Topic: Nice reloading (precision) writeup

[Jeff]

This is LTRDavid's (snipershide) setup.  I can see that I'll probably never do some of his steps but it is cool to look at:

http://www.snipershide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=13;t=003969

[Spiff]

Annealing is a pain in the butt to do. And I've found that it doesn't always work. That said, it might be much more precise if you used the temp paint. As just watching it go cherry and then dunking really isn't very accurate.

[Idaho_Gun_Nut]

I don't know how he assumes he's doing precision loading when he's using a progressive press?  Overal length and power measurements are not consistant enough from round to round to be called "precision" even on a Dillon 650.

Sorry just my .02 worth.

[Spiff]

I think as long as your only shooting 100 to 300 yards, a good progressive should do you fine. .01 to .02 grain variations (which is what I get with my 650) won't hurt you that much. Anything past those distances and I think you need to start measuring powder by hand.

Of course the above statement deals only with non-extruded powders, if your using extruded powders the loads should be weighted by hand. I've tried Lee, RCBS, and Dillon volume powder measures, none of them like extruded powders. Varget being the best to measure and IMR 3031 (in my experience) the worst. Reloader 15 measures about like Varget. The Lee measure has the best reputation for measuring extruded powders, but I still thought it sucked.

[Jeff]

More and more shooters are using Dillons for their precision loading.  Adding a higher precision micrometer powder bar or a powder funnel and trickling charges manually is all that's needed to satisfy most precision shooters.

LTRDavid shoots quite a few matches and has done quite well using his setup.

I think if you read the thread linked there are a couple of people saying that they now load all their precision stuff on Dillons.  I think it's even mentioned that one of the military shooting teams uses Dillons for their loads too.

Luckily, I don't need to worry about it and plan on just loading and shooting.  I'm sure the ammo won't be the lowest common denominator.

[Spiff]

The only thing I can see that a micrometer on the powder bar does for you is it allows you to quickly move back to a given load that you have previously recorded. I can't see where it would really give you any more precision. It would just make swapping calibers and/or charging rates easier.

[Jeff]

You may be right.  After all, WTF do I know.  I did find the powder funnel an interesting addition.  Sure, it would slow things down but then you could load stick/extruded powder on your Dillon.

[Idaho_Gun_Nut]

More and more shooters are using Dillons for their precision loading.  Adding a higher precision micrometer powder bar or a powder funnel and trickling charges manually is all that's needed to satisfy most precision shooters.

LTRDavid shoots quite a few matches and has done quite well using his setup.

I think if you read the thread linked there are a couple of people saying that they now load all their precision stuff on Dillons.  I think it's even mentioned that one of the military shooting teams uses Dillons for their loads too.

Luckily, I don't need to worry about it and plan on just loading and shooting.  I'm sure the ammo won't be the lowest common denominator.

I can see if you're hand measuring the loads, then it makes a big difference.  I've always considered precision loading to equate to bench loads where you use a single stage press.  But then again that's for shooting clover leafs and not a larger size target.   

[Spiff]

You may be right.  After all, WTF do I know.  I did find the powder funnel an interesting addition.  Sure, it would slow things down but then you could load stick/extruded powder on your Dillon.

So what "Powder Funnel" are you talking about? Could be something I don't know about. 

[Jeff]

Somewhere down in the thread linked above I found this:

http://www.snipershide.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=13;t=005307#000020

And saw this:

[Spiff]

Ah, I see, so they are measuring the powder outside the progressive press and then pouring it into the case through the die. Interesting, never seen that before.

[Jeff]

Yea.  Since the major complaint about using a Dillon for precision loading is the powder measure now you can have the best of both worlds.  Of course it will slow down the process but if you are happy with the rest of the Dillon then this would certainly be faster than a single stage.