Open1215 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hello all. I know this isn't under the reloaing equipment section but I wanted to get an opinion from people relaoding 38 supercomp and 9mm maj. I'm looking at either a lee pro 1000 or a dillion square deal. I have all the lee dies already so that would be a plus for the lee. I also load 40 for my wife and plan to load more 10mm in the close future. I have watched the videos of the square deal and I can see it tossing 3n38 everywhere and with powder measurement needing to be precise I don't like the sound of that. I know several people love the dillion and can't see using anything else. I have a lee single stage kit and I love it. I would however like to be able to add needed raw materials and crank out a few hundred rounds in a hour or so. As of now I can prep one night the next prime and flair and load the next so loading a few hundred rounds takes me 3 nights. I don't have much free time. My question is is the square deal that much better? I would also look at getting a dillion 650 if it truly proves to be the much better choose. I plan on getting a new press and being done with reloading equipment purchases for at lease 5 years (brass, powder, primers not included) I understand maintnance and replacing parts that wear as well as related cost. I haven't delt with lee for customer service yet but I have heard that dillion has a wonderful reputation. However, I don't plan on getting a 1050 with all the bells, whistles, and auto drive. They look awesome but it's also waaaay out of my price range. Any suggestions? I just don't want to buy one press to save a bit and end up spending much more in the long run. Thank you all in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 A Square Deal will load you 200-300 rounds/hour of excellent quality ammo. You don't mention how many rounds of each caliber you load/month or year? Cost is $379, total, including dies for one caliber. Costs about a $100 for each additional caliber you want to load. The loaded 650 is twice as fast, but 3-4x more expensive .... Not sure, but I think the cost of each additional caliber is about the same as the Square Deal. Primers, cases and bullets are currently in good supply, but good luck buying a year's supply of powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoganbillJ Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 My vote is a 650. Plenty of room to expand production if you choose to later. I started on a lee classic turret. It was a great press but didnt meet my production needs. The 650 has met those needs nicely. Changing calibers doesnt take much time if you get toolheads setup for each one. Personally I like to spend as little time at the press as possible and a production boost is always nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleTK Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Dillon 650 with case feed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open1215 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 I'm building a gun in supercomp to start shooting open. I will be loading a minimum of 500 a month but I would like to be able to load up 1000 rounds to have so if I don't have time before a match its ok. 9mm maj about the same if not a bit more. I plan on having a 2nd 9mm barrel in the future for this gun as well so i can have cheaper practice and cheaper brass. My parents and my aunts shoot 9mm so I load for them as well perhaps a few hundred rounds a month 9mm befor I get the 9mm maj barrel installed. My wife shoots .40 and really doesn't get out too often. I shoot her gun more then she does so I would say 100-200 rounds a month .40. Hopefully more soon. As far as powder, brass, primers, and bullets I know I will be buying plenty of each as the years go on. I was meaning to say I don't plan on getting a bullet feeder or a case feeder or anything like that. Perhaps a rotary tumbler at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bkreutz Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Get the 650, you will outgrow the others. If budget is the main factor, don't get the case feeder immediately. I didn't and although it was a pain loading 22 cases manually every 22 loaded rounds, it wasn't a big deal. (I didn't get one because my wife is always complaining that I don't give her gift ideas for Christmas and birthdays, so I put the case feeder on the list and got it). I shoot between 500 and 1000 rounds a week and honestly don't like handloading so I want to spend as little time doing that as I can. Don't worry about maintenance costs on the Dillon, something breaks, you call them and they mail the part out the same day at no cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open1215 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hmm. Lots of good info. What about the plate indexing too fast and spilling powder? I have heard of this happening to people. Also dies? Does it only take dillion dies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoganbillJ Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I have never had any issues with spilling powder. Clip a coil off your detent ball right off the bat. Then adjust the tension on the shell plate bolt till there is no noticable snap. The 650 will accept any normal die set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glassblower Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Dillon 650 is well worth it. The powder spill can be minimized by removing 1/2 coil from the ball detent spring, or as the brass moves into position at the bullet station you can gently put your finger on the case as you are positioning the bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmt Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 If you will be loading a few different calibers you might want to consider a Dillon 550. It's more expensive than a SDB but cheaper than the 650. Like the 650, it uses any standard dies, but conversion kits are considerably cheaper and caliber conversion is faster & easier. In the future a casefeeder can be added to the 550. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I'm building a gun in supercomp. I plan on a 2nd 9mm barrel so i can have cheaper practice and cheaper brass. I'd go with one or the other. My preference is to stick with the 9mm major - no real reason to go to .38 super, IMHO. If you do go with .38 SC, you can buy new brass, reload it and practice with it 3-8 times, and then reload it once again and shoot it in a match - not really any more expensive than 9mm major that way. No reason for both ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 There is literally no comparison between a LEE and Dillon presses. LEE makes great little turret and single stage presses but their progressive stuff falls way short of a Dillon. If you get an SDB YOUcan only use the special Dillon Dies made for it. With the other Dillons you can use any standard die. I will soon not have a single Dillon Die on my 650. I use LEE/EGW and Redding. The 550 is manually indexed with the star so powder spillage is nil. The 650 can be tweaked to virtually eliminate spillage. If you think you will ever want a case feeder get the 650. The case feeders for the 550's have been problematic and take away from the simplicity of the press whereas the 650 is virtually designed to run with a case feeder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dauntedfuture Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Get a 650 or a 550. Save yourself the money that you will spend on the lee and regret after you play with a buddy's Dillon for a while. You can save a few bucks and find a used one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZer Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Nobody mentioned Hornady LNL, i got one and using it for 5 years, very happy with it. It's cheaper than D650 to buy and to change calibers too. Makes great ammo and Hornady is excellent with warranty. They replaced one die for me for free out of original 1y warranty (press is lifetime) thou it was my fault and i told them so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open1215 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Ceezer with the LNL are you using the AP press? Do they make a case feeder option? Looking at the 650 I think I would like a case feeder at some point. Seems like it would really be worth the added expense. Hi power. I think I will be sticking with 38 super for now. I may go back to 9mm maj after this build I'm not positive. I always wanted a SC gun. I liked 9maj so I will have to see if I prefer super or not. I figure for the coat of an extra barrel and fitting (a fraction of the cost of a build) I could have both and have a true side by side same gun test. If I feel 38 offers nothing over 9mm I will just sell the super barrel and brass to recoup a good portion of the cost and not worry about picking up brass. For the 650 fans. I'm guessing there are plenty of reasons that is preferred, but what is the smoking gun? Is the quality that much better? Night and day diff? Or is it the ability to add on a case feed and bullet feeder? I know warranty is a large part of it as well. I guess I feel like if I'm going with a Dillion I will hold off a few months and just go for the 650. No wishing I had spent a few hundred more. I really do appreciate all the response I have received. Thank you all for letting me pick your brain for a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBunniFuFu Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Both the 650 and the LnL have their quirks. BEnos usually leans more towards the blue side but you can get a LnL working nicely. Both warranties are great, I own both blue and red presses. With what you are wanting with regards to ammo I would say get the 650. That was you can just set up full toolheads and make the swap quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWord Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Ceezer with the LNL are you using the AP press? Do they make a case feeder option? Looking at the 650 I think I would like a case feeder at some point. Seems like it would really be worth the added expense. Hi power. I think I will be sticking with 38 super for now. I may go back to 9mm maj after this build I'm not positive. I always wanted a SC gun. I liked 9maj so I will have to see if I prefer super or not. I figure for the coat of an extra barrel and fitting (a fraction of the cost of a build) I could have both and have a true side by side same gun test. If I feel 38 offers nothing over 9mm I will just sell the super barrel and brass to recoup a good portion of the cost and not worry about picking up brass. For the 650 fans. I'm guessing there are plenty of reasons that is preferred, but what is the smoking gun? Is the quality that much better? Night and day diff? Or is it the ability to add on a case feed and bullet feeder? I know warranty is a large part of it as well. I guess I feel like if I'm going with a Dillion I will hold off a few months and just go for the 650. No wishing I had spent a few hundred more. I really do appreciate all the response I have received. Thank you all for letting me pick your brain for a bit. I started with a Rock Chucker, went to a RCBS 4x4 but when I switched to 38 Super many years ago I could not seat and crimp in the same station. I then went to a Dillon 550 which was great but I wanted a case feeder. When the 650 originally came out, I jumped on it and will never look back. I load 380, 38/357, 9mm, 38 super, 40 S&W, 45 ACP and 223 on the machine. The only costs were tool heads, caliber change kits and extra powder measures and that was my choice to make caliber changes easier. If you are doing 9MM/38 Super it is the same caliber change kit, but you will need 2 tool heads. If you think you are going to load 45's or any other large primer case buy the complete primer system, it saves lots of time. The Case feeder is well worth the cost, you will quickly find you will wonder how you reloaded without one before. A quick hint, buy extra primer tubes, it saves time when you want to crack out 500-1000 rounds in one quick session. Dillon's warranty is outstanding. I rarely have had to use it, but when I did they were more than helpful. I already had many of the dies and the only odd die I have added recently is the EGW-U die for 9MM. I have a Case-pro 100 but I use it for the 40s and supers. I have the 9mm dies for it, but the U die seems to do the job and saves a step. This is especially true if you plan on using range brass for your 9mm. However, I agree with Hi-Power Jack and suggest pick one caliber for your new blaster. That will allow you to customize your loads and remove several extra variables which may cause issues with feeding/magazines, etc. Open guns can be finicky to get right. I think you will be very happy with the 650. Jay This is only my opinion, but I think shared by many on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9x45 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Hello all. I know this isn't under the reloaing equipment section but I wanted to get an opinion from people relaoding I just don't want to buy one press to save a bit and end up spending much more in the long run. Thank you all in advance. Bought a set of .357 Sig dies from Lee and ending up spot welding the decapping pin in place, so I threw them and out went with the Dillon 3 die set. Also know a shooter who threw a brand new Pro 1000 in the trash after months of frustration and got a 550. My experience with Hornady is not much better, I got one as product and it kept breaking the drive hub (cast aluminum). That is the part that indexes the press, so when the tabs break off it doesn't auto index. Sold that one for 1/3 new price and gave the new owner 2 spare index tabs. So fortunately I was still running my 25 year old 550, and in the meantime picked up a Square Deal as product. The SD is actually faster than the 550 because it is auto indexing, but the 550 uses standard dies and you can load rifle on it. Yes the 650 is faster but more expensive, and the 1050 is faster and way more expensive. My opinion is the 550 is the best value, and because you are loading major you will be using slow burning high volume powders so if you forget to index the 550, there will be powder everywhere. Somewhere in this forum there is a Dillon press selecion advisor, and in most cases it ends up being he 550. Got the roller handles off ebay, don't remember which seller. Edited December 2, 2014 by 9x45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Open1215 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 I got to play with a 650 today at my local gun shop. I think I'm sold. :-) thank you all. Last question. Do I need a strong mount or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bkreutz Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 You don't absolutely need it, but you'll want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBunniFuFu Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Either the Dillon or the inline fab will do you well. While you are at it pick up a skylight and a roller handle, and you won't regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeeZer Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Ceezer with the LNL are you using the AP press? Do they make a case feeder option? Looking at the 650 I think I would like a case feeder at some point. Seems like it would really be worth the added expense. Hi power. I think I will be sticking with 38 super for now. I may go back to 9mm maj after this build I'm not positive. I always wanted a SC gun. I liked 9maj so I will have to see if I prefer super or not. I figure for the coat of an extra barrel and fitting (a fraction of the cost of a build) I could have both and have a true side by side same gun test. If I feel 38 offers nothing over 9mm I will just sell the super barrel and brass to recoup a good portion of the cost and not worry about picking up brass. For the 650 fans. I'm guessing there are plenty of reasons that is preferred, but what is the smoking gun? Is the quality that much better? Night and day diff? Or is it the ability to add on a case feed and bullet feeder? I know warranty is a large part of it as well. I guess I feel like if I'm going with a Dillion I will hold off a few months and just go for the 650. No wishing I had spent a few hundred more. I really do appreciate all the response I have received. Thank you all for letting me pick your brain for a bit. Yes, LNL AP. They make case feeder and bullet feeder and keep coming up with improvements and extras all the time last 5 years. Since you plan on reloading multiple calibers, you will need (with LNL AP) a shell plate per caliber and dies. If you preset dies in locking bushings then changing dies is just twist and pull. You can opt for multiple powder measure inserts and use same powder measure (with adjusting it for other calibers) or complete measure and insert for quick change. The reason I went with LNL AP is price vs D650. Even feeding brass and bullets manually i still manage to make 400+ an hour. What you do want to save time is Vibra Prime, I got mine from Cabela's (Frankford Arsenal) when on sale for $55; huge time saver. Edited December 2, 2014 by CeeZer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckaroo45 Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I run a 550B w/ case and bullet feeder due to my hands. Best $1300+ (incl setups for 9mm, 38, 40 and 45) I've spent in a LONG time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsons1480 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I run a 550B w/ case and bullet feeder due to my hands. Best $1300+ (incl setups for 9mm, 38, 40 and 45) I've spent in a LONG time. Are you seating and crimping in the same station? If so, how is that working? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckaroo45 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 (edited) I'm not smart enough to know why but my Lee seat / crimp die won't pass my chamber check for the 45 ACP rounds. I use it for seat crimp but I have to re run every round thru a Lee factory crimp die and I can't run it as the last station because it won't seat the bullet to the correct depth. Maybe somebody here can tell me why that is. Maybe this needs to be moved to another thread. Up to the mods. Sorry if I hi jacked the thread. Ron NRA Life Edited December 3, 2014 by buckaroo45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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