best powder to throw in Dillon 550

The Dillon powder measure does not like Unique, at least mine didn't. I had used Unique for years and ended up purchasing a 550 because of the volume of shooting I was doing. Didn't take long till I started getting squibs in my .44 Spl and .38 Spl loads.

After some research I found that a few other reloaders were also having the same problem. Because it is a flake powder I was told that Unique is prone to bridging meaning it sometimes does not drop a charge from the powder measure. There were also a lot of reloaders that told me they hadn't had a problem with Unique in 40 years of using it.

It was obvious to me that there is a problem with Unique in a Dillon powder measure and I took 2 steps to stop it. The first was to switch to another powder. I tried both Power Pistol and Universal, both worked extremely well and burned much cleaner than Unique. I still haven't figured out which one I like better. But, I will never use Unique again. The second step I took was to replace the 550 with a 650 and a powder check die.

Give Power Pistol or Universal a try. I think you'll agree they perform better than Unique.

Most powder measures really work best with ball powders. That said, using what works in your gun is important and the powder check is always a good idea - whether an actual die like above or a visual check

Low density ball powders will give you the best results. Unique I quit using decades ago for it's poor metering properties. Switched over to WSF and WST powders back then. If I recall Sport pistol is a newer powder that has great metering properties too.

I use sport pistol and have use BE86 in a Dillon powder measure both do very well ,

I am using Tight group and Unique in mine (TG for 38 spcl and 9mm, UNQ for 44 spcl). I don't have issues with either powder. TG is always within +/- .1g, more often than not on the plus side. Unique I currently have set for 7g and it rarely throws off at all.I caught a few on the +.1 side a few times but more often than not, it's spot on.

Granted, my stuff is all brand new as of last Feb...so maybe it will loosen up over time.

Have you tried asking it?

No powder measure "likes" Unique but it's not that awful.

The "best powder" to use is the correct one for the load data you have for whatever caliber.

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HP38/Win 231

My 550 prefers any powders from Virginia, but the most uniform chargers are (fastest to slowest burning):
Bullseye(R)
Sport Pistol(TM)
BE-86(TM)
Power Pistol(R)
2400(R)
With these powders you can load most anything.
Shoot well,
Paul

I use either an RCBS Uniflow or a modified Redding 10-X with a Hornady case activated powder die in my Dillon BL550.

I like the way they work with about any powder better than the Dillon powder measures on my SDB's.

I have found the small cavity bar for the Dillons helps alot with small charges of flake powders.

Shooters World powders are the European Lovex powders. Many if not all of their pistol powders are ball powders. The only one I’ve tried so far is Clean Shot which is a fast powder, but you might want to look at some of their other products.

Never had a problem with the Dillon measure.

I load all my pistol cases on a Dillion 550 B, and I also frequently chronograph my loads. I have 45ACP data here:

Anyone use Unique powder very often?

somewhere on this web site I have 44 Special data with Unique, AA#5 (a ball powder) and the extreme spreads are not necessarily better with the ball powders. What matters is what I see on target, and metering has meant nothing in that regard. (For pistols, rifles, it could make a difference at long range. But out to 300 yards, prove it. I have shot lots of 300 yard cleans with dumped charges) Metering is one of those things where people see patterns that don't exist. Like, rim thickness measurement in 22 lr ammunition. If Eley says that it bunk, it is bunk. And I know several Smallbore National Champions, and they don't measure rim thickness. I don't any competitive shooter who does. Not that matters to the guy who thinks he sees something with his rim thickness sorted ammunition.

I have noticed differences in accuracy between powders. Universal was decidedly inferior in the 44 Special compared to Unique. I thought AA#5 shot well. I bet if I shot target loads Bullseye would produce the tightest ES's and Standard Deviations, as it does in every other target round I load.

Your findings are correct. Large crystal powders (like Unique) and large flake powders (like Red Dot) do not meter especially well in anybody's powder measure. These are older design powders, and you'll have a much easier time with more modern powders.

Suggestions...
• Swap your Unique for BE-86 which has the same burn rate, but meters much, much better.

• Lube your empty powder measure with a squirt of powdered graphite into the hopper, especially when the measure is new. This stuff is available in the Lock section of your hardware store. (Graphite is already applied to most smokeless powders, you're simply speeding up the transfer process.)

• Find some office rubber bands that fit around the neck of the hopper and then onto the teet on the end of the Powder Bar. New Powder Bars sometimes need help retracting. This extra "help" will settle the powder more quickly, and thereby give you more consistently accurate powder drops. (Older Dillon powder measures actually came with a spring in this position.)



Hope this helps.

I have had good results with BE86, Universal, and HS-6 in .44spl loads with 240 grain bullets. All 3 meter well .

I don't use Dillon equipment but Unique is known for not metering well.
If you like Unique you might try Universal or BE86. Both meter much better than Unique.

I had issues with my Lee Pro disk and Unique mostly + or - .1 but sometimes .+ or - 2.
I just loaded for a +.2 swing until I used it up.
Shot well for me, not as clean as some other powders I havve used. Haven't bought any since.
Not saying it is a bad powder, just that I prefer other choices in the same burn speed range.

I load a lot of 9MM & found that Ramshot Silhouette Powder is the best in the Dillon 550B.....No problems with accuracy in the powder measure throw.

Been using a 550 and Unique since 1990 w/ no problems. I could care less if there is +-.1gr variance. What I did to make sure there were no loading problems was buy an LED press light off Amazon. Everything is now clearly lit-up and gives me peace-of-mind.

i use a lot of unique in my 550 with 9 mm, 45 acp 44 mag and 357mag.
no issues with it. there might be some variance especially after a pause in the reloading but i just return the powder to the measure for that case after a pause . i do 2 to 3 runs of 10 weighed drops prior to loading and if the average is close enough to my target I'm satisfied.

ball powders of course work better in the measures. for some reason not so consistent with 4227 even with it being a fine powder. 800x is hopeless but it is still consistent with 700x.

I've had good results with WW231/HP38 and WW571/HS7, both ball powders. I gave up on Unique long before I acquired a Dillon. The Worst results I ever had was with 700X. Surprised I didn't have a kaboom with the 700X.

1MoreFord said:

I've had good results with WW231/HP38 and WW571/HS7, both ball powders. I gave up on Unique long before I acquired a Dillon. The Worst results I ever had was with 700X. Surprised I didn't have a kaboom with the 700X.

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mine is still ok with 700x although i find i have to pause for a second or so after the powder drops to make it more consistent.

Unique? Variable? Nah.....

Same experience for me on my 550, but if you load them a 1/10th or two below max it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

I find Accurate #5, #7, and #9 all meter really nicely in the Dillon powder throw. Longshot’s good too.

In various powder measurers I've tried, the following powders all seemed to meter pretty well.

HP38/Win231
Bullseye
2400
Win296

There is very little in the handgun world that can't be loaded with one of these powders and perform well.