TargetTalk

Loading has become sufficiently boring that I'm ready for a progressive press. What is people's experience reloading .32 on Dillon? I'm particularly concerned about their powder measure's ability to throw consistent charges. They claim ±0.1 gr, but with 1.6 gr of powder that seems a lot of tolerance. I've looked at the other systems and rejected them for one reason or another, so it's Dillon or staying primitive.

Sorry, I don't have any experience reloading .32 on Dillon.

But, by the way, do you have experience reolading .32 with Bullseye powder? Wich is the best charge with this powder, considering 98gr bullets? 1.6grs?

Thanks.

William
I load my .32's with an old Dillon 450, 1.4gr Accurate #2, which is a fine ball powder, and it meters just fine. I've used a few different presses, and I'd have to say that the Dillon is one of the best. They have a special small charge measure if you're using small powder charges.

Hope this helps
R.M.

William,
I load .32 S&W Longs on a Dillon 550B for my Unique 32U.
I have gotten consistent charges down to 1.3 gr VV310 with no problem.
As a previous poster stated you need to get their smallest powder slide for the Dillon powder measure when you buy the press. It comes with a large and small as standard but the one you want is smaller still.
I use RCBS dies in mine with a seperate crimping station with a Lee die.
Good luck!
JLK

I load some different .32 loads (for different guns + different shooters) on my 650XL. Works perfectly well, down to 1.3 grs. Lower than that seems to be difficult, the measuring slide doesn't run smooth and I dont' trust the whole thing, but 1.3 is ok for most italian pistols. Probably the best investment I ever made for my hobby, my ammo is easily on the level of the factory stuff and a lot cheaper.

To load the 32 S&W Long on a Dillon, with the loads that we typically use, you need the Ex-Small powder bar. For full wad cutters their is also a special powder funnel that made it work even better than the one that comes with the normal conversion kit. Also the new Dillon 32 die set is great. It gives a very nice profile crimp and has all the advantages of the take-down dies.
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In addition to the special small powder bar, the choice of powder TYPE is critical when looking for drops in the 1.2 - 1.7 grain range. Bullseye and W231 do NOT drop with any consistency; WST and VV310 do. It's a matter of ball versus flake powder.

I have the Dillon Square Deal B. I am still working on getting the crimp correct so I stop getting jams but I am still learning. I have been using W231 and I have not noticed any cosistancy problems. My friend who I got the press and the pistol from never had any problems either.

good luck

how much WW231?

1.2 to 1.7 seems like a wide range

Poole

Depends on the gun and what weight bullet you're using.
Walthers tend to need a heavier charge than Hammerli SP-20 or Domino 603.

With a 98 - 100 grain bullet, I suggest around 1.8 gr W231 for a Walther or 1.6 gr for the others. Of course, I'm not using W231 anymore because it doesn't feed as smoothly through the 550B as does WST.

I use the Dillon 550B and Redding dies---Remington Brass---Meister bullets DEWC 100gr.---Federal Primers--- 1.2 gr. of VV N310. Adjusting the small bar powder charger to 1.2 gr. is a pain in the butt. However, with patience it can be achieved and I have produced very consistent loads with good average deviation nos. on the chrono. This load is good from 50ft. to 25 metres---but not for the long line at 50 yards---but then the bullets tend to tip a bit after 25 metres---so I don't suggest the .32 as a long line gun. I did shoot the .32 on the 50 yard bullseye course and the heavier powder load ( 1.6 gr. VV N310 ) destroyed two Pardini HP magazines when the brass gave up the ghost.

mister G wrote:In addition to the special small powder bar, the choice of powder TYPE is critical when looking for drops in the 1.2 - 1.7 grain range. Bullseye and W231 do NOT drop with any consistency; WST and VV310 do. It's a matter of ball versus flake powder.

I have a Dillion 550B and have loaded from 1.3 to 1.8 grains of WW 231 and find it very consistant. Out of 100 loads the max variation was .05 grains and if you think that makes a difference well.

Boy, I wish I had the time and determination to weigh 100 loads to a half of a tenth of a grain. ;-)

I misspoke when I said that BE and W231 do not load with any consistency; I should've said "they load with less consistency than ball powders at low load levels".

I used BE, W231, Blue Dot, 2400 and W296 for years in RCBS and Star presses, but all loads were around 3 grains or more. When using W231 with the RCBS manual powder funnel on my early Dillon 450, I could "feel" the powder flakes being sheared by the rotating cavity. This also slowed down the loading process. I switched to WST for the 32 S&WL and loading seems much smoother (whatever that means).

As they say, your mileage will vary ....