Square Deal or 550

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shortround

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I am considering a new press,as trying to load any amount of ammo on my busted LEE Turret press is becomming a PITA
I would like to go with a Dillon but just which one ? Does anyone have either of these machines or able to make a reommendation on which would be better.

I will be loading primarily pistol ammo but I have a single stage for the 1 type of rifle I shoot

Thanks
Shorty
 
Everything I have heard is to buy the biggest Dillon press you can afford. If you want the 550, someone will say the 650 is faster. The same with the 1050. I've not heard anyone recommend the Square Deal - the price difference is simply not worth it. I recently bought a 550b because it seemed the easiest to change back and forth between different cartridges. My setup now includes everything (except the powder cylinder) for four different cartridge setups.

After a lifetime of loading with the RCBS Rockchucker, I am really pleased with the speed and quality of the 550b for pistol cartridges. :D

Having said that, however, I will still use my Rockchucker for my Benchrest stuff and most hunting cartridges as well.

An extra - if you are ever in Phoenix, you really want to visit the Dillon plant. They are simply some of the most knowledgeable guys I have ever met!
 
Get a 550, you can load whatever you want in the volume you want, the other presses may produce a few more rounds an hour, but the 550 will keep you in more ammo than you can shoot. I have had a 550 for about 10 years now and love it. I can load thousands of pistol rounds in several hours or .223 when needed, may take a few more minutes than I could do it on a 650, but the cost and ease of use keeps me easily set up a going on my 550, I have never felt that I have needed to upgrade because I couldn't crank out enough ammo. Get a 550 and you will love it and never look back.
 
I agree with everyone so far. I have the SDB and wish I had gotten at 550 or 650 instead. The only reason is the SDB wont do rifle calibers, and I am tired of doing .223 on a single stage press.

If you still want a SDB I'll sell you mine! I have dies for .40 S&W and 9mm.

Dez
 
If you are absolutely positive that you NEVER will want high volumes of rifle ammo, get the Square Deal.

Like everyone else here, I'd recommend the 550.
 
Well, the latest prices I have seen (US$) are:

Square Deal B - $246
Conversion kits - $62

RL550B - $264
Conversion kits - $43

XL650 - $388
Conversion kits - $59

Super 1050 - $1200
Conversion kits - $85


Unless you are really a heavy reloader, I would go with the RL550B.
 
It depends also on how much you have to spend.
I looked at all the Dillons and because I shoot pistol only,went with a SDB.
I love these little buggers.
A friend and I built and share a reloading room.
We bought two SDB's used,one in .40 and one in 45acp.
Being the lazy pistoleros that we are ,we then bought 2 more used SDB's,
one in 9mm and one in 38/357.
They were relatively cheap used,and any little parts we needed,Dillon quickly and freely replaced.
Need ammo...run down to reloading room....no changeover...no nothing..
wham...bam...a bucket of ammo.
I wouldn,t hesitate to recommend a SDB.
I also like that an SDB auto indexes.
My shooting buddy shoots rifle, and we just mounted a rockchucker for the rifle rounds he shoots.
This works well,because he doesn,t shoot high volume rifle,but between the two of us,we load a lot of pistol rounds.
All of the Dillons are mounted on strong mounts with bullet trays.
I'd do it the same way again.
If someone could help me,I'll post pics of the setup.
 
Can anyone explain the "auto-indexing" difference between the XL650 and the 550? I think I need a 550 as well, but not sure about this auto-indexing...
 
Hi

I've used Dillon presses for over 15 years, go with the 550b.


I know a guy with a Square deal in .45. He converted his pistol to .40 but never bothered to do it to the press because of the effort and expence. So the press makes dust and he buys his ammo.

Sticker
 
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"Auto indexing" means the shell advances to the next reloading station automagicly. Pesses like the 550, without the auto-index need you to turn the stations manually.
 
I learned on my buddies 550 and bought a 650 when I upgaded from a Rockchucker. I only load pistol on the progressive as for rifle I much fussier. Caliber convertion is very quick if they are on the same shellplate, but 9mm to .45 Colt takes about 40 mins. The auto index and case feed are really nice features when you are under way but you need to aware when doing your setup. I prefer the primer feed system on the 550 though. You won't go wrong either way however.

______________________________________________________________

Never Give Up, Never Give In
 
I have put about 10,000 rds through my Square Deal and have nothing but good to say about it. Set up for 38spl/357mag, 9mm, & 380.

I was looking at the 550 but find mine used at a farction of the price and that was my deciding factor.:)
 
I use a 550, and if I had to do it over ,I think I would go with the Hornaday lock and load model, it is cheaper than the 550 and has all the 650 extras and is made of cast iron instead of aluminum, I believe.
 
I have a 550 and added a casefeeder. The downside of the 550 with casefeeder is the casefeed has to be removed to load rifle. Not an issue as I load all my rifle on my Rockchucker. If I were to do it over I would buy the 650. The 650 has the auto-indexing and has the 5th station for a powder check. I load approx 10k -12k per year.
 
Hornady lock and load

buckbrush said:
I use a 550, and if I had to do it over ,I think I would go with the Hornaday lock and load model, it is cheaper than the 550 and has all the 650 extras and is made of cast iron instead of aluminum, I believe.
Click to expand...


I have a hornady lock and load as well. Primer change over is much easier, die change over is much faster and it auto indexs and will do almost all rifle and pistol ammo.
 
Between Dillon SDB & 550B, I will recommend the 550B. I have nothing against SDB. It's a great product, BUT...........................
This is SDB:
> only built to load pistol calibers
> only uses proprietory Dillon non-standard die, which is specific for SDB, meaning you CAN NOT use other make or brand of die except Dillon SDB die.
> more expensive conversion kit than 550B
> more expensive parts than 550B

RL550B:
> built to reload rifle and pistol caliber
> it uses the 7/8x14 standard dies, meaning you have all the flexibility and choices on what type/brand/make/style of die to use. (Trust me.... the F-L-E-X-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y in choosing dies IS VERY IMPORTANT in handloading ammo especially if you are loading for precision rounds).

Go for RL 550B.
 
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