ChestnutLouie
Active Member
The powder thru die that came on my Dillon SDB press.
Beretta 92FS & cast bullets?
- Thread starter ChestnutLouie
- Start date
Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
OK - that may explain a lot.
I love Dillon equipment and have a well used 550. However, Dillon powder through expanders (Dillon calls them "powder funnels") are dimensioned for jacketed bullets. The Dillon expanders are almost always undersized for cast bullets. You can get a custom made powder funnel that incorporates the correct dimensions for cast bullets OR you can perform the operation off the press with a separate die (which would be a PITA on a SDB press)
I suspect your casings are sizing your bullets down.
Check out these funnels:
OR, find a someone to make a custom expander for you. It's not a complex part and can be made on a lathe.
I love Dillon equipment and have a well used 550. However, Dillon powder through expanders (Dillon calls them "powder funnels") are dimensioned for jacketed bullets. The Dillon expanders are almost always undersized for cast bullets. You can get a custom made powder funnel that incorporates the correct dimensions for cast bullets OR you can perform the operation off the press with a separate die (which would be a PITA on a SDB press)
I suspect your casings are sizing your bullets down.
Check out these funnels:
OR, find a someone to make a custom expander for you. It's not a complex part and can be made on a lathe.
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fiver
Well-Known Member
if you look the Dillon funnels aren't reallt designed to open the case at all they just flair the mouth to hold the bullet for the seating die and to insure that the powder goes into the case.
they aren't really an M type die nor designed to be one.
if you want to open the case you need to de-prime and size in a separate operation, then slip a spud from a 38 special die in station 1 just low enough to open the neck, and speed load from there.
you can still use your undersized carbide size die by inserting it in an empty die head and zooming a bunch of cases through the machine.
they aren't really an M type die nor designed to be one.
if you want to open the case you need to de-prime and size in a separate operation, then slip a spud from a 38 special die in station 1 just low enough to open the neck, and speed load from there.
you can still use your undersized carbide size die by inserting it in an empty die head and zooming a bunch of cases through the machine.
Cherokee
Medina, Ohio
I've been using the AP38 spud for expanding 9mm and Super 38 for years. Works great. It's annoying that you have to buy extra dies/parts for cast bullets. I bought some custom powder dies for my Dillon 650 like the HTC #62 and they work. Just remember, going deeper into the case will make it harder on the withdraw stroke, more friction. Also, loaded rounds will have a slight bulge.
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Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
As I stated earlier, I love Dillon equipment.
However, Dillon Powder Funnels (powder through expanders) are almost always undersized for cast bullets. And they do not have the Lyman "M" die type profile. The Dillon powder funnels place a small flare on the case mouth that is akin to a trumpet bell or a funnel not the straight parallel profile you get with the "M" die profile.
The Dillon expanders generally don't go very deep into the case (unless you set them up to grossly over-expand the case mouth)
The easiest solution is to just obtain a custom powder funnel with the preferred profile. That powder funnel will work with both cast bullets and jacketed bullets, so there's no need to switch back and forth if you decide to load jacketed bullets.
If you start pulling cases out of the progressive press, flare them with a "M" style expander and put them back in the progressive press - you've completely eliminated the advantage of using a progressive press.
However, Dillon Powder Funnels (powder through expanders) are almost always undersized for cast bullets. And they do not have the Lyman "M" die type profile. The Dillon powder funnels place a small flare on the case mouth that is akin to a trumpet bell or a funnel not the straight parallel profile you get with the "M" die profile.
The Dillon expanders generally don't go very deep into the case (unless you set them up to grossly over-expand the case mouth)
The easiest solution is to just obtain a custom powder funnel with the preferred profile. That powder funnel will work with both cast bullets and jacketed bullets, so there's no need to switch back and forth if you decide to load jacketed bullets.
If you start pulling cases out of the progressive press, flare them with a "M" style expander and put them back in the progressive press - you've completely eliminated the advantage of using a progressive press.