Getting my 1st Dillon ?s

[bigtattoo79]

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month at the "MOST" with the same powder and bullet being used all the time and wanna get a Dillon but not sure what setup I should start with.

What setup would you guys pick and why?

[justinbaker]

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month at the "MOST" with the same powder and bullet being used all the time and wanna get a Dillon but not sure what setup I should start with.

What setup would you guys pick and why?

if you are certain you will only reload 9mm or pistol calibers then a SDB will be fine.

but i suggest a 550, in case you want todo rifle calibers. you could easily reload 700 in an evening on a 550

[EkuJustice]

+1 on the 550. It is a very versatile machine so if(when) you decide to expand your loading, it will easily expand with you. It also has a little more "room" to work with than a SBD

[Youngeyes]

Never go with just your need now. Consider future need and plan for it now. 550B without a doubt.

[osageid]

Plus one what others have said! Also you will shoot about 50% more when you reload, if not more!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[RGinIdaho]

Having both the 550 and SDB, I highly recomend the 550 if you think that you will ever load another caliber. I also find the 550 to be a bit faster to load on as the SDB has a very small opening.

[zmanktm]

Ditto on the 550B great versatile machine.

[orangeman711]

You can't go wrong with the 550.Easy to setup and use and very versital.

[Hi-Power Jack]

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month

What setup would you pick ?

Big, depends on how much time you have a month - I can reload

1,000 9mm rounds in 4-5 hours (I'm really slow from reading

this forum). And, how much money you have.

If you have 5 hours a month (70 minutes a week), go with the

Square Deal - I have two of them, and they're GREAT!!!

If you don't have the time, you'll have to spend more, and

get either the 550 or the 650.

Buying a complete outfit, I spent $500 for the Square Deal

with everything except a chrono and a tumbler.

You'll spend quite a bit more for the 550 and a LOT MORE

for the 650.

Time vs money ...

[bigtattoo79]

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month

What setup would you pick ?

Big, depends on how much time you have a month - I can reload

1,000 9mm rounds in 4-5 hours (I'm really slow from reading

this forum). And, how much money you have.

If you have 5 hours a month (70 minutes a week), go with the

Square Deal - I have two of them, and they're GREAT!!!

If you don't have the time, you'll have to spend more, and

get either the 550 or the 650.

Buying a complete outfit, I spent $500 for the Square Deal

with everything except a chrono and a tumbler.

You'll spend quite a bit more for the 550 and a LOT MORE

for the 650.

Time vs money ...

I could easly spend 5 hrs a week loading.

[bigtattoo79]

How often does the machine get torn down for maintenance?

I will never load rifle as I dont shoot them very much and when I do at most its 200 rds of cheep steel case stuff a year.

Edited June 23, 2012 by bigtattoo79

[jfrey]

Get the SDB, you won't be sorry. I have two of them and they are great. I clean the shell plate and lube the rails every 1000 rounds or so. I regrease the handle bushings at around 5000 rounds. The SDB is a great press and a good bargain for the price. You can knock out 750 rounds in three evenings easy and then shoot the rest of the month. That's based on loading a couple hours each day and not hurrying anything. For your expressed needs, the 550 would be over kill. The SDB also comes with dies(which work very well) and you don't have to spend extra money on dies like you would with other models. If you want to load 9mm, just tell who ever you talk to that is what you want and it will come adjusted when you get it. Just set the powder measure and double check the other setting and you are off producing great ammo and saving all that money.

[Hi-Power Jack]

Get the SDB, you won't be sorry. I clean the shell plate and lube the rails every 1000 rounds or so. I regrease the handle bushings at around 5000 rounds. The SDB is a great press and a good bargain for the price. You can knock out 750 rounds in three evenings easy and then shoot the rest of the month. For your expressed needs, the 550 would be over kill. The SDB also comes with dies If you want to load 9mm, just tell who ever you talk to that is what you want and it will come adjusted when you get it. Just set the powder measure and double check the other setting and you are off producing great ammo and saving all that money.

+1. You can spend a LOT more money, but YOU and I don't need it.

The Square Deal is all we need - I pumped out 12,000 rounds

a year of 9mm major - parts will break, but Dillon mails the

new parts out to me for FREE

It's a GREAT buy and works Very Well - don't forget to buy

a chrono with it for another $79.

[Cburlette]

I was in the same place as you last year, just reloading for 9mm pistol, and I bought a Dillon Square Deal. I have been very happy with ihis press, I think it is superior to the 550 based on auto indexing alone. I have added 40 and 45 to the mix, but I don't own a rifle so the SQD fills the bill nicely. Over the course of the last year I started loading for a couple of shooting friends, I loaded 2600 rounds in 1 week for the MO state match, most in 9mm and about 1k in 40/45.

I am seriously considering upgrading to a 650, mostly because I am considering adding an AR to the mix, but for now the SQD suits me fine.

Craig

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month at the "MOST" with the same powder and bullet being used all the time and wanna get a Dillon but not sure what setup I should start with.

What setup would you guys pick and why?

[bigtattoo79]

Thanks for all the advice yall. I got it down to the SDB or the 550B gonna keep doing my homework on these two.

If I got the SDB and down the line I wanted to reload other cals I would just get another press and keep the SDB setup for 9mm.

If I got the 550B and down the line I wanted to reload other cals I would still get another press and keep the 550B set up for 9mm.

My point is that the next press I get will stay set up for 9mm for the long term without a doubt. It just seems when I search online a lot of pepole DONT like the SDB for a couple different reasons.

[Hi-Power Jack]

a lot of pepole DONT like the SDB for a couple different reasons.

May be wrong, but I've read people don't like SDB's because:

1. can't reload rifle cartridges

2. must use SDB dies - many people like to use other dies?? Especially if you're loading .40 or 9mm major.

3. they think the 550 is faster to load than the SDB - not sure, but don't understand why that would be???

I've never reloaded on a 550, or even seen one in operation, but if you still have to put a cartridge

case and a bullet into the reloader, I don't understand how I would be able to do that faster in a

550 than in a SDB??? Not saying it isn't so - Just don't understand how it is possible???

4. you can't add a case or bullet feeder - again, the speed thing. That is true - just not necessary??

5. The SDB is not as sturdy and will break more often - possible, but repairs are FREE with Dillon

If you can afford it, go with the 550, or the complete 650 with the bullet/case feeder - VERY FAST.

But, check out the price A loaded 550 is quite a bit more money than a SDB. Really comes

down, IMHO, to cost vs benefit - no benefit for me, just a lot more cost.

But, if you don't reload rifle, feel the dies are okay, and load only 500 - 700 rounds per month,

and have lots of time to reload, then you're spending money for no good reason.

I've reloaded on a Square Deal for 20 years, have two of them, and they do everything I need. I loaded

c.12,000 9mm major loads with my SDB last year - without any pressure or problem

Good luck with your decision. Either way, you've got everything you'll need for a while.

[chevyoneton]

You won't be sorry with the SQD but, you will be even less not sorry with the 550B. I have not run a SQD, or stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, but I have tens of thousands of rounds through my 550B and like it a lot. I keep it clean, and the primer feed adjusted and it just runs and runs quietly loading ammo. I plumb wore out the powder measure and Dillon just sent me the new and improved beefier upgraded parts to get it back running.

[Bshooter]

Go with the 550. I had four of them at one time. Got three at good deals so I just made my reloading bench longer and kept adding on. I didn't have to change a thing. When I move I got rid of two and now only have one mounted on the bench. I have loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds and would not want to change. I know they are not as fast as a 650 or 1050 but they are the best in my book.

[benos]

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month at the "MOST" with the same powder and bullet being used all the time and wanna get a Dillon but not sure what setup I should start with.

What setup would you guys pick and why?

Have you seen:

Dillon FAQ:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html

“Which Dillon”:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#which

?

[bigtattoo79]

I will be reloading 500-750 9mm rounds per month at the "MOST" with the same powder and bullet being used all the time and wanna get a Dillon but not sure what setup I should start with.

What setup would you guys pick and why?

Have you seen:

Dillon FAQ:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillonfaqs.html

“Which Dillon”:

http://www.brianenos.com/pages/dillon.html#which

?

Yes Sir.

[bigtattoo79]

Yall that have the SDB does the handle being in the middle make it hard to load sitting?

[benos]

I've never heard a complaint on that, but maybe some SqD owners will chime in.

[jan13]

I load on a SDB and the handle has never caused me any issues. Have been using it for the last 5+ years and thousands of rounds later :-)

[Hi-Power Jack]

Yall that have the SDB does the handle being in the middle make it hard to load sitting?

I just move my chair a little to the left

I've used ONLY a Square Deal - except for the single stage

I had before that - and I can sit and load 200 rounds/hour

without any discomfort.

[L3324temp]

One other thing you may want to factor in... Is the press just going to be used as a tool to load ammo, or will reloading become another hobby for you? For me, everything becomes a hobby and buying the 650 with all the bells and whistles was the way it had to be. All I really needed was a basic 550, but if I would have went that route, I would have traded up to a 650 at some point.