Good press for consistent OAL
- Thread starter JEBruns
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CoalCrackerAl
Member
I dug further into this. Here it's the dang bullets. Lightning ammo brand. I checked some i loaded with Hornady bullets on the lee. they were all within 3 thou. I seated some of the ones that were seated a little long on the Lyman. They were still varied by a lot. The 55's i loaded on the lyman press prior were Hornady too. I'll use the lightning for banging steel.
kmw1954
Member
See this thread has really jumped the track!
I have and old model Lee Pro1000, a Lee ABLP, a Lee 3 hole turret and an RCBS JR3 and use all three. I have not tried loading and bottle neck cases on either of the progressives as I only use 2 dies when loading. The Powder thru die and the seating die. Everything else is all done on a single stage press. Meaning all brass prep work.
I only load 223Rem for rifle and that is all loaded to be shot in an informal short range Bench League where are ranges are from 100 to 300yds.. But we are also shooting at targets that are .5MOA in size for the 10 ring. Last years winner finished with a score of 1772 out of a possible 2000 over a 10 week season. So accuracy is of utmost importance.
I charge cases and seat bullets on the Lee 3 hole turret press and check each 223 bullet coming off it with a Hornady CBTO comparator and use everyday Lee 223 seating die. On this setup I am holding a .0015" length. This is not a +/-, this is a target length to + .0015".. On a rare occasion I do get one that will be way off the mark but I attribute that to the bullet and not the press of dies.
My opinion is only my personal opinion and for this level of precision I could never see myself trying to load these on a fully progressive press. For one, there is just too much case prep work to accomplish before it even gets to the press for a powder charge.
LiveLife
Member
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NMexJim
Member
I guess I lied - maybe these are quarts. A gallon might be kinda heavy.
An LNL is a Hornady Lock and Load AP
Lock-N-Load® AP™ - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc
Progressive reloading that’s smooth, precise and fast. With a single pull of the handle, you’ll feel the difference between this high-performance machine and ordinary reloading presses. You’ll feel the smooth responsiveness, the rugged construction,...
CQB45ACP
Member
Well that’s impressive accuracy—way to goI guess I lied - maybe these are quarts. A gallon might be kinda heavy.
View attachment 1174503
An LNL is a Hornady Lock and Load AP
Lock-N-Load® AP™ - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc
Progressive reloading that’s smooth, precise and fast. With a single pull of the handle, you’ll feel the difference between this high-performance machine and ordinary reloading presses. You’ll feel the smooth responsiveness, the rugged construction,...www.hornady.com
A characteristic that the Hornady LNL AP and the Dillon 550 share is that the cases ride on the frame of the press as opposed to on the shellplate.
The advantage is a more stable base. A disadvantage, or advantage depending on how you view it, is that proud primers will not tie up the shellplate from rotating
CQB45ACP
Member
That makes sense.
It’s highly unlikely I’ll ever shoot enough to justify such a machine and it’s a good thing because I also don’t have room.
Soonerpesek
Member
Like ANY of us really need a justification to buy something new...................
......................AND...........................there's ALWAYS room for new stuff, right.............
CoalCrackerAl
Member
When i do go progressive. It' s going to be a Hornady. Im watching prices for now.
OP
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JEBruns
Member
Picked up a new RL550C yesterday. Will be a few days before I can set it up, but am looking forward to seeing the results.
OP
OP
JEBruns
Member
A site moderator tried to put it back on track in post 16. I guess threads going off topic is just the nature of internet forums. I do appreciate the on topic replies though.
CQB45ACP
Member
Okay now you’re just playing provocateur as usual looking for a picture of my bench…Like ANY of us really need a justification to buy something new...................
I’m telling you I have no room…gotta sharpen my mower blades somewhere
jmorris
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I will politely disagree with this, unless we are talking about wadcutters and a flat seater. As we can’t over look those other factors and get the data we are looking for.
Most all seaters do not push the bullet in from the very tip and even if they did, I can grab a couple of say SMK’s out of the box and they don’t even have the same OAL.
So, if I did happen to seat them to the same OAL, they would all be different distances off the lands, .005” different for just those two projectiles. If I measure from the base to a datum along the ogive, I do get the same measurement for both, because it ignores tip inconsistencies.
So, I go by ogive measurements to see if my seating depth is consistent, not OAL. Caliper mounted attachments make it easy.
However one could even use the seating stem itself, if they wanted to and it would stilll be more accurate than counting on bullet tips being perfect.
Will tell you more about seating consistency that an OAL, almost every time.
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CQB45ACP
Member
Excellent and proves once again everything is relative
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JEBruns
Member
Very true. But the 550 will help better control one of the variables for me.
jmorris
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You just need to keep in mind what it is exactly you want to be consistant.
I’d take distance to lands every time if it’s that or OAL. The tip never touches anything until its already down range.
jmorris
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That would be a project worth quantification.
CQB45ACP
Member
I’ve noticed that about projectiles
kmw1954
Member
Also a check measure of the bullet from base to Ogive as in this first picture will tell you also if the bullet is a consistent length. I have found some that are not as consistent as others. So even if seated measuring CBTO they may be the same measurement to the lands but will develop different case pressures.
Most would not notice the difference unless shooting over a chronograph or at precision targets for scores. Personally I have found Barnes, Bergers, Nosler, Sierra Match bullets to be very consistent in that measurement. While base to tip, not so much.
jmorris
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The 3rd photo is of the base to datum along ogive measurement.
Yes, I have seen the same results myself, why I don‘t get caught up in OAL as much as others.
kmw1954
Member
I always find length to touch with new to me bullets and then start from there. I have a few that are loaded .040" longer than suggested. Others if I loaded to touch they would fall out of the case mouth.
Long range ammo on anything dillon is not going to happen.
The best results I have ever had has been on a RL 450 dillon. There are no parts to move or "float".
What range are you seeking?
Look at the 1000 yard bench rest shooters, they don't use dillon
The best results I have ever had has been on a RL 450 dillon. There are no parts to move or "float".
What range are you seeking?
Look at the 1000 yard bench rest shooters, they don't use dillon
jmorris
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This guy uses a 550…
“David Tubb is arguably the best, and winningest, competitive rifleman in history. He has won (to date) a record eleven NRA National High Power Rifle Championship titles at Camp Perry, Ohio. That's four more than next best. In addition, David is an NRA Silhouette Rifle legend, having won nearly 30 open, individual National Championship titles in all four rifle categories. David has also won seven Sportsmen's Team Challenge Championships along with six NRA Long Range Rifle (600-1000 yd.) National Championships, including his latest win in 2011 during which he also won his second Wimbledon Cup.”
This guy uses a 650.
“John Whidden of Whidden Gunworks used the .243 Winchester cartridge to win the 2017 NRA Long Range Championship, his FIFTH LR title. John loaded his .243 Win ammo using a Dillon: “My loading process is different than many people expect. I load my ammo on a Dillon 650 progressive press using our own Whidden Gunworks dies.”
Load Winning Ammo With Progressive — Whidden Shows How « Daily Bulletin
After the Berger Southwest Nationals, we had a long chat with John Whidden, five-time NRA Long-Range National Champion, and a past SWN Sling Division winner.
LiveLife
Member
You are correct and thanks for the clarification.
You along with other THR members like Bart. B who pushed for larger sample size in better assessing truer picture is what caused me to pursue "myth busting/real world" threads to expand sample size from 5 shot groups to 10 shot groups to composite 10,000+ rounds for 22LR ammunition comparison, expanding sample size for case wall thickness not just at one spot but at 12/3/6/9 O'clock, going from 10 drops to 50-100+ drops from powder measure and now ever growing sample size for OAL consistency.
The OP @JEBruns asked for progressive press for consistent OAL for long range shooting and I took that to mean a press that produces operational consistency factoring shellplate tilt/deflection inherent to progressive presses using shellplates.
Since most rifle bullet seating dies push on ogive further down from tip, I suggested a more standard practice of using 9mm RMR 115 gr FMJ that most of us have on hand to compare finished OAL produced on different progressive presses referencing data set I already had from Lee Six Pack Pro as baseline. (Heck, even Lee 9mm bullet seating stem/plug pushes on the ogive rather the tip as there is a hole where the tip goes) And thanks to THR members who provided OAL data for comparison.
Member @Nature Boy competes long range (Shoots pretty good too ... Wish my groups were as good as his 200-300 yard groups) and uses Dillon 650
And as jmorris posted,
I had a Dillon 450 before replacing it with 550/650.
Not having a toolhead may be better for greater precision but use of toolheads allow for faster caliber changes and on 550, IMO not a significant contributing factor to affect finished OAL. In a sense, Lee Six Pack Pro is akin to Dillon 450 with breech lock bushings.
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