Which Dillion Press

[Side drifter]

My hunting partner called and wanted to know if I wanted to go 50/50 with him on a Dillon Square Deal B . We only what it for handguns but why wouldn't you just buy the 550? I'm I messing something?

 

[jjordan355]

I would spend the extra money on a 750 with a case feeder. A little more refined press than the square deal and 550/650 series.

I have a 750 I use for all my pistol loading.

 

[sierracharlie338]

The square deal is a bad ass press for straight wall pistol ammo. Auto progressive and simple to use. I wish I never sold mine.

The 550 is full manual and requires a bit more attention especially when swapping plates/cartridges etc if you don’t have multiple plates for various cartridges.

If you want a dedicated pistol press, square deal is the way to go hand down imo.

If you want the option to load non-straight wall cartridges then the 550 is a better option.

If you want full blown Cadillac, then the 750 with case feeder is the way to go.

Dillons are awesome!

 

[Slickhill]

I held off buying a progressive for years, looking back I’m not sure why. I bought a 550 and have setups for 38, 9mm, 45, 223, and 44. Once you get the plate set up changeover is a 5 minute deal. I really wish I’d have bought it a decade sooner.

If you get a 550 you get one caliber conversion with it. Choose the most oddball caliber you will use it for, the super common conversions like 38, 9mm, and 45 ACP can be had on the used market for much less than new.

 

[streamerfish]

If I was going to buy a dillon i would skip right past both the square deal and 550 and head straight to the 750xl.

Going from 4 to 5 stations is a big deal. Case feeder is a big deal.

The square deal and 550 are both good presses.

But the square deal in particular is overpriced by market comparison for a 4 station press.

The 550 really has the same problem in terms of pistol reloading use.

If you want a blue press get the 750, or go buy a 5 or 6 station press from another brand...

No reason to buy a square deal over say a lee pro 6000. Or a hornady really.

 

[DavidReed]

How many different cartridges do you and he plan to load?

If the answer is more than one skip the SDB and go to the 550C or perhaps the 750 if your loading/shooting volume justifies it. The SBD is not as straight forward to change between cartridges whereas the 550 is a 5 to 10minute operation dependent on if the primer size is being changed; the 650/750 takes a bit longer to convert between cartridges.

Based on direct and indirect experience I wouldn’t go with any progressive press in this class that isn’t blue. I’ve had a 550B that I got in 1996 that is closing in on 300k rounds loaded on it and it’s still
going strong. Keep them clean and well maintained and your kids will be using it.