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Another one recommending Dillon's 550
Great Press for sure

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Nothing wrong with the very fine Dillon 550 but I must wonder how many of those recommending actually own one.

Sounded like the OP in his first post was looking for a dedicated pistol progressive.

One of the guys that used to work for me as well as his wife are very high volume shooters using the Square Deal to feed their guns. They told me long ago it's their custom send their SD back to Dillon every 20,000 rounds for a checkup. Rarely does it need anything.

JMHO smile


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Originally Posted by 284LUVR
Nothing wrong with the very fine Dillon 550 but I must wonder how many of those recommending actually own one.

Sounded like the OP in his first post was looking for a dedicated pistol progressive.

One of the guys that used to work for me as well as his wife are very high volume shooters using the Square Deal to feed their guns. They told me long ago it's their custom send their SD back to Dillon every 20,000 rounds for a checkup. Rarely does it need anything.

JMHO smile


I bet most of the people in this thread recommending them own them. Don't try to discredit people just because recommend something different than you.

Given the cost difference between the SDB and 550 is pretty small these days, I see very little reason to tell anyone to get a SDB instead. Might as well get the bigger/better press that's more versatile if a guy's starting from scratch.

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Originally Posted by Yondering
Originally Posted by 284LUVR
Nothing wrong with the very fine Dillon 550 but I must wonder how many of those recommending actually own one.

Sounded like the OP in his first post was looking for a dedicated pistol progressive.

One of the guys that used to work for me as well as his wife are very high volume shooters using the Square Deal to feed their guns. They told me long ago it's their custom send their SD back to Dillon every 20,000 rounds for a checkup. Rarely does it need anything.

JMHO smile


I bet most of the people in this thread recommending them own them. Don't try to discredit people just because recommend something different than you.

Given the cost difference between the SDB and 550 is pretty small these days, I see very little reason to tell anyone to get a SDB instead. Might as well get the bigger/better press that's more versatile if a guy's starting from scratch.


The 550 is certainly the better all-around press vs the SDB. But that is an apples to oranges comparison. What I like about the 550 is more space for fat fingers and you can load more than pistol rounds.

I encourage people to cause double-charges so they understand how it can happen (it can happen on the SDB too). And if you shoot revolver, learn how to cause squibs too.

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Originally Posted by Yondering

Some of the guys in this thread are making a way bigger deal about caliber changes than it needs to be as well. It takes about 2 minutes to swap calibers if you have them already set up in toolheads; it's really no big deal. Swapping primer size is also pretty easy, and getting it lined up again is automatic if you think about what you're doing.


Agreed.

I did T&E with several progressives before I bought my first Dillon. Exemplars included Lee, RCBS, Hornady, and Dillon. I went with Dillon and am a confirmed Dillon customer. Top quality equipment is always a good investment, and Dillon's customer service is second to none.

I did not by a 550. I think it's a great press, and if you're only going to buy one quality press for all your loading needs, it's a great all-around performer. But it's a lot slower than a well set-up progressive if you're looking at volume reloading. If your primary reloading mission is hi-volume quality pistol ammo, it's not the best choice.

So my first Dillon was a 650, which is a phenomenal piece of equipment. Mine was purchased when I was shooting a lot... as in 10K to 20K rounds of a single caliber every summer. One year I shot almost 30K rounds of 45 Auto and 38 Special in competition and practice. The 650 was the only way I could get that done with decent economy of dollars and time. The Dillon 650 is the best press I've used when it comes to high volume reloading. You need to set it up with the case feeder to get the most out of it, though. It can be set up for rifle or pistol ammo, too, so it's versatile in that respect. But it takes at least 30 minutes to switch over from one caliber to another, perhaps another 10 minutes if you're changing primer sizes. I typically set my 650 up for one load and caliber, then load a ton of ammo over a period of weeks. Currently mine is set up to load .223, but I'm running low on 45 ACP so will be making the caliber switch soon, and it will probably stay set up for 45 for a while.The progression of the 650's shell plate is rock solid reliable, so double charges just can't happen. And the low-powder sensor station makes squib loads a non-issue. I have never had either an overcharge or a squib come out of my 650, and we are talking about many thousands of rounds. That reliability is absolutely worth the price of the press.

My other progressive is the Dillon's SDB. I keep mine set up for 38/357 most of the time, but I'll switch it over 9mm in minutes when I need some little bullets. It's a nice way to crank out a couple hundred rounds in a hurry if you want to go shooting later the same day. Dillon's Square Deal B gives you a lot of bang for your buck if you want to load pistol ammo only. The toolheads can be set up and left in proper adjustment, and once you've got that done,caliber changeover takes about 15 minutes. It's not as fast as the 650 but unless you're loading for an entire season of competition, you won't notice the difference. I know guys who keep one SDB set up for large primer and one for small primer, which isn't a bad way to go if you're shooting a lot of ammo that needs both.



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Thanks for all the info guys. I’m thinking the SDB is going to be the best fit for my needs and budget right now. I’m not planning to load anything but handgun ammo on it so that’s not an issue. Probably buy one setup for 38s to get off the ground and buy tool heads for 45 and 32 down the road.

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Depending on the die sets you own now the SDB might not be cheaper - the SDB uses special dies and you would have to re-buy the dies you currently own.


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I think you will be happy with an SDB and there are some good deals on CL and some on Ebay if you want used.

I bought three SDB's with boxes of parts, tool heads, dies and plates, put one together and sold it and the spare dies and paid for the whole lot <<< so FREE

I am not into high volume rifle shooter and if I was, I would not touch the the 550 and go straight to the 650.

One SDB is set up for small primers for 380 and 9mm and the other large primers for 10mm.

In my opinion, there is no real need to send a SDB back to Dillon, buy a small parts kit and replace the parts and be back in business in a few hours.


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Enjoy and be safe.


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