Dillon Square Deal B value?

[Steelworker]

Hello all. I found a local individual with a Dillon SDB press set up for 357. I haven't seen it, but he says that everything is included. How much do you think it be worth? Its probably 15 years old or so, if that makes a difference.

 

[mahansm]

Age makes no difference; the lifetime warranty ensures that any deficiency can be corrected at no charge.

A new press set up for .357 costs $370.95 plus shipping from Dillon. You can read the list of what's supplied on their website and compare to what is with the press. Other items such as a scale, calipers, primer flip tray, bench wrench (or tool kit) will add to the value.

There are two used Dillon Square Deal B presses on Ebay now for about $260 but neither is in .357. Dies are proprietary and will not work in any other press.

 

[Steelworker]

thanks for the info! I did not realize that the dies were a proprietary design. Thats good to know.

 

[Furncliff]

Also...Sq Deal b is pistol caliber only.

 

[mahansm]

And only up to .45 Colt. I had to get a bigger press to do .500 S&W Magnum.

 

[4895]

If everything is there and in good shape..$200. Great press for the reloader that has one caliber to really shoot a lot. Word of caution though...Do not load primers until you are absolutely ready to load. Make all of your necessary adjustments first, then drop in a single primer to check your setup. Due to the auto index feature, primers will keep coming until you are out. That could spell trouble for you if you are trying to set it up and have to make changes.
P.S. Buy a can of compressed air for easy cleaning of powder residue.

 

[1in9twist]

So, standard 7\8 dies don't work in the Square deal B? You must buy Dillons dies?

 

[mahansm]

Yes. You must buy the special dies from Dillon. They do not interchange with any other press, including other Dillon models. When I bought a 550 to go along with my Square Deal I decided that I didn't want to change primer sizes on either press and I had to buy new dies for .44 Magnum/Special in order to move that caliber over to the 550.

 

[Ledhore]

Because of the proprietary dies, the Square Deal is not a good way to go if you're thinking of loading cast bullets. It's fine for jacketed pistol bullets.

 

[Kingcreek]

Loading cast bullets are no problem with the SD. I've loaded many thousands of them on mine. I bought mine set up for 45acp when dillon first came out with the square deal. They're great for loading large quantities of one caliber but not such as good deal if you want multiple calibers.

 

[Ledhore]

Cast bullets are a problem with the proprietary dies if you want to use an "M" die or more friendly dies for cast bullets, which are usually larger diameter than jacketed.

Unless you are using fairly hard lead, you can easily swage down a cast bullet with the dillon dies, which are designed for jacketed bullet diameters, resulting in a less than desirable fit to the barrel.

 

[Seedtick]

I've never had a problem loading cast bullets on my SDB. I load for 380 acp, 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 acp, 357 mag, and I recently picked up the stuff to do 45 Colt but I haven't gotten around to putting it on yet. I haven't loaded any 380 acp with lead yet but I don't expect any trouble.

Do not load primers until you are absolutely ready to load. Make all of your necessary adjustments first, then drop in a single primer to check your setup. Due to the auto index feature, primers will keep coming until you are out.

I don't quite understand this primer problem? If you don't push the handle forward to prime a piece of brass nothing happens. The primers all remain in the tube. You can take a loaded primer tube out of the machine and put the primers back into the box or whatever if you want to. At least that's the way mine works.

HTH

Seedtick

 

[Zeke/PA]

About 5 years ago a fellow worker was asking $125.00 for a Square D with both .38 Special and .45 Auto dies with quite a few components.
Needless to say I jumped on the deal.
I use it often as do some buddies and the folks at Dillon are great to deal with.
For the .38's I use 158 grain Missouri Bullet semi-wadcutters with no problem

 

[jfrey]

I don't know where 4895 gets his information on primers, But he is totally wrong. Unless you push the arm up to seat a primer you can make all the changes you want without any problems. It is regretful that folks on forums like this make comments about stuff they know nothing about. I have 2 SDB's and they are both great. I have loaded thousands of lead bullets in .45LC with no problems. The trade off on the dies is that they come with the press and you don't have to spend extra money on added dies past the cost of the press. The press is auto-indexing which is an advantage over the 550 since it cuts down on the chances of double charging a case in the process. Don't let anyone short change you on the effectiveness of the SDB. It is a good machine and well worth the money - newo or used.

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

I've got 3 SD's. One set up for 38/357, one for 45acp and one for all the others (32/327, 380, 9mm and 45 Colt). Change over and cast bullets are no big deal. They work well and are quick as a 550 if you are organized well.