Topic: Dillon Square Deal, Dillon 550 or Dillon 650 NEW LOADER

[GunRunner]

First off, I am brand new to reloading. I have never reloaded so I know next to nothing about it. I shoot approx. 500 rounds per week. With the cost of ammo the way it is these days it's putting a BIG dent into my wallet. During the past month or so I have been saving my brass, I have about 2000 shells I am looking to re-load.

I'm pretty sure I want to get a Dillon considering they are well made products and the great warranty. I also like the fact that each time you pull the lever, a bullet comes out. I don't want to have to do each step separately.

I want to get some opinions and maybe some thoughts from experience using these machines. I think I would like one that auto indexes (but is that really necessary?) because I hear that your reloading time is shorter.

I may or may not get an automatic shell feeder...is the 650 the only machine of these three that will be compatible with this feature?

Is one machine really faster than the others or is it the features that allow the user to produce more rounds during the same amount of time?

Considering I am new to loading and the amount of rounds I shoot, which would any of you recommend? Thanks!

[Jeff]

I recommend the Brian Enos web site for your Dillon questions and purchase.  I couldn't find it right away but there is a buying guide that shows why one would want a 550 or 650.  After reading the guide and reading the forum I decided on the 550.

[Shortmag]

I load on a single stage press.  it may be slower, but i have that many more times to double check what I'm doing and be sure it's getting done right.  if you're loading .223/5.56 you may wind up with a single stage for half of the work anyway and find yourself just using the dillon to throw powder and seat/crimp.  i think this is how Spiff does it.  both spiff and i like to prime our brass by hand to be sure we get the primer seated all the way down.  this helps to ensure we don't wind up with slamfires. 

I'd recomend starting on a single stage press.  take your time, and really get to know what you're doing.  then when you're good and comfy with reloading, step up to a progressive.

and a lot of us here reload, so don't hesitate to ask questions if you get confused.

SM

[Spiff]

I believe the Square Deal takes a proprietary die design. At least that's the way it used to be, pretty sure it still is.

[GunRunner]

Great, thanks for the replies! One thing I forgot to mention is that I will only be loading .45 ACP at this time. I really have no need to do anything else.

I see your point in using the single stage press. You really get to see what your doing and get to pay a little closer attention to detail.

[Spiff]

I agree with everything said by the other posters (except that asshole Spiff, he's clueless). But I will add that if your planning on reloading 500+ rounds a week, your probably going to want a progressive, sooner than later.

Both the 650 and 550 will take case feeders, but the 550 will only handle pistol, AFAIK.

The 650 is going to be faster than the 550, if for no other reason than you don't have to manually index the shell plate.

Like SM said, I do *all* my brass processing, including priming, by hand. At least for .223. All my 650 does with .223 is meter powder, seat the bullet and crimp. It's mostly the same for 9mm and 45ACP, except I will sometimes just run the pistol brass through the Dillon instead of sizing, priming by hand. The 650 runs almost flawlessly, last time I used it I reloaded ~ 3800 .223, I had 5 or 6 cases not feed properly into the shell plate, it does this occasionally when the feed ramp gets gunked up with powder residue. At the same time I had the case feeder feed 2 or 3 cases backwards. Of course I already had the brass sized, trimmed and primed.

If I had to be totally honest, I would have to say that if the Dillon were priming, that I'd have a few cases not prime properly. Mainly mil-spec cases where the crimp was not properly removed, or not removed enough. But there are also a few that, for whatever reason, don't seat properly.

The Dillon has *never* produced a squib round on me and I've *never* double charged a case. I do have a die that warns of gross over and under charges, but it's never found one to warn me about.    

[luckypunk]

Go into cliffs gun safes & you can get close & personal with 550/650/1050s

But do yourself a favor, go into cabelas & checkout Hornadys LNL press.  I feel price & features blow away Dillons offerings

I got one, but then again I shoot a Glock 19

[Orbital-Burn]

anyone got a 1050 yet?

[Idaho_Gun_Nut]

I started out on a Square Deal and loaded a mess of .45's when I first got into IPSC.  550's are nice but I wanted the Auto case feeder system and back then it wasn't available for the 550's so I opted for a 650.  On a good day I can literally do 1000rds in an hour.

[GunRunner]

Right on, I think I'll go with a 650...there are more accessories I can use on the 650 and when I am ready I will be able to do .223 and other rifle rounds.

Thanks for the input everyone, it really helps!

[pv74]

Go for the 650 or the 550

If you shoot 500 rounds of .45 ACP a week, you WILL need it.