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Old October 11, 2012, 08:00 AM   #1
Scoutmom
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Powder Measure with Lee Dies & Dillon RL550

Just bought a used Dillon RL550 (came with tool head, dillon powder die, and powder measure). Purchased Lee 4 Die Carbide die set. Should I use the Dillon Powder measure or purchase a Lee Perfect Powder or Pro Powder Measurer?
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Old October 11, 2012, 01:41 PM   #2
Misssissippi Dave
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I am guessing you already have the right shell plate and pins for the caliber you plan to load. It would be best to have the through die expander for the proper caliber to go with the Dillon powder measure. The Dillon powder measure is quite good. The only problem I see with Lee dies on the 550b is you might have to go a little slower using them. They don't have the radius of the Dillon dies. That difference lets the Dillon self correct better when you go faster. When using the Lee 4 dies set you would then not need to expander die since it will be part of the power measure die setup.

I hope that helps.
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Old October 11, 2012, 07:11 PM   #3
dickttx
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Not exactly the same, but I recently purchased a Hornady LnL and I just transferred my Lee dies and Pro Auto Disk over from my Lee Classic Turret. At some point I presume I will unpack and set up the Hornady powder measure, but for now the Lee powder measure works as well on the LnL as it did on the LCT. Just something I don't have to worry about in learning to use the progressive.
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Old October 11, 2012, 08:24 PM   #4
Scoutmom
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Dillon and lee dies

Thank you for the info
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Old October 11, 2012, 09:26 PM   #5
Misssissippi Dave
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I use ball powders and WST powder for my pistol loads. The Dillon powder measure works very well with these powders. I like using the equipment a press comes with. Since the Dillon press comes with a powder measure and that measure works so well with the powders I like using I use it and I don't look for something else. The Dillon powder measure is very easy to adjust and use in my opinion.

I have a RCBS set of dies for one caliber I load. It does work. Occasionally I do have to re-position the case for the sizing die. I don't have to do this with Dillon dies. It is a slight inconvenience. I get good ammo with RCBS and Dillon dies on the 550b. I'm pretty sure you can get good ammo with other standard dies sets too.

If you have a Lee powder measure from another Lee press setup, I suggest keeping it with that press so you can have two presses set up to load different calibers. The Dillon is capable of producing pretty good volumes of ammo per hour. Probably more ammo per hour than any Lee press. I don't need that high of a volume for every caliber I load. A slower press still has value even with a progressive press on the bench.
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