Dillon square deal press ?

R

rebs

New member
I have a chance to buy one all set up for 45 acp for $300.00 with the strong mount.
What are the pro's and con's of this press ?
 
Pros: You can reload a lot of .45 ammo very quickly and relatively cheaply which will allow you to shoot more.

Cons: You can reload a lot of .45 ammo very quickly and relatively cheaply which will allow you to shoot more.
 
There is no caliber changes for the square deal press.If you want to load different calibers then you will need to buy a square deal in that caliber of buy a 550
 
There are caliber change kits, but they are kind of pricey and limited in variety, as jmorris has said.
While mine has worked like a champ for the same thirty years as his, and cost a mere $130 at the time, with the increase in their cost and all the other choices today, I wouldn't choose it again.
 
$300 is more than half the cost of a Dillon 550B, which allows caliber changes and is a much better press.

If you want to load only .45acp, go ahead and buy it, but if you want to load any other caliber you will probably end up buying another press setup.

If you want to have a dedicated .45acp press, then go ahead and get it. I have four Lee Classics I've set up for loading .577/450 and .50BMG, perhaps a grand total of 50 cartridges a year. If you have the room for dedicated presses, nothing wrong with them at all.
 
A good friend, whose opinions are worthy of respect, has a small herd of presses.
He says he uses the Lee Classic Turret as much as any of them.
For a fraction of the price of most, it's worth a look.
Just a thought.
 
While mine has worked like a champ for the same thirty years as his, and cost a mere $130 at the time, with the increase in their cost and all the other choices today, I wouldn't choose it again.
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I agree.
 
Of course you can reload other calibers. They have proprietary dies and like another poster I would go with the 550. I have loaded several gazillion .44 spec., .45cap and .38 spec., it works well and if any thing breaks they will take care of it including the whole -CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED--CENSORED-ery when the aluminum gusset broke...It's a great company.
 
thanks for the replies, I appreciate it. I seen it with the strong mount, tool holder, bullet tray etc and thought it was a good deal for a dedicated 45 acp press. Oh well I will keep using my LNL-AP
 
The Pros

Made by Dillon
Very good warranty
Very good customer service
Quality manufacture
Easy set up and use

The Cons
Pistol caliber only
No case feeder available
Dies are proprietary
 
I am at present loading 9mm on a 550.
I see no advantage over my prior SDB, except that it is quicker to change over to .38 Special.
I don't load rifle progressive - except .44-40 when I was in CAS - so that is not a factor.

Loading .45 on a SDB took more effort. It has low leverage at the top of the stroke and it took a nutcracker grip on frame and handle to seat primers flush.
The 550 is better but not a lot better. So one year I splurged on a 1050 which socks the primers in to a positive stop on the downstroke.
 
You can change calibers on a Square Deal but you have to use the Dillon small dies. The 550 uses standard 7/8-14 dies and can load rifle. The SD is a little faster than a 550 because it is a manual indexer. My 550 is from 1984, the SD is only 15 years old. You can see the strong mount has 2x4's cross wise and 1.5" plywood between the press and the strong mount to get even more stiffness and to prevent side to side twisting. The roller handle adds more leverage.

image37352.jpg
 
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There is no caliber changes for the square deal press.If you want to load different calibers then you will need to buy a square deal in that caliber of buy a 550
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What? Are you talking about the original Square Deal, or the square deal B that has been around for ~20 years?

Because you certainly can change calibers on a Square Deal B. It doesn't use standard dies, but Dillon sells them. The conversion is more expensive than other Dillon presses, but they are available.

It can only load pistol rounds, so if you want to mass produce .223 you need something else.
 
"So far, so cool." And "make it and I will buy one."

The usual response is that I have too much time on my hands.
 
What kind of throw was that? Certainly not underhand.
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More like, an act or instance of throwing or casting; cast; fling, in assembly. Not really a finished product but a kluge quickly assembled.
 
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