Can you load precision ammo on a progressive?

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he kept adjusting and restarting the dillon and uniflow while leaving the chargemaster alone. then he suggested that the dillon was better than the chargemaster. no bias here.

still, this is good info. where did you get the blue press online? i don't buy enough blue koolaid to get the hardcopy. i would love to follow the rest of series on precision rifle loading.

murf
 
murf said:
he kept adjusting and restarting the dillon and uniflow while leaving the chargemaster alone. then he suggested that the dillon was better than the chargemaster. no bias here.

still, this is good info. where did you get the blue press online? i don't buy enough blue koolaid to get the hardcopy. i would love to follow the rest of series on precision rifle loading.

murf
Click to expand...

https://www.dillonprecision.com/blue-press-catalog.html
 
No insult to anyone here...but I call BS!

Ive been arguing and fighting with Dillion for years over it.

Ive done everything they "recommended" to make their measure work.

IT SIMPLY DOESNT! Not with Varget...not with RL-15...Not with ANY stick powder.

That article is pure propaganda.

I love Dillion...but they need to admit their powder measure sucks and get on with a redesign.
 
There are numerous posts and vids of converting Dillon presses to use the Hornady/RCBS drum powder dispensers but I haven't seen any converting Hornady/RCBS presses to Dillon dispensers! Heard it from a friend!

Precision accuracy requires precision reloading! :)'s

I have 5 Dillons for handgun cartridges and two Hornadys for rifle.
 
Their measures work so good....they recommend on their website that you use a Redding BR 3 for extruded powders. They even list the part number you need to adapt to a Dillion press.

Ive done that...have one. While better, the BR3 works much better off the press than in it...any press I suspect.

Look...I fought with Dillion hard. Got nothing against any of their guys Ive talked to on the phone..and its been very heated on both sides...but the final straw when when he told me to tape a fish filter pump to the hopper and rig a foot pedal to give it a vibration blast every so often...I lost it.

Thats the most ridiculous fix Ive ever heard of.
 
JJFitch said:
There are numerous posts and vids of converting Dillon presses to use the Hornady/RCBS drum powder dispensers but I haven't seen any converting Hornady/RCBS presses to Dillon dispensers! Heard it from a friend!

Precision accuracy requires precision reloading! :)'s

I have 5 Dillons for handgun cartridges and two Hornadys for rifle.
Click to expand...
How about a link? Love to be able to put a actual working measure on this thing...with linkage...so its actually a useful progressive press for rifles
 
The powder you use makes a lot of difference. I have ran several test over the years and rod powders do not throw uniform in my Dillon or my good Redding so when I want to use rod powder in rifle cases I use my RCBS Chargemaster and add the powder with the funnel in the charge die. I use BLC2 when loading 223/556 and I ran a 100 round sample and weighed each charge and they were all within +/_ .001 grain total difference. When I want precision loads for my rifles I weigh each load. I have not been able to tell a difference in accuracy if loaded on my RL550B or my Lyman Orange Crusher or turret press.
 
Exact same thing Ive been doing. Chargemaster and a funnel.

I have found 2000-MR to work acceptably in the Dillion measure. +/- .1 grain...with an occasional .2 grain.

Thats ball powder however. But its a good one.
 
Megawatt maker said:
Ive done that...have one. While better, the BR3 works much better off the press than in it...any press I suspect.
Click to expand...
I made a setup so my BR-30 and 10X work automatically on my LNL, and they throw very well. I do make sure I operate the press handle the same each time as well as lightly bump the handle on the down stroke the same amount each time, as well as I can anyway, just like operating the measure the same off the press. Seems to work for me. My FN-SPR is a .75 MOA rifle (occasional .5) either dropping or weighing charges of RL-15.

I dropped charges without weighing for 100/200 yard Benchrest matches, but weigh all charges for long range rifles.
 
You can certainly load precision ammo on a progressive press. I do it as a matter of course on my Dillon 650. With that said, you must trickle up to your target powder weight. That’s universally true for any press, regardless of make or model.

However, one man’s precision is another man’s barn door wide, so I think the goal has to be defined a bit or there will be a lot of posts talking past each other
 
Walkalong said:
I made a setup so my BR-30 and 10X work automatically on my LNL, and they throw very well. I do make sure I operate the press handle the same each time as well as lightly bump the handle on the down stroke the same amount each time, as well as I can anyway, just like operating the measure the same off the press. Seems to work for me. My FN-SPR is a .75 MOA rifle (occasional .5) either dropping or weighing charges of RL-15.

I dropped charges without weighing for 100/200 yard Benchrest matches, but weigh all charges for long range rifles.
Click to expand...

I think the bolded in a way is sort of key. What is the definition of "precision" in this context. As stated the benchrest guys don't weigh charges, but their "precision" needs are at shorter distances. For my long range loads I use extruded powders and thrown charges are going to get me the ES and SDs I'm looking for.

And as Walkalong pointed out, you don't need to use the measure on the progressive, you can weigh charges. For example John Whidden states in one of his articles that he loads his long range ammo on a Dillon 650 and weighs charges:

https://www.whiddengunworks.com/243-winchester-the-forgotten-6mm-cartridge/

Apparently he's managed to win a boatload of matches using a progressive and his methodology.
 
Walkalong said:
I made a setup so my BR-30 and 10X work automatically on my LNL, and they throw very well.
Click to expand...

I use the Hornady case activated powder drop system with a modified Redding 10-X or an RCBS Uniflow on my Dillon BL550. Works great and operates just like on the Hornady L-N-L.

At least with pistol powders, I find the Dillon powder measure works well, sometime better with flake powder than a drum style measure. I have a Dillon SDB press. I'm not enthralled with the Rube Goldberg operating system of the Dillon though.

I believe, if I remember correctly, David Tubb reloads on an RL550 but he uses some fancy, expensive, powder measure, not the Dillon one.
 
Clicked on the link and find his data odd and not what I would expect.

2D11E3A9-3F63-4051-A84F-262DDA6B19E8.jpeg

Why after setting them all at 40.0, are all of the first charges low and go up for the heaviest to be the last drops?

I would have expected variations to be somewhat random.
 
If the question is can you load precise, consistent ammo on a progressive..then the answer is yes, you can.

If the claim is you can use a Dillion to do it...the answer is NO, not unless you use something or someone elses power measure. If Im using any stick powders, I funnel the load in from my chargemaster. Pistols, and flake powder, the Dillion measure works fine.

I made shims out of shim stock to take the slop out of the tool head on my Dillion. Just use a rubber mallet to LIGHTLY tap the tool head in...and I put an old crappy Lee die in to hit with the same mallet to get the tool head out. Again, only takes light taps...but it works.
 
jmorris said:
Clicked on the link and find his data odd and not what I would expect.

View attachment 930677

Why after setting them all at 40.0, are all of the first charges low and go up for the heaviest to be the last drops?

I would have expected variations to be somewhat random.
Click to expand...
Not a real world test. Not even close. Its one thing to keep refilling the case to weigh the charge...its another when you are Sizing/depriming, priming, and seating all at the same time. Even strongly mounted, the vibrations all have a drastic effect on a Dillion measure..and those effects are not good.
 
Megawatt maker said:
I made shims out of shim stock to take the slop out of the tool head on my Dillion. Just use a rubber mallet to LIGHTLY tap the tool head in...and I put an old crappy Lee die in to hit with the same mallet to get the tool head out. Again, only takes light taps...but it works.
Click to expand...

An easier method to accomplish the same end result would be to helicoil the pin holes in the tool head and secure it to the press with shouldered screws.

The trend seems to go the other direction though. David Tubb (a rifle guy that’s won a lot of stuff) wrote about how he modified his 550 tool head, this fellow used his method and now sells them.

https://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek059.html

https://www.whiddengunworks.com/product/floating-dillon-toolheads-2/

Instead of being locked in one spot they are “floating” not unlike dies in a co-ax.
 
packetloss said:
Agree, that just isn't possible. I suspect he sorted it by weight and that drop 1 doesn't truly represent the first drop.
Click to expand...

That would make more sense but why put your cell phone in airplane mode, to not skew the results then post the data in an out of order way from the way it was recorded initially and post them as subsequent drops?
 
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