Square Deal B or 550???

[Runin Ronin]

OK, I have been in and out of IDPA and USPSA shooting for several years. I would like to get out to at least one USPSA match a month this year and hopefully a few IDPA matches as well. Limited 10 will be my concentration is USPSA shooting a SS .45.

A few years ago I had a Lee reloader that was accidently thrown away when I moved. So, make a long story short, I need a new reloader. I have made my decision that Dillon will be the manufacturer that I will be going with (through brianenos.com ofcourse).

It's between a Square Deal B and a 550. To me the SDB is just like the Lee that I had but, I think the dies on that loader were not very good, OAL was always a problem for me when loading on that machine.

Will the SDB be sufficient for me? If I go a step up to the 550, how important is it for me to get the Redding Competition Seating die?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[blue edge]

550 is my pick it will change with your needs.

save your money on the redding die

[Merlin Orr]

Depends on how much you load. 550 is a little quicker. There is a 550 advertised on the USPSA website classifieds with several die sets right now. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

[ErikW]

Only get the SDB if you are absolutely, positively certain you won't ever get a centerfire rifle.

[ranger]

I started shooting USPSA in 1986 and had two Lee progressive presses. I wore them out in 2 years or so and purchased a Dillon Square Deal that my parther got off a prize table. I now have three Dillon Square Deals on my bench - one in 9x21, one in 40, and one in 45 ACP. This works well for me because I do not like switching over one press for multiple calibers.

If you will be loading for one pistol - there is no doubt that I would buy the Square Deal. If you are gong to load multiple calibers, you may want the 550. However, multiple caliber conversions for the 550 will add up, too.

As to rifle, I load it on a single stage. The only rifle round I would load in quantity would be 223 and , IMHO, I would just buy 223 in bulk rather than reload it on a progressive press.

Scott

[Runin Ronin]

Only get the SDB if you are absolutely, positively certain you won't ever get a centerfire rifle.

Wow, I never heard of that one before. Currently I do not have a center fire rifle, being in CA, I didn't jump on the opportunity to buy an AR when I had the chance. Your suggestion is making my sway towards the 550... I was only thinking of loading .45s and maybe is the long run .40 and 9mm.

Great advice Erik, I think I have met you before? You shoot at Richmond don't you?

[3quartertime]

If you could get a super sweet deal on a SDB in your caliber I'd say go for it. If not then save the time and money and get the 550.

If money isn't the object then consider a plain jane 650. It can be up graded with a case feeder and other little extras to make it very usable for the life of your interests.

Some basic searches should bring up tons of great comparison info on all the Dillon products.

[benos]

I'm not a fan of the SqDeal at all, and I try to talk everyone who wants one into the 550 instead. (And it's kind of a joke -when I call Dillon to place a 550 order, and tell them I talked another customer into a 550, it gets a good laugh. The experience salesmen do the same thing. )

Of course the 550's a little higher priced, but if you spend the extra cash, you'll never regret it.

More vibes here.

be

[Ironman]

I agree with all the comments regarding the 550. That was my first Dillon about 16 years ago. I have since gotten a 1050 and feel the investment was well worth it but I still use the 550 for everything except 40 cal. due to the cost of the caliber conversion on the 1050 plus I already have the caliber conversions for the 550.

As far as the getting the Redding Die goes I just got one and the only reason is that my son shoots a Glock and I now shoot an SVI. They require a different OAL so it just makes my life a little easier.

Jim

[kimel]

13 months ago I was positive a SDB would be all the press I would ever need. But now I find that isn't true and so am saving up my nickels for a 650. The SDB will just stay in the collection for other pistol calibers which I don't shoot a ton of (.357, .44) but for which I would rather not single-stage it or go through the hassle of converting the 650.

Go for a 550 or, if you think you might want things like case feeders and auto indexing in the future go for a 650.

[Runin Ronin]

I'm not a fan of the SqDeal at all, and I try to talk everyone who wants one into the 550 instead. (And it's kind of a joke -when I call Dillon to place a 550 order, and tell them I talked another customer into a 550, it gets a good laugh. The experience salesmen do the same thing. )

Of course the 550's a little higher priced, but if you spend the extra cash, you'll never regret it.

More vibes here.

be

be, Thanks for chiming in. Believe me I have read just about all the articles concerning SDB and the 550.

I just emailed the guy who is selling his 550 on the USPSA website. Price is good for what it includes. And from reading all the good things about Dillon's warranty, I am not concerned about buying used.

[EricW]

The 650 is the only press you should be considering - even if you never plan to add the casefeeder.

[old shooter]

Eric is right, I have loaded on all 3 and the 650, even without the casefeeder is the best deal going. Buy once if at all possible. I added the casefeeder later.

Mike

[Gun Geek]

I'm with Eric as well.

I you don't realize it now, but the auto index feature of the 650 and the case feed make loading much less laborious. You only have to set the bullet on the case, you do not have to touch the case.

These features let you do some other cool things as well. I run all my fired brass through a universal decapping die, then put it in the tumbler. This cleans the primer pockets nicely. All I have to do is sort based on base size - 9mm and 223, 30 carbine in one pile, 45, 22-250, 25-06, 30-06 in another.

And, as you notice, I shoot lots of rifle calibers. The ammo I make on the 650 is as good as what people can make with Lee or Hornady presses. I can't do as well as some of the Wilson stuff, but boy is that sloooow. My definition of better is OAL +/- .002 and run out less than .003 in a batch of 50.

Sorry to beat this up, but the automation speeds up the unimportant parts (case handling) and lets you focus on the right stuff. Think about it this way. To load handgun rounds on a single stage, you are handling them 5 or 6 times. Slow and lots of opportunity to foul up. On a 550 you are handling them twice AND advancing the shell plate. With a 650, you just pour the cases in the feeder, or stack them in the tube.

OK, last point; lots of folks say that an auto-indexer seems to make it easier to double charge. NOPE. If you try you can double charge, but you have to try. Also with the powder check system, you would catch a double or 0 charge. I actually think it is much safer.

Alright sorry to get on the box about this, but I hope it helps. As the other guys said, get a 650 and add components/accessories as you can afford them.

[ErikW]

FWIW, I went from a SDB to a 650. (Whodathunk a movie would make me buy a rifle?) Started out cheap then got the casefeeder and goodies.

It really doesn't matter what you get because the resale value is so good you're not losing much money if you upgrade a couple years later. Caliber conversion goodies are expensive and you might lose money there.

After years of loading hundreds of thousands of rounds, I tend to think of the machinery as having paid for itself and amortized down to free. However, the initial cash outlay can be considerable.

Ronin, I do shoot at Richmond, when I'm healthy.

[g56]

I started using a Dillon 550 about 18 years ago, I am extremely happy with it. The Square Deal is somewhat limited in what it can do, it's probably a good started press, but many people will be moving up from that point, so it will be cheaper in the long run to go ahead and get a 550B.

[oddjob]

I was in your shoes 12 years ago. I ended up with the 550 because its more versatile than the Square Deal. I started shooting 38 Super, then 38/357, then 9x21, then 40 then 45 ACP.....you get the picture. Now I have two 1050's plus the 550 and I still use the 550. I also thought I would NOT reload rifle calibers (.223 & .308)........now I'm looking for those sets for my 550........

[PistolPete]

I would save your money and buy a 650.

[ranger]

Can someone please explain to me what a SDB will not do to reload a pistol caliber and why it is a "beginners" press. I ask this after using a SDB for over 10 years and owning three of them. The only reason I could see owning a 650 or 1050 is if you desire to load a 1000+ rounds at one sitting.

Thanks, Scott.

[DogmaDog]

I just started reloading a bit over 1 year and 3,000 rounds ago (took a 9 month break to go to war in Iraq). I talked to a guy at my local club who had all 4 of Dillon's presses (SDB, 550, 650, 1050), and he let me come over and try them out.

I thought the SDB worked well, and loaded a couple hundred .45s on it. I bought myself a 550, because I think I want to get back into shooting highpower rifle again, and I can load .223 on the 550.

I do like the roller handle on the 550 (not available for SDB), and I like the standard die size. I think that might be important if you want to shoot .40 and wind up with a bunch of Glock brass, and need a Lee U die or factory crimp die to get the bulge out.

In the SDB, the 4 stations are really close together, and that might make it harder to adjust dies, and a bit tighter to work in, but that only matters when you have a problem, and you won't have many of those.

I have the impression that the 550 is the easiest of all the Dillon presses to do a caliber conversion on, so if you plan to load several calibers, that may be the way to go.

You will discover that you shoot more after you start reloading, so your current estimate of how much ammo you need to load for yourself is LOW. I can't imagine that getting a 650 would be a waste of money in the long run.

DogmaDog

[Flexmoney]

I might as well throw my two cents in.

The SDB is a great little press. If you are on a budget, and only plan to load pistol caliber with it, then it will work wonders.

The 550...old-school reloaders "get it"... 'cause they know how things work (from their days on a single-stage). It lacks auto-indexing. For that reason, I won't recommend it to any new reloader because I think there is a much great chance of having a double-charge.

The 650 with the case-feeder rocks.

If it were me, I'd buy a SDB. Then I would save up for the 650. When I had enough saved, I'd sell the SDB (it holds value pretty well) and buy the 650.

[Gun Geek]

Flex:

I knew I liked you for a reason. You just ticked off the line of thinking that got me to the 650 instead of the 550 (and is the reason for my post in this thread).

BTW:

We have established an IDPA chapter here in Lexington. Our first match will be Feb 8th. I hope yoou can make the trek from Columbus. I'll post an announcement in the proper spot on this board. More details to come as we get the website done...

(sorry to hijack the thread)

Geek

[Runin Ronin]

Great comments from everyone and I thank you all. I am going with the 650. I'll start off without the casefeeder since I want to get a nice scale first and a few other things like the strong mount and the aluminum handle.

Since I somewhat got accustomed to the auto indexing feature of the Lee press I had years ago, the 650 seems to be the right one for me. I appreciate all the comments. The SDB may in fact be all I need BUT, as many of you have said...

"Do it right the first time"

Thank you everyone.

[Runin Ronin]

Hi All,

Update: I finally got everything in place and rolled a few rounds this afternoon. I want to thank Brian Enos for all the help in ordering all the Dillon stuff and I wanted to thank everyone on these forums in helping me make my decision to go straight for the 650 and bypass the 550 and SDB.

As you can see, I got the 650XL with casefeeder, I used Dillon dies except for the seating die, I was convinced (by reading the forums) to get the Redding Comp Seating Die. I'm still on the fence about the Lee Crimp die...

Here is a pic of my reloading bench... I started a thread earlier asking if it was safe to place the 650 in proximity to my water heater. I think if I follow the suggestions on that thread that I will be alright.

I am currently working up a load using Clays and West Coast Bullets 230 RN .45. I am still waiting for my Chrono to come in but, I have a good starting point thanks again to the forums on brianenos.com.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who responded.

John

[SiG Lady]

"If it were me, I'd buy a SDB. Then I would save up for the 650..."

As I was cranking out yet more .45 rounds this afternoon I was thinking this very thing... KEEP the SDB for one caliber or other and ADD the 650 to the reloading system set later. 'Means moving to bigger digs, though, but that sounds like a good idea as well.