Within the
past few months, Gunblast has given away to its members
firearms, binoculars, and riflescopes. Our latest giveaway on
Gunblast.com is a great reloading package from Dillon
Precision. It is their AT500 Turret Press Starter Kit. This
kit comes complete with everything needed to load top quality
ammunition except for dies and components.
The AT500 uses
standard 7/8x14 dies, so that it will accept dies from Hornady,
RCBS, Lee, Lyman, etc., in addition to the
fine quality Dillon dies.
The AT500
press is set up as a turret system, which is one of the best for
a beginning reloader. The AT500 is also perfect for the reloader
who wants to move up from a single stage press, but is not yet
ready for a fully progressive press, such as Dillon’s
excellent model 550B Progressive.
The AT500 can be used as a single stage press, or a four station
turret press. The best feature of the AT500 is that it can be
converted to a 550B press with the addition of optional
equipment, either a piece at a time as the reloader wishes, or
all at once. When the AT500 is converted, the reloader ends up
with a full-blown 550B, not some "piggyback"
afterthought system as has been sold by others in the past. The
AT500 uses the same basic frame and components as the 550B, so
that when converted, it becomes a real 550B progressive press.
As shipped,
the AT500 is a versatile, strong, durable reloading machine,
capable of turning out perfect ammunition very quickly, at a
rate close to progressive speed. The AT500 can also be used to
load cartridges one at a time, just like any single stage press.
The heart of
the AT500 system is Dillon’s removable tool head. With extra tool heads,
the dies can be adjusted once and then left alone, replacing the
tool head with another when changing calibers.
Speaking of
changing calibers, the AT500 comes ready to load over 40
different cartridges as shipped from Dillon. All that is needed
are dies and components. Some of the various cartridges that can
be loaded on the AT500 press right out of the box are listed in
the chart below.
Inexpensive additional shell plates can be
obtained to accommodate nearly any cartridge you'd ever want to
reload. The AT 500
accommodates the following calibers "out-of-the-box":
Rifle Calibers |
Pistol Calibers |
222 Rem. |
.22 Rem.
Jet |
.222 Rem.
Mag. |
.221 Rem.
Fireball |
.223 Rem./5.56mm |
.380
Auto |
.22-250 |
.38
Super |
.240
Weatherby Mag. |
.38
Special |
.243
Win. |
.357 Mag. |
6mm Rem./.244
Win. |
.357
Maximum |
.25-06 |
9mm
Luger (9x19mm) |
.250
Savage |
9x21mm |
.250-3000 |
9x23mm
Win. |
.257
Ackley Improved |
9x25
Dillon |
.257
Roberts |
10mm |
6.5x55mm
Mauser |
.40
S&W |
6.5-06 |
.45 ACP |
.270
Win. |
|
7mm
Benchrest |
|
7mm
Express/.280 Rem. |
|
7mm
International |
|
7mm TCU |
|
7x57mm
Mauser |
|
7mm-08
Rem. |
|
.284
Win. |
|
7.5x55mm
Swiss |
|
.30-06 Springfield |
|
.300
Savage |
|
.308
Win./7.62mm NATO |
|
7.65
Belgian/Argentine |
|
7.7mm
Arisaka |
|
.35
Whelen |
|
.358
Win. |
|
8mm
Mauser |
|
In addition to
the AT500 press, the Starter Kit that we are giving away
includes Dillon’s excellent Eliminator powder scale. Every
reloader should own a good quality scale with which to check
powder charges, and the Eliminator is a fine example of what a
simple balance beam scale should be.
Besides the
press and the scale, the kit includes a powder drop die with
various expanders and tubes, a powder funnel, a spent primer
catcher, cartridge locator buttons, safety glasses, Allen
wrenches and case lube.
The kit also
includes Dillon’s primer flip tray, which is the best that can
be had at any price, and far superior to the cheap plastic ones
that are sold by others. Also included is Dillon’s steel dial
caliper with fitted case, an instructional video, reloading data
guides from Accurate Arms, Alliant Powder, and Hodgdon,
along with AT500 and RL550B instruction manuals.
This AT500
Starter Kit is a fine, high quality reloading setup, suitable
for a beginner or advanced reloader. It is a reloading machine
that can grow with the owner, and not be set aside for better
equipment later. It is a heavy duty press, much superior to
lightweight presses available on the market. We are proud to be
offering this as our latest giveaway on Gunblast.com.
At Gunblast,
we use Dillon products. They are built to last, and are backed
by Dillon’s lifetime "No B.S." warranty.
For more
information on the AT500 and Dillon’s other fine products
online, check out Dillon’s website at:
www.dillonprecision.com
Jeff Quinn
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