Jess Ducky Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thanks, Larson, that seems to be the solution. The Dillon shellplate was too thick, and would not get the cartridge far enough into the die to set the crimp fully. As mentioned above, I am retired and have the time to crimp each cartridge in a seperate operation. Ducky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Call Dillon, and see if maybe the specs have changed for the .32-20 shellplate. They will most likely send you another to try at N/C. LG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace Hanlon Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Update on my problems. I have purchased a 32-20 cylinder reamer to check my cylinders. The reamer goes into my Uberti Cattlemen pistols and bottoms out on the face of the cylinder and does not remove any metal (I have not had any problems with these pistols). I placed the reamer into the Ruger cylinders and it would not bottom out until I cut a small amount of metal out of the cylinders. The reamer now bottoms out like in the Uberti pistols and my reloads all seem to bottom out in the cylinder. So in the end the cylinders were to tight and after modifying my sizing die to move the shoulder to where it should be I no longer have any problems with the cartridges bottoming out in the cylinders. I guess I'm ready for the next surprise! Thanks for all the suggestions and help. Ace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I bought a Dillon 32-20 kit for my 550B last Thursday. The issue I'm trying to find a fix for is the powder funnel is WAY to small for cast bullets. It is marked "S" and listed as for all 32 handguns. It measures .305 and the expanding length is hardly more than 1/8". In contrast, the RCBS cowboy die expander diameter is .310 for about 3/8" and then steps up to .314 diameter before it bells. Dillon lists a funnel marked "SW" and says it's for wadcutters. But they don't list dimensions. I've sent them an email asking for help. They have not gotten back to me. Has anyone experienced this and have a fix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 We have found too, that it is critical to lube the cases for 32-20. +++++++++. Absolutely. I don't know how many 32-20 cases I pulled in two in the sizing dies. In fact that was the straw that broke the camels back. I pulled a case in two, put the 32-20 loading dies on the shelf and sold the gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I bought a Dillon 32-20 kit for my 550B last Thursday. The issue I'm trying to find a fix for is the powder funnel is WAY to small for cast bullets. It is marked "S" and listed as for all 32 handguns. It measures .305 and the expanding length is hardly more than 1/8". In contrast, the RCBS cowboy die expander diameter is .310 for about 3/8" and then steps up to .314 diameter before it bells. Dillon lists a funnel marked "SW" and says it's for wadcutters. But they don't list dimensions. I've sent them an email asking for help. They have not gotten back to me. Has anyone experienced this and have a fix? I got a message back from Dillon Support. The "SW" powder funnel is .311 diameter and longer. I'll take it! If it's a little too large, I can polish it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollifer A. Dollar Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Larsen the problem I have with the Lee Collet crimp die is the threads on the side of the die hit my shell plate on a Dillon 550 I had the same problem with the Lee collet-style factory crimp dies in my 550... For your first problem when you take your sizer to a machine shop to have them shorten it (I always shorten mine .060") take the die body for your crimper and have them turn the end threads down a bit. ...& this was the solution! Daybreaker's son Yancey James removed the last 1/4 inch or so of the threads on the die to clear the 550 shell plate. I had him do this on Lee factory crimp dies for 44-40, 32-20 & 30 M1 carbine. The latter 2 work really well. For 44-40, I found a RCBS cowboy crimp die did a better job so I use it instead. YMMV. Holler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I bought a Lee Powder Thru die for 32 S&W from Grafs this morning. The expander measures 311 diameter. I can use this die with my Lyman 55 measures. It'll be a manual throw of the charge. I also had them order a Dillon powder funnel "SW" that Dillon says is 311 diameter. They will include it with their regular order from Dillon so I won't have to pay shipping. May be a week to a month getting here. I tried to get an account set up with Dillon this morning but kept getting blocked by "can't establish a secure connection". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Kiowa Jones #6765 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 I would add a couple things here. Here's a tip to determine where the problem is. Use a sharpie to paint the hard chambering round to see where the tight spot is. It will show up as a drag mark on the brass. The Uberti pistols in WCF's are notorious for shallow shoulders. So re-size your once fired brass then check it in the chambers before you seat a bullet. This will tell you if it's the shoulder. Some will require reaming even if the size die is shortened. So it may require both. As mentioned by Jess the thin WCF brass tends to stretch when fired. Even with the Lee FCD this slightly longer brass can cause a slight bulge. So trimming is important. Bottom line is the problem can be the shoulders or a bulge or both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Hacker, #60477 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Gee, now I am going to get paranoid. My 32-20 reloads have always gone like poop through a goose. I must be doing something wrong Überti '73 Unerri Colt clones Lee dies Lee FCD One shot lube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Have 32-20 reloads that chamber perfectly in a Remington RB #2 rifle: * Starline annealed brass * Lee 311 -100 - 2R bullets * Lee Die Set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I just have the one old Marlin 94 I've been playing with over the winter so variations in chamber is not an issue. I started with a mixed lot of old brass that varied in length. And had a learning curve on OAL. But now that I have a couple hundred new Starline brass, my reloads are running nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Here is my collection of 32-20 expander dies. One the left is out of my RCBS Cowboy dies. It measures .310 and then steps up to .312 just a short bit before a gentile taper. Next is the expander die you get with the Dillon 32-20 conversion kit - #S. It has just a stubby section at .305 and then bells out. Next is a Dillon #SW die. It measures .310-311 and has a nice long expander section. On right is a Lee for 32 S&W. It measures .308 for a short while and then expands up to .310 and then a very gentle flare. I started out loading the 32-20 with a small single station press using the RCBS Cowboy dies. I am using cast bullets .313 diameter. It worked perfect. Then I wanted to srep up production and use the Dillon 550B. I got the conversion kit. It worked but the cases were not expanded nearly enough for the .313 bullets. In email correspondence with Dillon, it looked like the SW powder funnel was what I was needing. I didn't ask them to but they sent me one. I've just installed it and it looks like it should work fine. In the meantime, I bought a Lee powder drop die for 32 S&W. I'm planning to use it when I load with the Lyman 55 black powder measure as the measure will set on top of this die. It's the least expensive way to adapt the Lyman 55 to the Dillon press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I felt confident this morning as I loaded 32-20 rounds with BlackMZ on the Dillon 550B. I had worked up a load with Unique and BlackMZ that were shooting well. I'd shot the old Marlin in two matches without a bobble - except for a broken ejector spring on the last stage. Just to feel 100% sure, I cycled 10 through the rifle. Well, I tried to. But about the third round it jammed tight. After a lot of fussing, I came to realize that I hadn't actually ran ammo loaded on the 550B through this rifle. The cartridge would almost fully chamber and then the bolt wouldn't completely close. I remembered others commenting on having to shorten the sizing die to compensate for the thicker shell plate on the Dillon. Ah-ha! I had noticed the sizing die hadn't sized the neck all the way down. But the ammo had worked OK in my other Marlin. Two other problems were found and hopefully corrected. I had cleaned the bore but didn't go in with a bigger brush and clean the chamber. Also, there was a little tooth tarter buildup on the extractor notch. I brushed the chamber, removed the exact or and cleaned hole, etc and cleaned the extractor cut in barrel. The ammo cycles fine now. It was frustrating but better to find out now than on Saturday morning. I'll be taking some off the bottom of the sizing die. Always something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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