dillon square deal b

[bigfoot4]

i have never reloaded but would like to start. handgun ammo
is all that i want to load. from what i have read in past
forums and my own investigation the dillon square deal seems
like good equipment for the price. is this true? also what
does auto indexing mean and should i get a scale or can you
trust the machine. i have bought a reloading book and have read some of it. there is alot of info being thrown at you
if your not ready for it. thanks for any help that you can
give me.

[Mike Irwin]

Auto-indexing means that every time you pull the handle on the press, the plate holding the cartridge brass revolves. On the Dillon 550, you have to spin the plate by hand.

As for a scale, YES. You ALWAYS need a scale.

Why? Because every batch of powder is different, every machine is different.

Plus, I don't think that the Dillon powder measures are market in any way to tell you what charge weight is being thrown.

No matter what kind of reloading you do, a scale is an ABSOLUTE necessity.

The Square Deal is a great press if you don't want to load rifle rounds or other bottlenecked cartridges like the .357sig. I load 45 and 9mm on my Square Deal and couldn't be happier.

As Mike said, you have to have a scale. Another must have is a set of calipers to measure your OAL and crimp. Good luck!

Regards,
Frank

[Dingo]

I use two Square Deals, one for small pistol primers and the other for large. I considered the 550 but most of my loading is handgun and I REALY LIKE the auto indexing feature and would not want to be without it.

[bigfoot4]

thanks for all the help and info

[tuc22]

Bigfoot,
The Square Deal is a good press. I just wish I would have got the 550 because I did end up wanting to load other rounds like the .223. Also, the Square deal does not take standard dies which is very limiting. I kick myself now for not spending the extra money now I have to think about another press and it won't be progressive but a single stage.

[johnwill]

While the SD is a fine press, it doesn't use standard reloading dies. This limits you if you ever change your mind and decide to load one of the calibers that the SD doesn't load. IMO, this would kill the deal for me. There is no reason that Dillon couldn't have made the SD use standard reloading dies, then we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[beemerb]

Go with the 550B.Cheaper caliber conversions and dies.You won't be sorry

[taco]

I have 3 SDB setup on my bench. I have one set up for each of my "high volume" use cartridges 38 special, 9mm and 45 ACP. All other small volume reloading cartridges such as 44magnum, 357 magnum, rifle calibers are made with one of several single stage presses.

[Coolray]

I have been using the Lee Turret press with auto index I load .45 .44 9mm .38/357 Bought the deluxe pistol reload kit from F&M for under $100 I thought this would be a cheap way to get started. I don't believe I'll be changing anytime soon. You can also buy from midway.

http://www.fmreloading.com/
http://www.leeprecision.com/
http://www.midwayusa.com/home.html

[Johnny Guest]

I pretty much concur with all of what is said by others above, as to pros and cons of SDB---

I got a Dillon 550B about nine years ago and haven't regretted it for a moment. It is a great rig, especially because of ability to change calibers in a hurry and to use other brand dies.

That said, I am looking for a good deal on a new or used SDB in .45 ACP, to just leave set up tht way, because we shoot at least ten, and probably 30, rounds of .45 for every round of other centerfire cartridges.

I believe the idea setup for me is one 550 left set with large primer feed, another 550 with small primer feed, a SDB in .45 ACP, and one good single stage. I make do fine with just one 550 and one single stage, but I'm looking toward an ideal.

Best to all - - -
Johnny

[Johnny Guest]

My earlier reply notwithstanding, I feel that automatic indexing is somewhat overrated, unless sheer volume in a single caliber is the only factor.

When the shell plate advances automatically, you lose a small amount of control, and you have to be even more alert for glitches.

Not a slam at the SDB, just an observation--
Johnny

[Blue Duck357]

I noted a couple of replies mentioning they had two presses one for small primer and one for large.

Is it a big problem switching back and forth on the same machien? I'm wanting to load mainly 38 special and .44 magnum. Would either the Square Deal B, 550B or some other press be better or worse for having to switch back and forth?

Thanks for any help, Blueduck

EDIT: PS just remembered I was using the search feature after posting-Hope resourecting a two year old thread violates no standards

[JWC in MS]

I have had the SDB since it first came out. Currently load for four different chamberings.
As others have said a Scale is still a must. You must adjust the SDB charge bar to the correct weight of powder.
I have never found changing between large and small primer, changing the dies to be a problem.
I don't have mutilple SDB's, but I do use a seperate tool head for the different die sets.
When I set up to load for say the 45 I will load 1000 or more before changing to some other loading.

[Johnny Guest]

That's really what the search feature's for--so members and browsers can easily access the wisdom of the ages contained herein.

It is no secret that I LOVE my Dillon 550B. But the priming changeover is the one thing that is a bit time consuming. I have several toolheads set up with dies, all adjusted and ready to roll. I have four Dillon powder measures. I can change from, say, .45 ACP to .44 Special in about two minutes, because both use large pistol primers. But to go from one of these to .38 Spl is something over ten minutes because of changing the primer slide, checking adjustments, digging out the small primer tubes, and so forth. the changeover is not really a problem, per se, just time consuming.

One trick I've considered, but haven't yet tried - - -
If maybe I don't have but a thousand or so bullets ready to load for .38 Spl, but plenty of primers and cleaned cases---
I might just go ahead and size, deprime and reprime a whole BUNCH of cases, then store them in airtight boxes or bags. That way, at a later time, when the machine is set up for large primers, I could simply slide in the .38 toolhead, screw out the depriming station, and load some of the already-primed cases.

I may just try this next week.

Best regards,
Johnny

[Shoney]

It's not that the Dillon SD or 550 are bad presses, they are great, and I have loaded on them. However, after comparing features and PRICES, I chose the Hornady Loc_N_Load AP. It is the equivalent of the 650 Dillon.

In addition if you are going to have 3 conversions, the Hornady is half the price of the 650 and still a good deal less expensive than both the SD and the 550.

You truely owe it to yourself to look at the features of the Hornady before making a decision.

Shoney

[ryucasta]

Thats why I have two machines one for small primers and the other for large, but unfortunately they are both out of commission (Refer to Dillon 650 Failure thread).

[ryucasta]

Shoney,

While the Hornady Progressive is a good machine especially if your on a budget. I found its lack of an automatic case feeder to be what ultimately made me go away from it and I went instead with the Dillon 650 and 1050 solution. BTW, I still own and use a 366 Auto.

It's interesting to note that I use Hornady and Lee dies in my 650's and on my 1050 since I found the Dillon dies left much to be desired when it came to removing the bulges caused by cartridges that were fired from guns with unsupported chambers.

Bigfoot4 here’s the Hornady website for the Lock-N-Load AP and the Dillon site so you can judge for yourself

http://www.hornady.com/html2/llap.html

http://www.dillonprecision.com

[Blue Duck357]

Thanks for all the quick replies.

30 minutes changeover (Johnny's 10 minutes multiplied by Blueducks everything mechanical takes me three times as long as it should) is no problem. I thought it might be really complicated and take considerably more time from the way people were taling about having an extra press rather than deal with it.

Appreciate the help!

[Johnny Guest]

- - -up to just plain old laziness.

Unlike some serene individuals, I am not particularly fond of the physical act of reloading hundreds or thousands of rounds of the same kind of ammo. I do it mainly for economy, so that I can shoot as much as I want for (relatively) little money. This is, of course, unless I am into load development or experimentation.

I guess that, if it REALLY bothered me, I would have come up with the extra presses already. I do pretty well with one Dillon 550B and one RCBS single-stage.

Best,
Johnny

[Shoney]

ryucasta:

Apparently Hornady is coming out with a case feader, very soon. I have heard reports that many dealers are abandoning Dillon in favor of Hornady, as they feel that once Hornady gets all the accessories tweeked out and in production, they will dominate, both in function and price.

I am completely happy with my Loc-N-Load AP and it is far supperior to the 550 Dillon I have loaded on.

Besides being equivalent to the 650 in function, the feature I like best is easy and quick change of calibers. Ten seconds to change 3 dies. 45 seconds to change the shell plate. 30 seconds to remove, dump, clean and replace the powder measure. And all this is done in a leisurely manner. I could cut the time in half if I was a slam bam artist.

Regards, Shoney

[Blue Duck357]

Shoney, good point on accesories, seems dillion charges a lot more for bullet holders etc.. than the other companies.

If I could ask just a couple more questions on the SDB.

As I understand it most dies can be adjusted to make .357 and 38 special rounds. The SDB requires you to choose between the two rounds when intitially ordering. Does this mean it's another $70 to go from 38 to 357 with this loader?

Second would be on the "strong" mount and bullet holder. Either or both worth the money or really needed?

[colima]

I've had a SDB for several years and have cranked out around 20K rounds of .45 ACP. Its hard to imagine a better press for the 45.

I also use the SDB for .357 and .45 Colt in much smaller quantities. 357 works OK, but the press is a bit short for the taller cartridge so I am a bit slower getting things positioned. The .45 Colt is ALMOST too big for the SDB. Everything works, but the case is big enough that the mechanical stability and leverage of the SDB is marginal. Use of a case lube is essential. Nonetheless, the crimps work out fine, the ammo shoots straight.

Others have mentioned having multiple SDBs for different calibers. I have not found this to be necessary. I have separate tool heads for each caliber, so that the dies hold their settings. Changing tool heads takes a minute or so. I also have a spare primer assembly, so that I don't have to readjust when I change from large to small primers. This saves a lot of time. The only other thing is setting the powder feed - the SDB has a screw adjustment with variable settings - it only takes a minute or two to set, but you DO need a scale to monitor progress. I've found the powder mechanism to consistently give +/- .1g accuracy.

I've had two mechanical failures - I broke the arm, and I broke the mounting lug. Dillon's famous service is everything its reputed to be. And this was true even though I am not the original buyer. This press was originally owned by a big time IPSC shooter, so who knows how many rounds have been through it.

[ryucasta]

Shoney,

Like I stated in my earlier response, if your on a BUDGET then Hornady is the way to go PERIOD you just cant get a better value for the money.

The main reason I went with Dillon, was the number of rounds that I could make in a given amount of time. I shoot over 1000 rounds per week between practice and competition, and the idea of spending +2 hours reloading with the Hornady AP vs. +1 hour on the Dillon 650 just wasn’t cost/time effective for me. The one commodity in this life that I cant buy back is time and if by spending x dollars I can save time I will always spend the dollars.

The only complaint that I have heard from dealers here in LA, is that Dillon is very firm on it's no discount policy if a dealer is caught selling the product for less than MSRP Dillon will basically cut them off and no longer do business with them. Having said that I know of no local dealers who plan on dropping the Dillon line.

Now with regards to the case feeder, the day Hornady comes out with that and a roller handle on that day maybe they will be able to compete head to head with the Dillon 650.