I am currently on my 3rd Dillon 550 press, my new one being the 550"C". Although I have hand loaded quite a few rifle caliber rounds, with many of them being produced on a 550, my main focus has always been handgun. For many (!) years I was a moderately "high volume" shooter. Competition shooting, self defense training classes, developing new loads for different guns...yup, it all adds up pretty quick. 10-15,000 rounds a year was common. Or, at least it used to be...

Anyway, now I'm just loading for a couple of pistol calibers at a much reduced volume, with a rare session for my old No. 4 Enfield rifle. Which brings me back to topic: loading for pistol on the Dillon 550. My discovery of a company called UniqueTek a while back really enhanced my loading experience. I've added a couple of the Dillon press items they offer. The machined tool head and the micrometer powder bar are really nice. As I'm maybe one of the worst pistol shooters on the planet (yeah, I know, after ALL those rounds?!?), I get a certain amount of comfort in knowing that at least my ammo is very consistent and that it's only the operator...

I also added a Redding seating die to be better able to fine tune the OAL. All of which does seem to have resulted in more consistent rounds. Given all the other variables involved like the brass (a biggie!), the quality of the bullets, the various powders and primers, plus the combination of all the components when in different guns...yup, you can drive yourself nuts.

But hey, I'm old and retired, so what the heck. Still, I can get loads with really low ES and SD and run the gun just fine. And even with a respectable PF. Nice.

Wyley in Oly

It sounds like you've got that press right where you want it!

What pistol calibers are you loading? Got any favorite loads to share?

A couple years ago I jumped on the Dillon bandwagon.. I use my 550 solely for handgun loads. Still not the smoothest operation, but I'm learning. If I don't get better I can always use another boat anchor.

Thanks for the replies. My main focus for the last couple of decades has been on the 40S&W caliber. When it first hit the market..."way back when"...I was a immediate convert. It just seemed so...right. But I also have kept on loading for .45ACP, 9mm and .357Mag/.38Special. Anyway, for my .40 loads I use Montana Gold Bullets for all my training, competition and practice loads. I think that they are definitely worth the slight extra price compared to those "plated", pure lead bullets.

As for load recommendations...I don't really think I've got any worthwhile input as everybody's "wants/needs" so widely vary. Mine tend toward low flash, low deviation, decent velocity, that sort of thing. Powders that meter consistently I like even if they leave a bit more residue that others.

I am sort of curious about a 500 having "...not the smoothest operation...". As it is a "manual indexing" progressive, it hasn't had the issues like the 650/750 or even the Square Deal B which "auto index". By the way, there's great fixes for the 650/750 platforms. It may just need a bit of tweaking with one of the stations to get things to run more smoothly. Just a thought...

Wyley in Oly

I'm curious . . . what makes you say that the MG are better than plated? In what way?

I'm not disagreeing, but I'm just wondering what your thoughts are on that topic, as I've been having this conversation with some friends. (FMJ vs. plated vs. coated) When I started reloading 12 years ago, I was buying Montana Gold FMJ bullets and I loved them . . . and then plated bullets started coming on strong, and the MG got more expensive, and I just drifted to plated for most of my shooting.

I feel like FMJ bullets are harder and easier to load, but as far as shooting them out of a pistol . . . I'm just not sure there's really any difference.

What are your thoughts?

I found that the plated, pure lead bullets would sometimes deform after contacting the feed ramp. Often this would result in the bullet setting back further into the case. This would play havoc with the performance, as the pressure would vary greatly I'm guessing. The velocities were are over the place. Trying to get a good taper crimp on a pure lead bullet is a challenge. Plus seating those suckers needed much more case mouth flare to prevent shaving off the plating. I could almost get most of this right but I just decided not worth the effort. But a lot of the folks I shot with used those things by the ton and loved them. The price was sure right, but just not for me. I load my p/c ("practice/competition") rounds to a bit under the power of my carry loads. It saves some wear and tear on both the old shooter and the gun. Though those Glocks will outlast me for sure....

Now, as for how they performed downrange...I really can't say. I didn't stick with them long enough to see. Plus, I am not a "target shooter. I do check out the Point of Aim/Point of Impact with all my loads to ensure they're going where they need to go. Mostly this is a sight adjustment thing. And sometimes I do surprise myself. But as my primary focus has always been self defense, getting a nice tight group at 25 yards is interesting and yup, it's nice when the gun and the ammo and the SHOOTER can do it. And that's why I like having consistency in my loads, it gives me a bit more confidence...or rather, if it misses well it's all my fault....

And wow, will I be glad when Norm gets caught up and I can actually BUY some MGB bullets again! Fortunately I've been at this a long time and so am well stocked. At least for a while...

Wyley in Oly

And while I'm still on line here, let me once again say: UniqueTek....! If you're a Dillon user you really should check these folks out. If nothing else, the Retail Therapy they offer is worth the view. Enjoy!

Wyley in Oly

I got another UniqueTek tool head and set it up for 9mm loads. I've now got 3 calibers with these for my Dillon 550C. All three tool heads also have the UniqueTek micrometer powder bar and a Redding seating die. Both of these make it much easier to fine tune than the standard Dillon seating die and powder bar. The combination does indeed result in much more consistent loads, even given the variables involved when using recycled brass and some brands/types of bullets. I thought I'd post a photo showing my set up. If you look close, you can just make out the small set screws that the UniqueTek tool head uses to firmly secure the tool head to the press frame. It does take an extra minute or two when changing things out, but I think the results are well worth it.

Wyley in Oly

There's no question for me whatsoever that MG and any other good jacketed bullet are better than any plated bullets for accuracy. I shoot some GSSF matches and usually win or at least place well; I've always been able to see a provable and significant difference in accuracy, which IMO is due to strength and grip of the jacket or plating on the rifling. I do believe that a lot of people won't notice the difference, but the difference is definitely there. This is even more true as velocity and pressure are bumped up beyond what plated bullets can handle, and then the difference is night and day. (Off topic for handgun use but I've fired quite a few .357 MG revolver bullets at 2,500+ fps with good accuracy from rifles, while plated bullets generally start stripping in the rifling at half that speed. I do have some neat jacket fragments around here somewhere from heavier plated Xtreme bullets losing their jackets from being pushed too fast, although it was only 1800 fps.)

You mention coated, which for my use means hard cast coated not nearly pure lead like plated bullets - I shoot thousands of my own coated cast bullets a year that perform a lot better than any comparable plated bullets I've tried. It's that dead soft core in the plated bullets that is the problem. The times I have had accuracy issues with cast/coated bullets, the cause has almost always been soft alloy.

Coated/cast and plated bullets require similar care in loading (plenty of case flare, don't crimp too much if at all) but plated have always come out in 3rd place in my testing over the years. Coated vs jacketed often swap for first depending on the load and bullet, but IME you can't go wrong with a good MG bullet.

Thank you, Yondering, for sharing your experience.

Loaded up my first 300 rounds of 9x19 range ammo this weekend on my buddy's 550 using Bayou coated 115gr LRNs. Shoots fine for practice ammo and I'm happy with it. Will definitely be getting my own progressive press, likely a 550 when the overtime comes back. Thanks everyone for the tech talk, I've been reading along and trying to be a knowledge sponge.

I will say this: doing this stuff out in the countryside kicks ass. Load five, step out the door, fire 'em into the berm, make an incremental change, repeat. Sure beats my normal fate of making a big production out of going to the range in suburbia with boxes of carefully documented ladders and hoping for the best.

Ah yes . . . I can only dream of that "countryside" scenario. Reloading would be so much easier!

The Mar/Apr 2021 issue of The Blue Press features an interesting, but possibly misleading article about loading on a 550 and the selection of a seating die for more consistent rounds. Hopefully, you can read the article for the full story. But the short version is that he set up his 550 with a Redding Competition seating die and a Dillon seating die and seated some bullets then compared the Over All Length (OAL) of both batches. He found that the Dillon dies produced more consistent OALs that the (much more expensive, as he takes some amount of time to point out) Redding die. Well....sort of....

What he didn't take into consideration is that many brands of jhp bullets vary slightly in OAL. I think this is due to those tiny little "cuts" (I'll call them "skives") at the tip of the bullet, and the cavity of the hollow point. They are, as intended, somewhat fragile. The Dillon die seats the bullet by contacting the bullet right on the tip. The force of seating the bullet may be slightly changing (flattening) the bullets OAL. The Redding die contacts the bullet on the side, below the tip. So the Dillon die might be getting more consistent cartridge OAL but the Redding die is getting more consistent bullet seating depth. And that's the important factor.

It would have been interesting to see chronograph results from both the loads. Of course, many other factors would have to have been considered to get any meaningful data. But I liked the article as it started me looking into the difference in the dies and making some discoveries about my own loading equipment. I had started using Redding Pro Series seating dies simply because they were easier to adjust. The Competition seating die (which my buddy swears by) is different in that it has a micrometer adjustment, but has the same seating stem contact. After a couple of fun days looking into all this, I'm sticking with my Redding seating dies..

Wyley in Oly

OAL is good for one thing....ensuring your ammo fits in a magazine or clip. If it is too long it doesn’t fit. Loading manuals give out OAL as a “reference”. It is what their load measured when loaded and sized to fit in their testing gun or fixture. Use it as a reference, add some experience and common sense, and set your dies so your ammo fits your gun.

Many reloading dies are made with common or most predictable bullets in mind. 38/357 dies usually come with a flat head on the seating stem or an oval head on the seating stem. Flat points and ball bullets are most common for these rounds. Similar can be said for most straight wall pistol cartridges.

Most rifle dies come with a concave head on the seating stem. The opening catches the bullet tip and centers the bullet as it is seated. This concave opening matches a common, or predictable, ogive as experienced by the die maker. RCBS dies likely have stems that match ogives on Speer bullets. Hornady stems match Hornady ogives, etc.

Soft pointed bullets deform. This can change OAL. Bullet lube can scrape off and build up in a die. This can change OAL. Changing from product A bullet to product B bullet, even if same diameter and weight, can change OAL. Plastic tips on bullets are dependent on point form and jacket length. Variations in the tips can change OAL.

Seat your bullets based on how they fit your gun. How they fit in the magazine. How they fit in the chamber. How the bullets match the rifling. Use the loading manual of the products you are using and that reference OAL will get you in the ball park.

Stay safe. Shoot straight.

Steve. :)