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If you are only going to load for handguns, a Dillon Square Deal B works just fine. I hear Mike Venturino has several of them.

Disads are that they do require unique dies and are likely a bit slower to switch calibers than the larger Dillons.

Last edited by Son_of_the_Gael; 02/08/20. Reason: typo

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Originally Posted by RickBin
So, I have been reloading for shotguns since I was a kid, and for rifles since I was in my early twenties. But I have never reloaded for handguns.

Coincidentally, I have recently caught the 1911 bug, and have just about decided to jump in feet first for a lot of reasons, among them the fact that I live in Cali.

I'll take all the input I can. Almost bought a Dillon 550 in the Free Classifieds here last week, and may regret not having done so, but ...

OK, so what machine for the long haul?

I take it buying 1000 rounds of factory .45 ACP ammo and saving the brass is a plan with some merit.

What should a newbie know going into this?



I bought a well used Dillon Square Deal B around 1993. Dillon told me to send the machine back to them in '95 when it developed some problems. They completely rebuilt the machine free of charge even though I didn't buy it new from them. 20 years later started having problems with the same machine. Dillon again completely rebuilt the machine free of charge. Think Hornady, RCBS or Ponsness would do that? You already know the basics and the nuances of reloading (how a primer going in should feel, ect,ect.). Probably not a bad time to advance to a progressive. But feel free to continue to load single stage. Some of my best "quiet times" were had doing that.

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have two Dillon square deals for volume reloading, load 1000 .45 colts, switch over to .44mag load 1000 , switch etc etc

use a rcbs rock chucker if building high end loads


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Originally Posted by RiverRider
Originally Posted by Ranger_Green
The 550 is a great press for handgun bullets, especially 45 acp. I have been doing that on my 550 since 1995.

5 grains of Unique pushing a 230 grain bullet is a great plinking load.

Take your time adjusting the 550. Get it right the first time. Check often as you go to get a "feel" for the press, Soon enough you can tell when a primer hasn't been seated correctly.

The 550 is much more forgiving than the 650 for halting mid cycle and fixing anything that might have gone wrong. The 650 produces much more ammo but takes time to correct when something goes wrong, such as a flipped primer or a bad case in the bunch.

I have a 1" paintbrush and a toothbrush to brush away powder residue from the first station



So...if a guy can tell when something's not right, and he's loading on a 650, could he just snag the screwed up cartridge at the end of its process and toss it, or is it just not always that simple? I've done ALL my loading single-stage and have no idea what it's like to run a progressive. Which also means I have a perfect record.
grin



Sometimes you can but often there is a powder spill involved or a case dragging and jamming the system. Both are worse case scenarios and like my marriage, I have been in them.

The 650 is superior in rate of production IF ALL GOES WELL. I am a pessimist and worrier by nature, so I prefer the ease of cleaning up the mistakes I have made. Like Stan V said above, it is easier/faster to change calibers, and a little less expensive than the 650.
And even if the 650 snags, you can clean it and get back into production in (usually*) twenty minutes. The 550 you can do it in (usually*) five.


perhaps I have been too negative in mentioning the 650. The 650 really shines in mass production of pistol rounds when you the right load and components. If you like to concentrate on a seasons worth of ammo, the 650 could load a thousand rounds easily on one afternoon. The 550 is slightly better when you are often loading for multiple calibers,

Get the spare parts kit and a stuck case remover ahead of time. NOTE WELL: All screwups have been MY fault. The Dillon equipment made a good handloader out of me. Lots of rounds makes for lots of practice.


Last edited by Ranger_Green; 02/08/20.

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550 great all around machine, 650 even better. If you enjoy shooting a lot you can move up to Camdex.


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My 650 runs very smooth and very few if any hiccups, I load between 6000-10,000 a year, and the more you use it you develop a feel for most issues, paying attention is a must, and learning the press comes with pulling the handle!

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I can’t say it any better than Ranger Green.
If you are not a competition shooter, the RL550c is the most forgiving and still fast enough to crank out a nice pile of ammunition in a pretty short time.
Also, you can use the 550 as a single stage press if you want.

Last edited by m_stevenson; 02/09/20.

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So just to start at the start...

If you have a single stage press you're ready to roll.

I was reloading handgun decades before progressives were even available, and while I do own several, I only bought them when I started to shoot competition.

Loading handgun, I can load 200rds an hour on my single stage, but my goal is to produce the most perfect ammo I can, regardless of how fast they pop out ...not in a race to fill the plastic bins.

One of the most frequently used tools on my loading bench is probably my Digital Calipers. My favorite tool on my bench is my RCBS Bench Mounted Priming Tool. It gives me absolute control over the priming process...it's over 50 years old and still works like new.

For 40, 45 or 9mm just buy some once fired brass and the rest of your components, for 10mm buy new Starline.


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I love reloading, my friends have accused me of shooting just to reload. However I don't love it enough to live without progressive machines and my shoulder is not what it was when I started out hand loading in the mid 70's. IPSC pistol required lots of rounds and the RCBS RC was wearing me out. I was poor so I tried the Lee 1000 and was happy for a while then a Projector was acquired used. Some time after that I quit the pistols for HP rifle competition. I found another used Projector, used one for brass prep and loaded on the other. .308, .223 and later 6.5-08 in two flavors (.260 won't around yet). Got a RCBS ammo master thinking I wouldn't have to do caliber changes so much, it sucked for what I needed it for so it lived in a box for years until I gave it away. I thought for a long time the only way to make good LR ammo was on a single stage. Laziness on my part helped me realize that careful setup on a progressive made just as accurate ammo without so many pulls on the handle. My current wife likes to shoot and she surprised me with a Dillon 1050 birthday present several years ago, said she wanted us to shoot more and I shouldn't have to spend so much time in the shop so we could burn it all up in a few hours. Love that woman and I love that machne. We're not shooting as much right now due to some life/work issues but hoping that will change soon.
I still have the RC single stage and still use it on occasion, but the 3 progressives and one PW Metallic II get the most use by far.
If I had it to do over I'd probably get 550's instead of the Hornady's. I still have one of the Projectors, traded in the other for a LnL that was a giant pain to get running. They all have pros and cons but I think Dillon has better support than most. If I was younger and playing the pistol games I'd be coveting a MK7 Revolution.....

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Damn, I still load all my handgun ammo on an old piggyback II mounted on a RC. Have another RC for rifle.



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Originally Posted by Swifty52
Damn, I still load all my handgun ammo on an old piggyback II mounted on a RC. Have another RC for rifle.

I almost got the piggy back when I bought that ammo master, was felling a little flush right then and wanted to keep the single stage free.
Wish I'd tried the piggy back instead.

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First question to all progressive loaders is how many squibs have you had. I’ve been loading handguns since about 1965. No squibs yet. Knock on wood.
I load with a co-ax press. I use a Harrell’s measure over a digital scale. I weigh each charge.
I do every step in batches. I have large coffee cans full of sized and belled brass. It’s ready to be primed.
Add a little powder and seat a bullet. Hasbeen


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My range bag in the early days of progressives and bullseye light loads always had a 45 and 38 caliber brass puffer poppers in it from Brownells along with a light mallet. Got wise and put a baffle in the measure and a powder checker die for flake powders. Gradually got away from the flakes to ball problem was solved.



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Originally Posted by hasbeen1945
First question to all progressive loaders is how many squibs have you had. I’ve been loading handguns since about 1965. No squibs yet. Knock on wood.
I load with a co-ax press. I use a Harrell’s measure over a digital scale. I weigh each charge.
I do every step in batches. I have large coffee cans full of sized and belled brass. It’s ready to be primed.
Add a little powder and seat a bullet. Hasbeen

One. My first progressive was a Lee 1000 and I let the powder level get too low once. A sharp RO stopped me from hurting myself or the gun. I had double hearing protection and in the heat of competition just racked the slide loading another round behind the then plugged barrel.
I thanked him profusely, packed my stuff and went home. Pulled the whole batch apart salvaging the components. Never let the measure get lower than half full since on any machine. Also added baffles on most of them. The 1050 has a powder check die and the others are setup so I can visually check the charges before seating. Some folks using progressives only choose powders that will overflow on a double charge but in my opinion the squib is the most likely failure. I'm not in such a hurry I can't stop and fill the hopper.

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Originally Posted by Dobegrant
have two Dillon square deals for volume reloading, load 1000 .45 colts, switch over to .44mag load 1000 , switch etc etc

use a rcbs rock chucker if building high end loads


I recently bought a used SDB, but haven't set it up yet. My plan was to use it mostly for 45 ACP, but also 9mm at times. Have both caliber conversions for it.

How long does it take to reload 1000 rounds if you have everything ready to go and on stand-by?? Just curious.


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For you multi press guys w/ a progressive.
What do you do on a screw up?

Say it primed ok, but a powder spill or something..

Do you pull it and finish it with a single stage?
Or hand charge it and reinsert into the progressive?


Thx


-OMotS



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Originally Posted by OldmanoftheSea
For you multi press guys w/ a progressive.
What do you do on a screw up?

Say it primed ok, but a powder spill or something..

Do you pull it and finish it with a single stage?
Or hand charge it and reinsert into the progressive?


Thx


I just pull the primed case and use canned air to clean shell plate off ,set case aside and keep on loading, and at the end I finish all the primed cases, really not a big deal!

But Ive really never had a spill other than a few flakes that fly out of the case when shell plate indexes!

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Originally Posted by 257heaven
Originally Posted by Dobegrant
have two Dillon square deals for volume reloading, load 1000 .45 colts, switch over to .44mag load 1000 , switch etc etc

use a rcbs rock chucker if building high end loads


I recently bought a used SDB, but haven't set it up yet. My plan was to use it mostly for 45 ACP, but also 9mm at times. Have both caliber conversions for it.

How long does it take to reload 1000 rounds if you have everything ready to go and on stand-by?? Just curious.


On my 650 it takes me 2 1/2 to 3 hours, so on a SDB I'm guessing 4 hours or a little more!

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Thanks Ackleyfan.
So many mentions of screwups up the thread I figured I would see what people do.

Makes sense. Keep th machine running, get back in rhythm, clean up partials at the end.

Got it.


-OMotS



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For the money I like the hornady progressive, I've had a rcbs 2000, and a Dillon 650, but I still have the hornady. I'm just getting back into using it after a move and some health issues. I've been testing some loads on my single stage but it's time to progressive some more 10mm. It's been about 2 years so we'll see if I still like it.

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