New to reloading and Dillon square deal B

[smfdiver]

Hello all,

Just thought I would introduce myself. I have been lurking for awhile getting all the information I could on reloading. I am starting out on a Dillon Square deal B 45 acp. I have read the ABC's of reloading and have read the Lyman 49th edition. I will just be loading 45 acp cast round nose to start with. I have enough supplies for 2000 rounds. I can't wait to get started and I will appreciate any help in advance.

smfdiver

 

[Claymore1500]

I started with the same press, I found that if you start by making some (DUMMY) rounds and experiment with the settings until you get the results you want, then carefully measure the die settings, write them down, then when you change bullets and use different settings, the measurements you wrote down will allow you to get back to the correct settings for each load you are doing.

I load .38spl/.357mag so I change a lot, and I can now go from one to the other in about one step.

I also recommend a good powder scale, and frequent checks,(I check about every ten rounds) to make sure the powder measure didn't change

Also, since you are doing auto pistol rounds, you might want to get a case guage and trimmer, as case lenth is an important factor in loading for autos.

 

[lgbloader]

Also, since you are doing auto pistol rounds, you might want to get a case guage and trimmer, as case lenth is an important factor in loading for autos.

I must say up front that this is good advice for teaching anyone the Art of Handloading. Uniform brass is key.

I must confess that I rarely ever trim auto pistol brass.

LGB.

 

[Shoney]

All straight walled auto pistol cases shorten a minscule amount with every loading. They do not lengthen as rifle cases do.

Only if you plan to load rifle or wheel gun ammo, then a trimmer would be needed.

 

[D. Manley]

You'll love the little SDB, great press with a very short learning curve. Read you manual carefully and keep it handy...just go slow until you get the feel for it. Just so you know, once you have your seating, crimp and belling of the case set, you may need to fine tune it when you first begin. Having a case present in every station will change the geometry just a tad which generally shows up with a little variation in seating depth compared to only having a case in the seating station when setting up. A common mistake by new Dillon users is not having the little blue wingnut on the bottom of the failsafe rod tight enough (and on this, the manual is a little vague). With the operating lever in the full up (as if seating a primer) position, tighten the wingnut until the spring is fully compressed...then, back it off one full turn. There are a couple of little "hidden" tweaks you can make on the primer feed and indexing (covered toward the back of the manual) but normally, you'll never need them. You'll find that once it's up and running you seldom have to do anything at all...other than crank out a lot of quality rounds with boring reliability.

 

[srini_durand]

I love my Square Deal B, I have been using it for about 10 years now.

1) Keep a few extra primer orifices on hand. IE.. the little plastic nipple that is at the end of the primer drop tube.

2) Keep an eye that the primers seat deep enough, crude can build in the primer pocket and the Square D is a little sensitive to this.

3) Get some Dillon Spray lube...

4) Punch away, you love it I love mine. And best of all you will love the Dillon Warranty.

 

[The Wiry Irishman]

I'd like to second what D. Manley said. I'm just starting out, too, with a Dillon 650, and I noticed that when I set up my seating die by just placing a single piece of brass at that station that my OAL would be almost 10 thousandths longer with brass at every station. When I set my dies for .44 mag I left brass in every station and did not have that problem.

 

[Claymore1500]

Only if you plan to load rifle or wheel gun ammo, then a trimmer would be needed

All brass starts to get a little ragged around the case mouth from firing, those cases need to be trimmed occasionally to keep them square, as the rimmless cart. seats on the edge of the case mouth.

The case gauge will let you know when to disgard the case when it becomes too short.

When the case mouth starts to show a ragged edge, (1) trim it just enough to clean it up,(2) size it, (3) check it, if it is under spec, recycle it.

 

[Zeke/PA]

I can't really improve on the advice given so far except to say BE CAREFUL!
I have a Square D that I use to load .38 specials.
Concentrate on the task at hand and quality ammo rather than volume.
The primer seating tip is a good one and it's an area that I give special attention.
Zeke

 

[HKIWB]

I just started out with a Dillon SDB last week, and have loaded 800 rounds of Zero 230g FMJ with HP 38 powder and CCI 300 primers. My first 200 rounds performed flawlessly, and were more accurate than factory ammo. From one noob to another, here's my advice.

My reloading bench is an old kitchen base cabinet, and the SDB needs to be mounted with a couple inches of overhang so that the primer catch cup will clear the side of the cabinet.

It takes a strong push of the lever to seat primers completely, so check them carefully.

The manual is very optimistic in its estimate of loading speed. Sure, you can load 250+ an hour, but when you add the time to load primers and check your work, its more like 150-200 rounds an hour.

Mixed brass will yield significantly different weights if you weigh your rounds after loading them. I also found variances in bullet weight in the same lot. On a related note, I weighed and measured a bunch of factory Blazer Brass and WWB 230g FMJ and found lots of inconsistency in cartridge overall length and total weight.

Mine's mounted so that I can visually check every powder charge as I set the bullet. I weigh the powder charge after every 50-100 rounds, and the charge stays very consistent. Every round goes through a case guage, and every 10th round or so gets measured with calipers. The SDB loads very consistently with very little adjustment needed.

 

[Nowhere Man]

My SDB is 2 years old now. I've loaded over 14,000 rnds of 9mm and .45ACP so far with it.

Never be afraid to call Dillon for assistance. They are there to help you and are great to deal with.

Personally, I've never used case lube. I never felt it necessary. I've never thrown out a case for being too short. If it cracks, I throw it out. I check my powder weight every 200-300 rounds now. I started checking every 10 rounds but, my powder measure has never altered. Never!

Dave