550 Dillon Large Powder Bar...

[Skyler76]

Does anyone know a trick to get consistent powder out of this thing? I have no problems with the small bar for handgun ammo but with the large one.. man I get up to +/-0.5gr (1gr) variance. That's not an acceptable variance to me. I'd be disappointed with 0.1 to be honest but could live with it.

Is there a trick to this thing? Am I being dumb?

So far I have only used Varget powder with it. If I "zero" it at 43gr I can get anything from 42.5-43.5 gr. Seems totally harsh like I have missed something.

..help?

[Linkpimp]

Give me a minute, I’m writing it up for you..

P.S. NO it’s not you.. just give me sec..

Thanks..

[joelogic]

I have never used varget but people have said it doesnt meter well in a dillon. I use H322 and I can get +/- .1 gr or better. But usually it just takes a while to dial in. There may be some inconsistency with your charge and weigh method.

[Linkpimp]

There are three different types of powder that we use.



1. Extruded or Tubular
This type of powder is most commonly used in rifle cartridges, and is usually single base. However, there are a few which are double base. Burning rate is controlled by composition, grain diameter and length, web thickness, and deterrent coating. Extruded powder can vary greatly in appearance and grain size.



2. Spherical or Ball Powder
Spherical powder can look like tiny round balls or the grains can be flattened. The grains can vary in size, shape, and color. The burning rate of spherical powders can range from a fast pistol powder to very slow rifle powder. All spherical powder is double base and burning rate is determined by chemical composition, grain size, and deterrent coating. Spherical powder, in general, is harder to ignite than extruded powder, therefore magnum primers are recommended in certain loads.




3. Flake
This type of powder is usually double base fast burning, suitable for pistol, shotgun, and light sub-velocity loads in rifles. Flake powders in slower burning rates suitable for rifles are not available in this country, but have been used in Europe.


With that said..

YOU now know Dillon’s weakest link.. The Dillon powder measure hates and will always provide you with a 1gr various whenever your use Extruded or Tubular powder.. I’m Sorry… but that just life / the facts in our world.. I know lots of gentlemen, including myself who refuse to use the powder measure when using this type of powder..

Can this be fixed.. NO..
Your best course of action at this point is:

1. Suck it up as a learning experience.
From this point moving forward, you’ll know not to buy (Extruded or Tubular) powder for it, if you want exact measurement out of it extruded or tubular powder.

2. You can pick a middle of the road load and live with the variance.. As long as the load doesn’t exceed the max or min you’re fine.. But you can forget about customization at this point. It’s just / you’re only saving money on the rounds, but losing your ability for any fine tuning is another way of looking at it.


3. (This is what most of us do) spend (more) money and buy your way out of it.. Hahahahaaa.. You’re loading rifle calibers, hence long range, we use exact measurement for that, you will not get that from a Dillon powder measure with a certain time of powder so we get this.. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=291931 or this http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=759813 and lot of guys get this one.. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=279731. Then you simply bypass your second sation and move on wth life...



That’s it, that’s all I got I hope that hopes..

Link. .

[anyracoon]

I bought a RCBS case activated linkage to mate a RCBS powder measure to one of my Dillon 550s. Works alot better than the Dillon Powder measure for extruded powders, plus I have the micro-adjustment on the powder cylinder.

[Waldog]

Extruded powder is difficult in all powder measures. However, +/- .5 gr is a very small variance in a 43gr load. Use a chronograph and see for your self. I sincerely doubt that your rifle will ever know the difference in a +/- .5gr load

[Skyler76]

Thanks for the responses guys. This is what I suspected.

I guess I willl go back to hand measuring or try a different powder.

[oddjob]

I have the same problem with my 1050 loading .223 rounds. A shooting buddy said he polished the inside of the funnel and also broke the edges of the inside of the powder bar and polished it up. He told me to tap the powder bar when its open. Another method is to attach a small vibrating device to the powder assembly and this will help keep the powder drop more consistent. He uses a 550 too. I tapped the bar and it seems to work.

[Boots]

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=291931 or this http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=759813 and lot of guys get this one.. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=279731

Link, thanks for the write-up. Yeah, I kinda noticing that as well with my powder dispenser, and Varget, I just ended up setting the meter just shy of what I wanted and used a trickler to fine tune it.
Of course, this is easy when you're using a turret/single stage press.

Now I just use the Lyman 1200 DPS 3 to weight my loads. It's alot easier with the auto dispense feature.