INGOglock34 Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I currently have a Lee turret press and loading mainly 9mm and looking far a faster press. Is the Dillon square deal press that much fast that I would see the difference in speed if I got one of these? I would like to get a 650 but of course there is a price difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I currently have a Lee turret press and loading mainly 9mm and looking far a faster press. Is the Dillon square deal press that much fast that I would see the difference in speed if I got one of these? I would like to get a 650 but of course there is a price difference. Which Lee turret do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pitmaster Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I currently have a Lee turret press and loading mainly 9mm and looking far a faster press. Is the Dillon square deal press that much fast that I would see the difference in speed if I got one of these? I would like to get a 650 but of course there is a price difference. Yes, the Square Deal is faster and you will see a significant increase in loading speed. I started out with the LCT and then picked up a SD 6 months later. I bought another SD several months later. Just bought a 650 last week. So I'll be getting rid of at least one of the SDs soon. BTW, I hang out on INGO some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hueycrew Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 (edited) I use a Lee classic turret press. Big differences. How many strokes (down and up) of the lever does it take to make a bullet on the Lee? Four per bullet. Once a progressive has all stations full a bullet is made on each stroke. On a good day I can make 200 rounds per hour on my Lee. Production on a SDB? Easily double with less work. If I ever stop buying guns I could afford a progressive press! If you stick with one caliber an SDB would be a good choice. Edited November 8, 2009 by hueycrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-ManBart Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 You can turn out 400 rounds per hour on an SDB with absolutely no problem at all. 600 per hour is probably possible, but you'd need to have five primer tubes ready for refills at the start. A total changeover conversion can be done in maybe 20min if you have everything set up on a spare toolhead. There won't be any comparison at all to any turret press....not even remotely in the same league. The only two things that are possible negatives are that it uses non-standard dies and it can be a bit small for some folks to get their fingers in to change parts, work on etc. R, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98sr20ve Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Lee Classic Turret will do 200rds a hour if you know what your doing. Faster in a 100rd burst. SDB can easily double that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landric Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I have both the SDB and the Lee Classic Turret. The SDB is a lot faster, counting inspection time of completed rounds it takes about 20 minutes per 100 rounds at a leisurely pace. On the other hand, I find using the LCT a lot more enjoyable, probably mostly because I enjoy handloading as a hobby in and of its self and I like the one round at a time process. If speed is what you are interested in, the SDB is a great choice. I use mine when I need to load a bunch of rounds quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 If you load a small volume of a lot of different calibers, it's hard to beat a turret press. If you load a medium volume of a small number of calibers, it's hard to beat a progressive. If you load a large volume of any number of calibers, a progressive is a must. For the money and for what it does, an SDB is hard to beat. Check the classifieds. I've seen some smoking hot deals lately on presses, including one for an SDB that I came close to buying myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CocoBolo Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 In the grand schem of things the 650 is cheap, it costs less than 3 cases of bullets. What hurts is you have to shell out the money all at once or charge it. If your looking for speed go for the V8 and not the 4 cyl. Take it in chunks if you must get the 650 then get the Case feeder later. It will be cheaper than buying the SDB then moving up later you know you want it go for it. I use to be happy just having enough loaded rounds for a couple matches, I just checked my loaded inventory its just over 5000. It is amazing how much ammo you can crank out in just a few hours. I run about 500 an hour on the 650 taking my time. I also have a LNL it is almost as fast. Get an RCBS media seperator now that is a time saver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 (edited) I bought a Lee Turret as my first press. STUPID MOVE! I wasted a year reloading on that thing. Don't get me wrong, it is a quality product, but I now regret every minute I spent with it. A progressive press is so much better, faster, and easier to use! My advice: UPGRADE ASAP. Since you already own dies, I'd skip the SDB (proprietary dies) and go for a Hornady LNL AP or Dillon 650. People love the Dillon 550, but its lack of auto-indexing is a no-sale. Edited November 13, 2009 by Jeff686 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMartens Posted November 13, 2009 Share Posted November 13, 2009 I also have a Lee Turret press, cast iron version, that I use to load all sorts of oddball stuff. For this press I'm not worried about speed. What makes it nice is having the extra turrets and keeping the dies in place and set. I also have 2 SDB's and I just can't fault these machines. If you are on somewhat of a budget, have limited space or just load for pistol calibers the SDB is a quality machine at a bargain price. I have tool heads for each caliber that I load and complete small and large primer systems. I also have the Unique Tek micrometer installed on the powder measures. When I change calibers I am loading again in 10 minutes with no problems. Easy to do 400 rounds an hour without breaking a sweat, 500 if you hustle a bit and I have actually cranked out 600 on that odd Saturday morning just before a match when you have let everything go until the last minute. If you want a case feeder or if you want to load rifle then move on to the 550/650. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
INGOglock34 Posted November 14, 2009 Author Share Posted November 14, 2009 I was looking at the 650 and thinking that was the way I was going to go and then found a SQD on gun broker with everything to load 9mm, 40, 38/357 for $350 and that seemed like an Ok deal. So I will get that and see how things go. I will keep the turret for the thing I will not load much of or maybe rifle. Thanks for all the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMartens Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 You got a pretty good deal and I don't think you will be disappointed. You will definitely be impressed with the improved output over the turret press, lot more rounds and a lot less work. If the SDB is not enough, you can always move up. That's how it works... never a dull moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 Lee Turret: 1 round every 4 strokes Dillon SDB: 1 round per stroke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Capizzo Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 My advice: UPGRADE ASAP. Since you already own dies, I'd skip the SDB (proprietary dies) and go for a Hornady LNL AP or Dillon 650. People love the Dillon 550, but its lack of auto-indexing is a no-sale. +1 . I'm fan of the Hornady press, if you check ebay you can often find a deal on one of the older Hornady progressives. Of course, the 650 is a fine press and Dillon is a big supporter of our game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMV Posted November 26, 2009 Share Posted November 26, 2009 (edited) I will tell you there is one drawback to a 650...I can't keep the damn thing in bullets and primers!!! Goes through them waaay too fast. Seriously, no better choice that the 650 I figured it as saving me enough money in one shooting season to pay for itself, it didnt even take that long. Edited for my fat fingers hitting the wrong keys Edited November 26, 2009 by CMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCV Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) I recently bought a Dillon 550 which is simalr in speed to a 550 Im told!.. I had been using a Lee Turrent press.... I love my Lee and and got started on it. When I started my budget was no where big enough for a Dillon.... With that said... The first night I got it mounted and my dies all set. I thought id load a few rounds on it.... I started out slowly as to see how everthing worked.... Bam before I new it the Primer Buzzer was going off!!!!!! To my surprise I loaded 100 rounds in about about 45mins with ease... Thats not a fast pace,but say's alot about a press I know nothing about...That 100 rounds in 45 min includes removing case's several times to check things and some bugs... On my Lee turrent I could roll out about 120 rounds an hour... That was Aholes and elbows though... So to answer your question yes its faster and easer..... I would reccomend staying away from the SBD and getting a 550 Instead.... You cant reload rifle on the SBD and the dies are different that standard dies. So another words the standard dies you have now would be useless!!! ..... So they will only work in a SBD... The cal conversions are also more expensive..... Edited January 13, 2010 by SCV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-Ho Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I recently bought a Dillon 550 which is simalr in speed to a 550 Im told!.. hmmm I'd say you heard correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I currently have a Lee turret press and loading mainly 9mm and looking far a faster press. Is the Dillon square deal press that much fast that I would see the difference in speed if I got one of these? That's really not a fair comparison. It's like trying to compare a single stage to a turret. A turret will always be faster than a single stage and a progressive is always going to be faster than a turret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilvwhtgrls Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 I recently bought a Dillon 550 which is simalr in speed to a 550 Im told!.. hmmm I'd say you heard correctly. rofl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 You will try a 650 and immediately decide that you must have one... the SDB is a great press but it lacks the versatility of the 650... the Lee is a means to an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now