Saying hello and getting into Reloading....

[SorePockets]

Hello Folks,

I'm a State Park Ranger in Virginia and I wanted to say hello. I've always been interested in reloading and I've finally decided to "Press the Bullet"

I've got a few different Handgun Calibers I'll be working with. .380, 9mm, .45ACP, .38 and .357. I'm not sure why I've put it off for so long, but now

I'm gearing up . I have all the goodies so far except for the most important part. The press.

I'm highly considering the Square Deal by Dillon, but I'm still researching and tossing about the idea of the 550. Do you all think the Square deal would be

suitable for me? I go to the Range weekly and sometimes twice a week including an outdoor range. I don't mind sinking the extra dollars into the 550

if it's going to be much more suited for the long haul and durability.

Thank to all and I look forward to chatting with you.

Dan

[mda]

Dan

Go with the 550.

With the square deal you are limited to Dillon dies as the die head is of non standard size. See the link below and let Brian explain the differences.

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

MDA

[Rolex]

Welcome- two thumbs up for

the Dillon 650- you will do it

all with this one and

if money is no object the

Dillon 1050!

[G-ManBart]

If you're only reloading pistol cartridges the SDB is a fine press. Yes, you're limited to Dillon dies, but that's a pretty small consideration. I don't care what the "book" says, an SDB is faster than a 550 because it auto-indexes. That also makes it nearly impossible to get a double charge or a squib (short of the powder measure running empty).

Caliber conversions aren't terribly expensive and you can switch over in maybe 15 minutes or so (if you're not changing primer sizes...only adds a few more minutes really).

Some folks actually will get mulitiple SDBs and have one for each cartridge and avoid changing anything.

Certainly, the 550 is more versatile since you can do rifle rounds, but I really like the idea of auto-indexing for a new reloader....it's a little insurance. R,

[SorePockets]

Thank you MDA.

That reading will surely help. I'll have to order from Brian here real shortly.

I've got to build up the fun funds again after sinking in the hundreds on books, scales, tumblers etc.

Hah! Thanks Rolex.

Money is somewhat of an object or I'll find myself sleeping in the garage with one

pissed off wife. However, I don't mind delaying things a little to get what I pay for. The help with the

Square deal has helped. So, now onto the dreaded 550 or 650 dilemma. I'll figure it out shortly.

Thanks again for the link and advice.

Dan

[Storm52]

Dan: Welcome to the forum, by far the best available by far. Give BE a call and he will guide you through the process. I have a SDB with a 45 setup and I thoroughly enjoy reloading with it.

[Paul Burtchell]

Welcome to the forum.

I've been reloading with a Dillon 550 for almost 2 years now and love it, BUT If I had to do it all over again I would probalby go with the 650.

Stick with Dillon Blue and buy it from Brian and your reloading life will be good

[Justsomeguy]

I had used, and still own, a Square Deal B, but recently got a 650 with casefeeder and even went off for the automatic primer tube loader. I have 3 die sets for the Square Deal (.40, .45, and 9mm) and it is a good press, but you have to place a case and a bullet on every stroke and that slows you down. With the 650 and casefeeder, you just have to get a bullet in your fingers and get it to the casemouth (sort of like magazine changes in miniature), and can go MUCH faster as you never have to remove your "strong hand" from the handle of the reloader. I only have 2 die sets and toolholders for the 650... .40 and .223, but I will probably get another complete setup of toolholder, dies, and casefeed parts for 9mm as well and leave the .45, which I don't use much anymore, to the Square Deal. I am literally twice as fast with the 650 as I ever was with the Square Deal. Now if only primers would come down the pipeline again, I would continue shooting at my accustomed 500 per week rate. If you are going to continue shooting (and who isn't?), then consider the 650 as a lifetime and lifestyle investment. Who knows, maybe the wife will get into shooting too... Then you're set life!

[CSEMARTIN]

550

[boz1911]

For a few extra dollars the 550 is a much more versatile machine. I used one for 30 years until I got my 1050. Good luck and remember the search feature will help you with all your reload data questions.

[CocoBolo]

Welcome to the forum. When I got started in reloading about 20,000 rounds ago or 1 1/2 years ago, I knew I would be doing 4 pistol calibers and a rifle or two. This put the SDB out to pasture. Looking at cost as it is a factor I went with the Hornady Lock and Load rather than a Dillon.

Hornady has improved their LNL the past year with a better ejector. I loaded 1,000 rounds of 38 Super Monday night and last night in a couple of hours I loaded 800 rounds of 40 S&W. I also load 9 mm, 45 ACP, and 357 mag as well as .223 Rem on the loader. I have only one loader. Most of the Dillon guys I know have more than one. One friend of mine has 1 SDB, 2 550's, and a Super 1050, I load more ammo than he does.

Most reloaders I know have Dillon but what gets me is if you talk about switching to another round they start crying like a little girl. With the Hornady and I have a case feeder switching to the next caliber is 5 minutes even going from small to large pistols primers. Definately go full progressive. I recently had a couple of squibs. Advice here is do not go to happy hour and come home and expect to produce good ammo.

You will need a dial caliper to measure the length. If you go with a digital scale also get a beam scale, the digitals tend to get a little flakey from time to time especially when they get cold so its always nice to have the beam to double check the load.

I recommend the Horandy Dies even in a Dillon 550 or 650.

Good Luck and happy reloading.

Edited July 23, 2009 by CocoBolo

[Dan Hefta]

I love my SDB, any Dillon reloader will be a great investment. Welcome to the forum

[Graham Smith]

Give BE a call and he will guide you through the process.

+1 Also read Which Dillon?

I went from a Lee auto index progressive to a 550B manual index for the simple reason that I prefer the control it gives me. But there is a $160 difference between the SDB and the 550B - which is about a 35% price increase - which will buy some extra dies.

A lot depends on how much you are reloading and just how much you plan on tinkering with your loads. Again, talk to Brian.

[Nuke]

Welcome to the forum!

+1 for the Hornady LNL AP

Definitely worth considering (better bang for your buck, imho) even though it's not blue

[GrumpyOne]

Dillon RL 550, all the way. As far as caliber changes, if you have the complete tool heads, then it takes less than 5 minutes to change from one caliber to another (barring different primer size). I've toolheads set up for 38/357, 40 S&W, 38 super, and .45. the only one that takes more than 5minutes to change is the .45, because of the primer size. Probably got 20,000 - 30,000 rounds loaded on the 550, no squibs.