question about loading speed between Lee Classsic Turret and Dillon Square Deal

[JBinMN]

Well, I took the plunge. I got a new mounting bracket for my Inline ultramount, and the 550 and 9mm kit. Everything should be here by friday

Great! I hope it does just what ya want it to do for ya!

[Lloyd Smale]

square deals are fast once you get some time behind them. I once was at my buddys and he and I were loading. he was loading 38s on his 650 and I was loading 45acps on one of his SD's We loaded for an hour. Between the shorter stroke of the square deal and not having to fill a hopper when we were done he had 32 more rounds loaded them me. Now to rookies one of a square deal and one on a 650 aren't going to have the same outcome but ive loaded hundreds of thousands of rounds on square deals and you can make those little thing sing. I also owned a loadmaster and a couple pro 1000s back in my learning stages and I can tell you flat out you aren't going to keep up to any Dillon. Between farting with primers and all the other idiosycracys they have a guy with a 550 will leave them in there dust. Load up 10 primer tubes ahead of times and it isn't even worth discussing. I lost 5 square deals and two 550s in a fire. Dillion was kind enough to send me a free 550. I thought id be smart and go fully progressive and Hornady was giving away a 1000 bullets with a lnl so I bought two. Still light years ahead of a lee progressive but to be honest id rather have one 650 or a couple square deals instead of those lnls. Heck if someone local wanted to trade Id gladly swap a lnl case feeder and all for a square deal in 9mm. Cant afford one and all you can afford is a lee then buy a single stage or a turrent lee and save yourself a whole bunch of headaches. All that said I chuckle at even Dillon. the 550 is more expensive then a square deal so they feel they have to advertise it as slower. tell me how a shorter stroked full progressive could even possibly be slower then a manual advance longer stroked press. If lee was smart they make a red cheaper copy of a 550. Heck id even consider buying one of them if they could sell it even at the same price as a loadmaster.

[Petrol & Powder]

Well, I took the plunge. I got a new mounting bracket for my Inline ultramount, and the 550 and 9mm kit. Everything should be here by friday

AWESOME !

Take your time when assembling that and bolting it down. They are very straight forward machines and when you are putting it together you will learn a lot about the details.

I use straight 30 weight oil to lubricate the ram, wheel bearing grease for the pins and pivots and a tiny bit of light oil on some of the small moving parts. (keep it away from the primer cup/pin). I've loaded 10's of thousands of rounds and the press is as tight today as the day I unpacked it.

They are great machines !

[onelight]

Congratulations that should be a great press

[1bluehorse]

I know I'm in the minority here but I'd have picked the SDB if loading for just the 9mm. Fully progressive, small footprint, and FASTER. I owned a 550B, well made, solid as a handshake but it just ain't for me. The ergonomics are all wrong (without a case feeder) for me. I do not care for the "two handed" operation. I prefer to keep my hand on the handle and do the other operations with the left, just my preference. Without a case feeder there is no way a 550 will keep up with an SDB.

[kmw1954]

I know I'm in the minority here but I'd have picked the SDB if loading for just the 9mm. Fully progressive, small footprint, and FASTER. .

I have related this before so if boring I apologize. When I decided to get back into reloading I already knew then that it would only be for pistols because that is where my interest lays. So at that time I started researching turret presses and progressive presses. I was leaning towards a Lee Auto Advance turret but also found great interest in the Lee Pro1000 and the Dillon SDB. I ended up coming across a complete Pro1000 for less than $100.00 so I bought it. That price was less than I could find a turret press or SBD with dies, measure and priming. If the SBD used normal 7/8X14 dies it would have been at the top of my list.

[Finster101]

After browsing the Dillon site today I would have to spend the extra $160 or so bucks and go for the 650.

[mdatlanta]

Well, I took the plunge. I got a new mounting bracket for my Inline ultramount, and the 550 and 9mm kit. Everything should be here by friday

Congrats! I suspect you won't be disappointed with your decision and will come to appreciate that press as you gain experience with it.

[Burnt Fingers]

After browsing the Dillon site today I would have to spend the extra $160 or so bucks and go for the 650.

The 650 is handicapped without the case collator. I ran a 650 without one for a couple of years, you can cut PVC pipe and preload it with cases and use those to fill the case feed tube. Once I got the case collator I never looked back.

I also pieced my first 650 together. When I purchased my second one I bought everything at once. It comes out to around $1500 to get everything along with the aftermarket upgrades I feel are necessary.

UniqueTek has a much better pistol powder funnel available for the 550/650 presses. http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1582

There's also been a company advertising in Handloader magazine with a better powder funnel.

My problem is my Canik shoots best and leads the least with a .358 bullet. I'm having the devil's own time trying to load that fat bullet into a 9mm case without scraping the Hi-Tek off the bullet.

[EddieZoom]

If the initial cost and the lack of auto-index are the issues that are pushing you away from a 550; I would suggest you save up just a little more money and go with the 550. The money is a one time expense (and not a huge difference) and the lack auto-index isn't that big of a deal.

Right On.

[cat-mechanic]

Well, I took the plunge. I got a new mounting bracket for my Inline ultramount, and the 550 and 9mm kit. Everything should be here by friday

Woo hoo. Read through the manual and make sure you understand the adjustments. Here is a link to the manual so you can start reading to be ready when it gets there.

http://http://dillonhelp.com/Dillon%20Manual%20PDFs/RL550C2017.pdf

[red67]

While I am a big fan of auto index/advance whether it's a Lee Classic Turret or the SDB from Dillon, a 550 is a solid press.

Congratulations!

[Big Wes]

Congratulations on a very wise purchase.

[Lloyd Smale]

yes sir. A 650 is fantastic press but it was designed right out of the gate to run with a case feeder and is kind of awkward to use without one.

The 650 is handicapped without the case collator. I ran a 650 without one for a couple of years, you can cut PVC pipe and preload it with cases and use those to fill the case feed tube. Once I got the case collator I never looked back.

I also pieced my first 650 together. When I purchased my second one I bought everything at once. It comes out to around $1500 to get everything along with the aftermarket upgrades I feel are necessary.

UniqueTek has a much better pistol powder funnel available for the 550/650 presses. http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1582

There's also been a company advertising in Handloader magazine with a better powder funnel.

My problem is my Canik shoots best and leads the least with a .358 bullet. I'm having the devil's own time trying to load that fat bullet into a 9mm case without scraping the Hi-Tek off the bullet.

[asmith80]

Got the press on Wednesday (two days early! That never happens) and as it happens my Inline mounting plate was there at the same time. Got everything mounted, and I'm just waiting for my powder die insert from Lathesmith and my engraved toolhead to get here so I can get all the dies set up and ready to go.

Here it is with my backup Lee turret. I'll hang on to it for the calibers I don't load that much of, and for case and bullet prep, but I'm already saving up for caliber conversions for 45 and 38/357

[kmw1954]

Congrats, it's looking real good, now enjoy it. You will also find the turret press comes in handy for load development were you are constantly removing the case and checking something or other.

[onelight]

Got the press on Wednesday (two days early! That never happens) and as it happens my Inline mounting plate was there at the same time. Got everything mounted, and I'm just waiting for my powder die insert from Lathesmith and my engraved toolhead to get here so I can get all the dies set up and ready to go.

Here it is with my backup Lee turret. I'll hang on to it for the calibers I don't load that much of, and for case and bullet prep, but I'm already saving up for caliber conversions for 45 and 38/357

Man you are gonna love it I see the “only for 9 “is slipping away .
Any of the presses talked about would be good but the 550 is so versital and a loaded round every pull of the lever.

[Lloyd Smale]

long time since I saw a 550 so clean and purdy!!

[asmith80]

It won't be clean for long. I'm waiting on a powder funnel replacement from Lathesmith and I got a little extra cash this pay so I splurged on some Dillon 9mm dies. Should have all that by the end of this week, and will be turning out bullets with abandon. Couldn't have happened at a better time, either. I just got a Canik TP9SFX with the red dot and I've been itching to give this thing a good run

[David2011]

After browsing the Dillon site today I would have to spend the extra $160 or so bucks and go for the 650.

Even after getting the case feeder there are still big differences between the costs of ownership between the 550 and 650. Toolheads and caliber conversions are more expensive. I thought about selling my 550 and getting another 650. Even after selling all of the 550 specific items the outlay for replacements for the 650 would have been substantial. At this point I would give up the 650 if I had to pick only one.