Which Dillon?

[SCV]

With that much at stake, it should be a no brainer. If you can have only one press, pick one that can offer you both rifle and pistol. That leaves out the SDB.

If I were you, I'd get a 550. It'll give you the most bang for your buck. Rifle, pistol, it handles it all. Plus it's cheaper to switch calibers with than the other options. You'll give up the auto indexing, but I highly doubt you'll miss it.

I have to agree with this!!!!! The SBD wont reload rifle plus it use's odd ball Dies that wont fit anything else....

[nickatnite]

Autoindexing + Mistake = Squib.

Manual Indexing + Mistake = Double charge.

I can agree with the above statement.

FWIW, I bought my 1st Dillon back in 1996 when I started shooting NRA Action Pistol and it was the Dillon 550. Great press, the dies are common. I used it for around 3 yrs and then had a few life changing issues and it went into storage and then ultimately died when Katrina came along...

Fast forward to 2009. I started back shooting (mainly USPSA) and I shoot only 2 different caliber pistols (9mm and 45). I found a Dillon SDB for sale here for a decent price that included a strong mount and dies in 9mm and 45, so I bought it. The SDB is a good press. The reason I will NOT say great is that it is a little smaller (I have man paws) and I did like the work area on the 550. Currently, I only load 9mm for USPSA Production and I can crank out several hundred rounds without any problems.

If I were to go buy a new re-loader today, I would SERIOUSLY consider the 650. Why? Because I have gotten spoiled to the auto indexing feature on the SDB, that alone is worth it's weight in gold...

BTW, my Dillon SDB is going on 10 yrs old and I just re-built it for the 2nd time. The first owner re-built it in 2004.

[jfrey]

Like some folks, I have two SDB loaders. One for large primers and one for small. They are great machines and since I only load pistol rounds, they are perfect for what they do. I don't like the manual indexing on the 550. Loading rifle ammo is a more exacting endeavor and I would use a single stage press for that.

[opcx6]

Hi guys. I've made all the important decisions so far in my reloading journey (going to do, going to do it on a Dillon, and I don't need a casefeeder). So that leaves the 550B or the SDB.

I shoot exclusively pistol rounds at the moment. I will probably get a center fire rifle (probably a Remington 7615) in the near-to-medium future, but that will probably be it for rifles and it wouldn't be used very often (a couple of times a year in three-gun matches). If I choose to reload that, I'll probably just get a single stage or something (or even a Lee Loader).

At the moment I shoot 9mm and .357/.38 at the rate of 100-200 rounds per week. I plan to acquire a .44 and a .45ACP in the future, as well (but these will be shot far less than the 9mm and the .357, probably 100 a month or so).

My first thought was, of course, the 550, initially with 9mm and .357 conversions (which would run about $1300 locally with a few goodies like a strong mount and roller handle). But I was talking to one of the wise old men at the range, and he suggested that I price two Square Deals. So I did, and two SDBs with one strong mount and bullet tray was a little cheaper than the 550 package.

The two SDB option sounds pretty practical to me. If and when I pick up bigger calibers I could convert one for large primers and used the other one for the small primers. Would it be nontrival to pull one SDB off the strong mount and bolt the other one on? How does the SDB handle .45s and .44s?

Or is the 550B the right way to go?

Two 550s

[Yankee Dog]

I have a 650 but if I had it to do over again I would go the 2 SDB route. I would skip the strong mount, buy another powder measure, mount them BOTH to the loading bench and be able to load either caliber any time I want. No primer swapping, no messing with different powder or charge. Just double check your charge drop and go.

I dont care what anyone sez. Changing calibers is a PIA. It is a royal PIA if you have to change primer sizes. With two machines, one set for small and the other for large primers, even if I did need to change calibers at least I wouldnt have to do the the primers.

Yankee Dog