Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Guns and Ammo => Topic started by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 10:32:18 AM

Title: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 10:32:18 AM: Wondering if anybody has had success with loading precision rifle rounds with rl 550b. Or is it just for plinking ammo. Thanks guys
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 10:39:31 AM: Are the powder drops consistent? Or is there a lot of adjusting. thanxs
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 10:40:46 AM: lol where did ya go :chuckle:
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: h20hunter on December 11, 2016, 10:45:16 AM: Bumped the wrong button....ill post back up...
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: h20hunter on December 11, 2016, 10:53:20 AM: So I've loaded .270, .30-30, and currently working on .308 right now. For progressive loading I simply do a powder check every 10-12 rounds. For single loading I do this.

tumble clean brass
deprime/size/tumble
case prep as needed
one more tumble just to polish and make pretty

Once that is all done I will prime all my cases. Usually in lots of 25/50. Next is I will make sure my powder is adjusted. I'm loading 45gr varget right now and my powder drop is usually within .2 gr of 45.0. I have my digital scale to the side and post powder drop I pour it out into the scale. I have a little bit of powder on the side for +/- as needed. Give the "empty" case a tap and hopefully knock anything out that is trapped in the primer. Done, put powder back into the case and seat the bullet. One round done.

I figure, with my equipment on hand I'm getting plenty consistent loads. I've run my "precision" rounds over the crony and typically have virtually no difference in velocity. Considering consistency is important in hunting/precision rounds it works fine for me.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 12:29:10 PM: Thanks for the imput :tup:

I've been using single stage forever rcbs. I'll be getting a RL 550B "ole mans" just wondering if it has precision capabilities......... Played with a pro 2000 and couldn't get it to stay consistent.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: h20hunter on December 11, 2016, 12:37:39 PM: Just take your time in the set up. I find once im running it stays locked in.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 12:53:33 PM: TY! :tup:
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: b23 on December 11, 2016, 06:45:46 PM: Like with just about any powder dispenser, the type of powder has a lot to do with how consistent the charge weights are.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Jason on December 11, 2016, 06:57:14 PM: You cant beat a single stage for reloading precision rifle rounds, you will never get consistent powder drops with the Dillon powder measure, plus or minus a few grains in a handgun or 223 plinking rounds you'll never notice the difference, but it makes all the difference in a precision rifle round.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 11, 2016, 08:15:30 PM: with my single stage I use a 1500 charge master. Was hoping Dillon had a better mouse trap. lol I'll play with it to see how consistent I can get it. If not I'll be rockin out the pistol loads :chuckle:
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: b23 on December 11, 2016, 08:26:54 PM: Like I said before, powder choice will play a huge part. If you can use any of the spherical powders, you'll get along just fine because they usually meter like water and throw very consistently.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: lamrith on December 12, 2016, 08:36:40 AM: I personally really like my RCBS Uniflow powder drop with Micrometer adjustment add on. It drops very consistently I added a Hornady Case activation kit and use it on my LnL progressive press. I do not have hands-on with the Dillon dropper.

I do not think any manual dropper will compete with something like the chargemaster for those ultimate precision drops and loads. But if you are looking to increase output and make some consistent rounds to feed your semi auto the Dillon, hornady, rcbs should all work just fine. Use the Dillon for your bulk and single stage w/ chargemaster for precision and you are golden!
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Yondering on December 12, 2016, 12:00:22 PM: Quote from: Jason on December 11, 2016, 06:57:14 PM
You cant beat a single stage for reloading precision rifle rounds, you will never get consistent powder drops with the Dillon powder measure, plus or minus a few grains in a handgun or 223 plinking rounds you'll never notice the difference, but it makes all the difference in a precision rifle round.

If you're having trouble with the Dillon powder measure, you're using the wrong powder. As b23 said, powder choice matters a lot. Use spherical powders in the Dillon for precision rifle stuff, and they work great.

I use my 550 for 5.56 and 308 precision rounds (I don't load any "blasting" ammo, it's all for precision), and with powders like X-Terminator, CFE223, and TAC, the Dillon measure drops generally +/- 0.1 gr, with a few maybe 0.2 gr off. That's well within tolerance if you have worked out a good stable load.

Usually I use a Forster Co-ax single stage press for load development, then switch to the Dillon for volume once I settle on a good load. Never found a practical difference in quality or accuracy between the two methods; the Dillon is just as accurate but faster. Of course that assumes certain reloading techniques to ensure consistency.
Title: Re: RL 550B
Post by: Blacklab on December 12, 2016, 01:24:24 PM: Thanks guys. :tup: ;)