Dillon Square Deal - opinions?

[UncleWalther]

I've been loading .45Auto on a single stage press for a few years, and the slow pace is really getting irritating. So, I want to get into a progressive system.

I plan to load only .45Auto, and perhaps 9mm in the future.

Would the Dillon Square Deal be a good press to get? Also, what is the difference between the Square Deal "B" model and the older pre-B model?

 

[bc]

Problem with the Squre Deal is that it takes non-standard die sizes. Great progressive press if you can handle the fact that you can only get dillon dies.

 

[Lef T]

I'm new to reloading and bought one in .40S&W.
I looked at the 550 and the 650,but reality dictated finding a used square deal.
I am not a rifle shooter,so for me a used SDB,was a no brainer.
Dillon will send you the parts you need(for free) if something wears out or needs refurbishing.
You can find them used in the $250 to $350 range.
I added a strong mount and bullet tray.
I also have a quick change setup for 38sp and 357.
My friend bought a used SDB in 45acp and he likes his too.
Set them up and start cranking out ammo.
The one difference I see between pre B and B is the failsafe powder drop mechanism.
The new B has a rod that actuates the powder measure through two levers,(supposedly more failsafe) ,the pre B works on one lever and springs.
No big deal either way,
When going from 45acp to 9mm you will also have to change out the primer feed tube on the machine.Large primer to small primer,unless you are using Winchester small primer 45acp.
My friend just bought a 9mm SDB and has two set up,one for 45 and one for 9mm.
Never has to change anything.
I'd have no problem in recommending an SDB.
I also like the fact that it auto indexes.
Find a decent used one and start rolling out ammo.
You'll wonder why you didn,t get a progressive a long time ago.

 

[ChiliDawg]

I have been reloading on a single stage press for twenty years. I finally broke down and bought a Dillon Square Deal two months ago and honestly, I don't know why I waited so long to get one. I bought mine used with 45ACP, 9MM, and 40S&W dies for $300.00 which seems to be the going price. The first session, I reloaded one thousand 45's in 2.5 hours.

 

[Boomer]

One of these days I'll bite.

I used to load for our club, and thought I could make a little coin on the side doing it - so basically get my shooting for free. Well, I had to produce 1000 rounds a week of .38 Special, so after work on Monday night I'd start, and by Friday I'd usually have them finished. Some weeks I'd have to work late, and some weeks I just couldn't bring myself to sit in front of my loading bench. On those occasions it meant going out and buying a thousand rounds so my shooting actually ended up costing more than if I had paid for my own share of the ammo, and I started to hate reloading. The fellow I bought the ammo from - a nice guy who used to run the Winnipeg Police Tac Unit, offered to sell me a Star progressive reloader...no idea why I never took him up on it.

 

[Garand]

I've got had a Square Deal B for years and I love it. With the old style dies just remember if you are reloading lots of lead bullets, clean the excess bullet lube that gets collected otherwise it will effect your overall length. Reloading is NOT a speed event! The faster you are cranking out bullets, the better your chances of missing something that is wrong. If you only get 300 rds per hour, who really cares. What is important is that they are quality rounds.

As for Dillons warranty, geez you don't find any better. I needed a replacement part for my Square Deal B last year after installing conversion dies and after over 10 years of not contacting Dillon, they still had my name in their system and the new parts were dispatched for FREE, all I had to do was pay postage.