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Closing in on picking up a Dirty Eagle in 50AE next week. Of course no ammo anywhere. BUT used brass is avalible from Capital Cartrage in TX and Midway has Speer 300gr 50 Cal, and Hornedy Ti die set in stock. I have primers and powder so good to go. Anyone currently loading for this cartridge out there?

Ordered up the conversion kit for my trusty D550 I normally only use for 2 stage precision rifle loading. No since in setting up a D1050 die head just to run 400 rounds, the D550 will do just fine.

Any experiences?
 
Loaded a bunch of it a few months ago. Just go slow and easy like any other round you load for. :s0155:

My only suggestion is not to load them "light". Remember, it is a huge magnum semi auto, and that slide is big and heavy. You'll need a pretty good load for reliable cycling. If you load "light" you may get quite a few FTE.
 
Loaded a bunch of it a few months ago. Just go slow and easy like any other round you load for. :s0155:

My only suggestion is not to load them "light". Remember, it is a huge magnum semi auto, and that slide is big and heavy. You'll need a pretty good load for reliable cycling. If you load "light" you may get quite a few FTE.
I'll mirror this comment. Made some .45s a while back that were just to the right of too light and they just dribble out the port, or fail to eject at all maybe 1/20. They're not fun to shoot.
 
Loaded a couple hundred last week using the same setup (DL550). Not much different than loading other straight cartridges. As stated above, make sure you don't do too light loads. I've found if I stick close to the upper end, the gun cycles best. It does have a little more kick, but it's a huge gun, you generally don't purchase it for concealed carry :).


I also use a powder that there is no way to load a double charge (generally do that for all my handgun loads), I really don't want this beast blowing up in my hand. I use H110, if fills the case about 3/4 full.
 
Not for concealed carry? Aw man I was going to order up a custom big bubblegum black leather with nickel studs shoulder rig so I can walk around leaning to the left with that hog strapped to me. Heheh.. Ya this is a range toy and an own it just because "Merica!"

Great feed back guys. I will keep them on the heavier side. No H110 in the powder magazine. Planning on using Lil'Gun, the Hornady 10th Eddition has it working on the upper end with 30gr to 31.7 gr.

Biggest powder charge I have ever dropped. @Sundance do you find the Dillon large powder bar working consistently for them? I did order the "large" powder drop funnel Dillon says is required to fit the expander/dropper. Just debating on using my two RCBS chargmasters I use for precision rifle and just had filling each cartridge in trays vrs. Using a powder dropper. BUT if I can get the powder dropper to work, I would prefer so I can just prime and go. (And not pull all the Varget Powder out of the chargmasters!)
 
The best thing about the DE 50 is the reaction from others when you shoot it and letting other people at the range shoot it and watching thier reactions :). I use a lanyard tied to their wrist and only one round in the gun when others shoot it. It's not really a 'fun' gun to just plink with'. If you haven't shot one before, PM me and I can give you some tips on shooting it - save getting bloody foreheads from ejecting brass.

I generally have a hard time getting competition consistent loads from any cylindrical power with the Dillon. Since I don't shoot competition with the DE, it doesn't matter much. Using the large powder bar and large funnel, I can keep the loads within about .2 gr. If you are aiming for the 31 gr load, it'll be within tolerances and you'll never feel the difference in recoil.
 
@AMT @Sundance You guys crimping separately? I have the Hornady die set, says its a roll crimp. Odd for a case that seats on the edge of the case. See talk of guys using the RCBS seat/crimp die set.

EDIT: Ok Hornady's site is saying its a taper crimp now. Hmm. What are you guys using?

30119B57-0F1A-43A7-ACBA-8918056D4E76.jpeg
 
@AMT @Sundance You guys crimping separately? I have the Hornady die set, says its a roll crimp. Odd for a case that seats on the edge of the case. See talk of guys using the RCBS seat/crimp die set.

EDIT: Ok Hornady's site is saying its a taper crimp now. Hmm. What are you guys using?

View attachment 732132

I use the RCBS carbide dies. I also do 1 at a time on a Rock Chucker. When messing with huge cartridges I want to be able to inspect each round during each step.
 
Seat/Crimp die - I just have 2 of them. I could never get the seat/crimp to work reliably in one step, so i bought 2. Took the seating unit out and use it as a crimp.
The hornady die looks more configurable than the old RCBS ones I have, maybe a single step would work.
 
Seat/Crimp die - I just have 2 of them. I could never get the seat/crimp to work reliably in one step, so i bought 2. Took the seating unit out and use it as a crimp.
The hornady die looks more configurable than the old RCBS ones I have, maybe a single step would work.

I will figure it out this weekend. The missing links (of course Dillon was the slowest) just showed up. The brass two days ago, it went into the drier last night after taking a swim for 90min with stainless chips, citric acid, and some ArmorALL carwash. Midway got the bullets to me yesterday, just needed the Dillon bits. No carbide dies for the 50AE from Hornady they say the case diameter is too large to fit the 7/8" dies and allow for enough thickness of carbide to not crack. So lube time, no worries I already lube all my brass with my homemade lube. All the 50AE brass I got is also nickel-plated so it's going to naturally size easier. Looking forward to seeing 32gr of powder drop!

Whao just realized one LB of powder will only do 218 cases. I was planning on loading 500, once I verified my loads were what I wanted. I might keep it down to 200 at a time as I have lots of powder but don't really think I am going to shoot 200 rounds of 50AE that quickly. It's easy to set up the D550 so I can always punch more out later. He he, this thing is a beast.

IMG_2084.jpg
 
I will figure it out this weekend. The missing links (of course Dillon was the slowest) just showed up. The brass two days ago, it went into the drier last night after taking a swim for 90min with stainless chips, citric acid, and some ArmorALL carwash. Midway got the bullets to me yesterday, just needed the Dillon bits. No carbide dies for the 50AE from Hornady they say the case diameter is too large to fit the 7/8" dies and allow for enough thickness of carbide to not crack. So lube time, no worries I already lube all my brass with my homemade lube. All the 50AE brass I got is also nickel-plated so it's going to naturally size easier. Looking forward to seeing 32gr of powder drop!

Whao just realized one LB of powder will only do 218 cases. I was planning on loading 500, once I verified my loads were what I wanted. I might keep it down to 200 at a time as I have lots of powder but don't really think I am going to shoot 200 rounds of 50AE that quickly. It's easy to set up the D550 so I can always punch more out later. He he, this thing is a beast.

View attachment 732454
:) loading for the DE is not like loading 45 ACP where you use 6 gr of powder. The 1 lb can goes real fast... Good luck.

How do you like the stainless chips? I've been thinking of trying them. I use Rice, then walnut shells and a dryer sheet for the first polish. Rice works OK, but it takes 3-4 hours to get them really clean.
After loading, they go back into finer ground walnut shells and another dryer sheet for 15 minutes to get the lube and finger prints off them.
 
:) loading for the DE is not like loading 45 ACP where you use 6 gr of powder. The 1 lb can goes real fast... Good luck.

How do you like the stainless chips? I've been thinking of trying them. I use Rice, then walnut shells and a dryer sheet for the first polish. Rice works OK, but it takes 3-4 hours to get them really clean.
After loading, they go back into finer ground walnut shells and another dryer sheet for 15 minutes to get the lube and finger prints off them.

Love the stainless chips for wet tumbling, they do not get stuck in primer holes like the SS pins can. I usually run brass seperate from loading, I wet tumble range brass first w/o chips, just citric acid and pea size drop of car wash, then dry. I then lube, universal decap, resize, under size then roll form. The brass by then is dingy looking again. It goes in with the chips/acid/car wash and final dry. They look feel and have the bright audible ring to them like new. That final wash the primer pockets are fully exposed so need to make sure nothing gets stuck in them, chips do not.

I remembered I have 26lbs of Vihtavuori N110 I traded for 2 yrs ago. Book says its a go for 50AE so good use for it at 28gr. As I suspected that large of a powder dump with the Dillon powder system is inconsistent. I loaded 7 to test tomorrow but thinking I may dump the Varget out of my two RCBS chargemasters and just weigh each charge out.

Fought the crip a bit, its loading ok but I can see how it would be way easier to just get a second die and run it as the crimp die. I am getting an odd burr on the outer lip vrs it crimping inward. I am beginning to think the Hornady die does indeed have a roll crimp not a taper crimp.
 
How did the shooting go?

Good overall. Sat. AM Test fires with the Hornady book max of 28g of V110 it cycled great and was fun to shoot. Bullets are Speer JHP Deep-curl 300g. We shot single shots, full cycle with slide locking back. Next was two rounds and it fully functioned fine. Shot way softer than I was expecting for all the hype of 50AE. (still decent pup to it!)

I went home and punched out 150 more. (it's been yrs since I rocked the D550 in full progressive mode, it was fun and reminded me of the days of hours loading 9mm this way) Then Sunday AM to TCGC, I loaded full mag and had every other shot have the slide not go into full battery. It took very very light effort, like with my finger the slide needed to be pushed forward. The rounds were chambering fine, just the slide was inconsistent going into battery. My plan is A. fully clean and lube the Deagle and B. load a few test rounds a little hotter. Will do a string of 28.2, 28.4, 28.6, and see how it operates. It probably just needs that little extra. I must say that Vihtavouri powder burns clean! And with 26lbs of it, I have enough on hand for awhile!

15yr old son likes it. He shot a decent 2 shot group with it, and of course, the required vaporizing a water bottle.
IMG_2116.jpg

Yes that is indeed water vaper to the right
IMG_2117.jpg
 
Last Edited:
Great Pix - glad you had fun. It's a beast to shoot, but the recoil isn't uncontrollable. I never understood the videos of people shooting it and having the gun fly back and break their noses. I figured they were amatuers with no responsible guidance...

It is fun to see the damage it does to water bottles - 300gr travelling at ~1400+fps creates a lot of energy :). Watermelons and potatoes are also very fun to shoot.

I've found that keeping the springs and the guide in the slide clean, and the bolt clean and lubed helps. Keeping the wirst straight so the slide has some resitance also helps. My brother has a bad shoulder, and when he shoots it, he takes all the recoil in his wrist - it never cycles right for him.

It does not like light loads. I have to stay close to the max for consistent, reliable firing.
 
I was also having "issues" with mine a while ago. I found:

1. Definitely keep on the max end of reloads. My "standard" load is 32.5gr of H110/W296 (which is the same powder now-a-days) under a 325gr projectile.
2. Keep lubed in key areas (as mentioned above).
3. Don't "limp wrist" it.
4. It didn't matter who shot mine, it had "issues" fully cycling. I did some research (and "talked" with people). Clean and lube the magazine. Also, when i "store" it, i store 3 rounds in the mag. I found that until it fully "breaks in" that the mag spring has a huge upward force. Keeping it stored with 3 in the mag helps "sag" the spring slightly.

These have helped with my cycling "issues".

Good to see another 50AE shooter out there!

:s0151:
 
Great Pix - glad you had fun. It's a beast to shoot, but the recoil isn't uncontrollable. I never understood the videos of people shooting it and having the gun fly back and break their noses. I figured they were amatuers with no responsible guidance...

It is fun to see the damage it does to water bottles - 300gr travelling at ~1400+fps creates a lot of energy :). Watermelons and potatoes are also very fun to shoot.

I've found that keeping the springs and the guide in the slide clean, and the bolt clean and lubed helps. Keeping the wirst straight so the slide has some resitance also helps. My brother has a bad shoulder, and when he shoots it, he takes all the recoil in his wrist - it never cycles right for him.

It does not like light loads. I have to stay close to the max for consistent, reliable firing.

I was conscious of the limp wrist effect on autos, seen it time and time again with new Glock owners. I really think its just needing 0.5 of a grain of powder to put it in the sweet spot.

Looking forward to some watermelons for sure. Just have to plan a woods trip or to my buddies privet ranch, local ranges are a no go for blowing up fruit.

Did give the kid a photo for the gram. Heck, no he did not shoot it one-handed and I told him to put his finger on the trigger (kid has it drilled into him for trigger control). Funny though cant wipe that smile off his face after shooting that thing.

IMG_2118.JPG
 
@AMT, exact same load I use in mine :). I've never had any cycling issue when I shoot it, almost everyone else has. Interesting tip on keeping a few rounds in the mag, I'll try it.
 

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