In Memoriam: Mike Dillon

by
posted on February 9, 2017
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
dillion.jpg

Mike Dillon, a former member of the NRA Board of Directors and a giant of the ammunition reloading industry, passed away Nov. 7, 2016, in Arizona. He was 81 years old.

Dillon started reloading as a hobby, initially seeking to produce only enough ammunition to keep his own firearms fed. But in 1979 he founded Dillon Precision Products and began manufacturing reloading equipment and shooting accessories from the family garage. By selling directly to his customers instead of through distributors, and due to his willingness to stand by his company’s products with a lifetime warranty, Dillon quickly established a fiercely loyal customer base. That allowed his firm to grow rapidly into a major player within its industry.

In October 1990, Dillon also started publishing The Blue Press, a catalog/magazine with an emphasis on reloading and competitive shooting, which is still in production today. Around that same time another of Dillon’s business ventures, Dillon Aero, started work to redesign the U.S. military’s M134 Minigun, eventually successfully achieving adoption by the armed forces.

Dillon served as an NRA Director from 1993 to 1996, and sat on the Collegiate Programs, Membership, Public Affairs and Finance committees. An NRA Life member, during his tenure with the association he was particularly active in, and passionate about, efforts to increase membership, educate new shooters and combat political assaults against the Second Amendment.

“I feel that we are now at a ‘do or die’ point in the life of the NRA. I have enough historical hindsight to see that others have felt that way in the past; however, I don’t believe that the forces arrayed against us have ever been as powerful as they are now,” he once said. “The one-two punch of Hollywood’s violent television shows and movies, combined with the liberal left’s anti-gun messages, are having a telling effect on the public’s attitude towards gun ownership. Only a strong and well-financed NRA is positioned to oppose this juggernaut.”

Affiliated with the National Reloading Manufacturers Ass’n and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Dillon was also a founding member of the Cactus Combat League in his home state of Arizona, a competitive shooting group dedicated to USPSA, 3-Gun and Steel Challenge matches.

In addition to his work within the firearm industry, Dillon was an avid aviator. Prior to his transition into the reloading business, he had worked as a flight instructor, a crop duster, a commercial pilot for Trans World Airlines from 1966 to 1980, and a writer for Air Progress magazine from 1967 until 1974. Dillon was also a member of the Experimental Aircraft Ass’n, the EAA’s Warbirds of America, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Ass’n and the T-34 Ass’n, and had restored several dilapidated aircraft back into working order.

Dillon is survived by his wife, Carol; their three children, Stephen, Christopher and Stephanie; and nine grandchildren.

Latest

Gotw Wilson Combat Divison 77 Project 1 Web
Gotw Wilson Combat Divison 77 Project 1 Web

Gun Of The Week: Wilson Combat Division 77 Project 1

Join American Rifleman staff on the range in this video to get a closer look at Wilson Combat’s somewhat cryptically named “Division 77 Project 1.” 

The Armed Citizen® July 18, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Review: POF-USA LMR BASE Rifle

The Patriot Ordnance Factory LMR Base offers a .308 Win. chambering in a lightweight, AR-15-size package, which makes it a capable platform for today's new gun owner. And it comes at a fair price.

2025 Accessory Of The Year: Wyoming Sight Drifter

For each of the past 23 years, the editors of American Rifleman have convened to select our top picks for the past year’s best and most innovative products. Here are the most recent winners.

Henry Donates Rifles To Support Young Leukemia Victim

Henry Repeating Arms has donated a limited run of 50 “Team Keane” Golden Boy .22 lever-action rifles to support 13-year-old Keane Rhodes of Universal City, Texas, who is currently undergoing aggressive treatment for ALL T-cell leukemia.

Rifleman Review: Springfield Armory Echelon

Springfield Armory introduced its Echelon in 2023, bringing a modernized, chassis-style, striker-fired handgun to the market that has since seen several notable line extensions.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.