44 mag brass issue in Dillon 550B

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Palladan44

Palladan44

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When repriming 44 mag in my Dillon 550B, the brass rims on the cases are getting twisted sideways, and about one in 3 get jammed on the shellplate, so that i have to pry them off. Ive tried everything, tweeking the metal rim retainer, tightening shell plate, reaming primer pockets, and still the same result. Not a deal breaker, but just annoying. It happens the worst on this newer batch of WW brass, which the thickness of the rim is the least, allowing for the twisting/wedging action to be amplified, as there is more room to twist sideways because the thinner rim from top to bottom.
 
garandsrus said:
It sure sounds like you are using the wrong shell plate. The correct shell plate is number 4. What you are describing might be a 45 Colt shell plate.

I have loaded a lot of 44 and never had that problem with the 550.
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That would be a huge disappointment as Dillon sent me this with the caliber conversion kit. Ill check on this and get back to you. Thank you for the insight and the idea
 
The shellplate I have is shellplate C for 45 colt.
Garandsrus, you are correct.
Dillon, come on!!!!!
 
Must of had a few problems with belling and case expansion also. The kit has the powder drop tube or was that correct.
 
I’m surprised the shell plates are different with the .512 rim of the .45 Colt and the .514 rim of the .44 Mag being so close in size. I guess the Dillon tolerance is tight enough to require different ones.

I do recall some .44 Mag WW brass rims being a fraction thicker than other brands and they wouldn’t slide easily into the shell holders on my Lee presses. No other brand of brass has had this issue. This was hit snd miss; some were fine while others were really frustrating.

Dillon is a great company, they’ll make it right. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I’m surprised the shell plates are different with the .512 rim of the .45 Colt and the .514 rim of the .44 Mag being so close in size. I guess the Dillon tolerance is tight enough to require different ones.

I do recall some .44 Mag WW brass rims being a fraction thicker than other brands and they wouldn’t slide easily into the shell holders on my Lee presses. No other brand of brass has had this issue. This was hit snd miss; some were fine while others were really frustrating.

Dillon is a great company, they’ll make it right. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
Click to expand...

Where I haven't had any issues with the 44 mag brass I use (GFL, Magtech, Horandy, Winchester), I can say that 100%, the 44 mag 550 plate will not accept 45 colt brass...which sucks. I was messing around with 45 Colt on my single stage and noted the shell holder is the same for 45 and 44...so I thought "Well, might as well resize and prime on the 550, save myself some time". I slapped on the 44 plate...and...nope. It's a no-go.
 
All other systems in progression work fine, just repriming (the hardest "push up" on the casing) causing the rim sometimes to get stuck on the outer edges of the shellplate. All other components in the caliber conversion kit were correct.
 
• The correct shellplate identification is listed in the back of your 550 owner's manual, in one of the several Appendix sections.

• I will admit that Dillon CS has sent me the wrong caliber conversion kits before. What they'll do is charge your card again for the correct Caliber Conversion Kit (delivered free of charge), and then send you a pre-paid shipping label. When they receive the returned item, they'll credit your account. Usually this all happens so fast that the charge doesn't make it to the month-end billing.
 
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Typetwelve said:
Where I haven't had any issues with the 44 mag brass I use (GFL, Magtech, Horandy, Winchester), I can say that 100%, the 44 mag 550 plate will not accept 45 colt brass...which sucks. I was messing around with 45 Colt on my single stage and noted the shell holder is the same for 45 and 44...so I thought "Well, might as well resize and prime on the 550, save myself some time". I slapped on the 44 plate...and...nope. It's a no-go.
Click to expand...
Same here, I thought they were the same universally. With my stuff .44 Spl-Mag and .45 Colt use the same shell holders. I guess the tolerances for the progressives are tighter than single stage ones... maybe because when in use with several stations they’re creating stress at multiple points of the machine rather than just the one so it lessens the chances of pulling a rim out of the holder? (I’m no mechanical engineer, just a guess.)

Hopefully the OP gets the proper stuff from Dillon quickly and gets back in the game soon!

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
Same here, I thought they were the same universally. With my stuff .44 Spl-Mag and .45 Colt use the same shell holders. I guess the tolerances for the progressives are tighter than single stage ones... maybe because when in use with several stations they’re creating stress at multiple points of the machine rather than just the one so it lessens the chances of pulling a rim out of the holder? (I’m no mechanical engineer, just a guess.)

Hopefully the OP gets the proper stuff from Dillon quickly and gets back in the game soon!

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
I agree with you 100%
 
A 45 Colt case is too large in diameter to fit into the #4 shell holder for the 44 magnum.

Not because of the rim, 45 colt is actually smaller than 44 mag in the rim but the body is larger.

44 mag on top 45 colt on bottom.

038AEA20-8454-4A8E-AA95-8B3842999079.jpeg

6D67516E-8AAC-4422-83B1-5E2FD4A15AFF.jpeg
 
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