and it didn't go off when I drew down on an 8 point buck. Now I never tumble deprimed brass. Sir, as a competitive shooter it's also important to me to ensure each and every round goes bang. I bought a box of twenty cartridges for deer hunting some years ago and still have ten rounds left. One deer per year is enough for me. I believe that tumbling my brass is the best and most efficient way to remove case lube. That leaves me with a choice of which point in the case prep process to tumble. I believe it's best to tumble my brass after all case prep operations have been completed except repriming. I don't think it would be prudent to tumble primed brass because tumbler media could still become lodged in the primer flash hole from the inside of the case. Additioinally, I don't like tumbling brass with the spent primer still in place, tumbler media comes out with the primer when I resize and deprime. Therefore, for my purposes I generally take a close look into each and every flash hole just before I put the case into my primer seating tool. If there's any media in the flash hole I punch it out with a small brad before I reprime the case. I use homemade loading blocks that hold 100 cases neck down when I prime. I can see if the flash hole is clear before I even pick up the case to be primed. HTH, 7zero1. |
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I put a Lee Universal decapper in position 1 and filed down the pin shoulder to a bevel to make sure the cases don't get caught on the pin shoulder. Works pretty well just quickly going though 50 cases. I think the next purchase will be a powered trimmer, maybe a 1200 with another tool head like some of you guys have.
Thank you |
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