I am looking to get a progressive press for reloading 44mag and 45 acp. I would like to get either the Hornady Lock-N-load Progressive or one of the Dillon presses.
So basically why would I want to get one press over the the other.

And second, What are the differences between the Dillon 550b and the Square Deal presses?

Go with Dillon...you won't be sorry. I have the 550B and love it. The 550B seems to me a little more rugged. The square deal appears (I might be way wrong here) to be brought to the market to compete with other presses that are less expensive than the 550's, et. al.

The SDB is limited to pistol cartridges only, and then only with Dillon dies (it does not take standard dies from other manufacturers), but it does auto-index. The 550 manually indexes, but it takes standard dies from any manufacturer.

The LNL AP is the same price as a 550, but has 5 stations, and auto-indexes. It really compares more directly with the 650 which is much more expensive.

I would vote the Dillon 550. They are very versable and easy to change from one caliber to another. May not be the fastest progressive, but smooth and easy to keep running. I can easily average over 400 rounds/hour with mine. That's total time including primer refills, etc.

In fact I now have 3 550's. Two of which I got such a deal I coould not turn down from an estate.

Joe A.

Progressive Presses:

I have 1 Dillon 450B, 2 550's, and 2 1050's.

I have never owned a Lee, RCBS, or Hornaday Progressive I have owned their single stage presses.

Dillon just went through a price increase. I would look at the 650 since it is only $100.00 more and a lot more loader.

I have operated Camdex, and Ammo Loaders. A Dillon 1050 with a collator and bullet feeder will for the buck out load either one.

I think for the small time shooter a 550 is the best choice.

Just my opinions
Longshot

Another vote for the Dillon 550!

The 550B and SDB are both great presses. I keep a SDB set up for pistol, and use the 550B for .223.

Originally used the 550B for .45 ACP, but prefer the SDB for that, now that I have both loaders. Either press is easy to convert to the two calibers that you referenced, since they both use large pistol primers.

I've got 2 550B & wonder how I ever got by w/o it. The Hornady may be ok, I just wouldn't trade in my Dillon.

I have a Dillion 550B and have never been happier. I single stage rifle ammo on a Redding press but all pistol goes through the Dillion. Great machine.

Another vote for the 550B. When I was making the same decision you are right now I thought long and hard about the auto index feature. Now I'm glad I went to manual indexing, it does not take any more time or effort and it also makes it easier if you have a hang up at one of the stations to fix and then move on.

If I were you I wouldn't even think about any other brand of progressive loaders for rifle and pistol than Dillon. I've had some expensive mistakes that wouldn't have happened if I'd just gone with Dillon first.
The 650 is real nice if you can afford the extra cash and want to load a lot. Otherwise you'll do well with a 550. Most people I've seen with a Square deal are trying to figure out how to trade up to a 550 or 650............DJ

I have 2 Dillon presses, but If I buy another I'm going with the Hornady over the Dillon. 2 reasons. The Hornady is stronger by virtue of it's design. The Lock And Load die system allows for a stronger press than the massive cutout that is required to recieve the Dillon toolhead. This is not an issue with pistol calibers, but it could be when it comes to full length resizing of long magnum rifle cases. The Hornady offers far more support in this area. The other, and more important reason is the powder charge system on the Hornady is much better. I don't like Dillons measures, and I have 2 of them. They have cheap die cast housings and the powder bar binds with fine grained ball powder. I use a lot of H-110 and after less than 100 rounds with the Dillon it starts binding up because powder becomes trapped in between the bar and housing forcing disassembly and cleaning of the unit. Dillon has replaced one of the measures at no charge, but the issue still persists. H-110 flows effortlessly through my Lyman 55 and my Redding. The Hornady has a ground drum machined to much closer tolerances like the Redding. They say you can adapt the Hornady powder system to the Dillon but thats going the long way around the barn. The Hornady is a 5 station press while the Dillon 550B is a 4. Cost with the case feeder is about equal, all things considered. Bill T.

Another vote for the Dillon 550. I have no complaints about my press at all.

i would sujest a 650, you wont need to change over the primer feed, since both of the calibers use a large pistol

At one time I owned a Dillon 550B and a 500AT (great for my .416 Rigby) and a Hornady. The Hornady went to a gun show...the Dillons are still on my loading bench. Would probably give up reloading if I didn't have my Dillons
Go with the Dillon 550B...you will never regret it!

Thanks for the info. Now to decide if I can live with the 550B or if I should spend the extra money and get the 650. Having to eat Ramen for the next month doesnt sound that bad.

I would suggest buying a good progressive and then find a used RCBS RockChucker for your case forming and such. One note of caution on the function of the Hornady adapters. Some of the lock rings that
come with various dies will not lock into the adapter and will allow the die to unscrew from the
adapter when you are trying to remove the adapter/die combination from your press. Very
frustrating. Use the lock ring type that Hornady recommends. Also if you use case forming dies for very short cartridges you may not be able to use the Hornady adapters. The Hornady press adapter for the RCBS presses works well and didn't unscrew while I was using it in the RCBS RockChucker press.

I finally got over brand loyalty and now use the best from any brand. I use a Dillon 650, RCBS Ammomaster,
RCBS RockChucker, and several RCBS Green Machines. If anyone wants to get rid of a Green Machine or parts, send me a PM!

My vote is for a dillon (any of them). I had an old 450 then a 550 and now i've got a 1050. You just can't beat them.
Larry

I have two Dillon 550 presses and I wouldn’t be without them. One is set for small primers and the other for large. A friend has a Dillon 550 and a 650. The 650 is a finicky but is still a good press. I still want a 1050.

I am very happy with the Dillon XL 650..............just need to get a more so.id bench to place it on so that small amounts of powder don't spill and jam the primer mechanism.

I am not a quanitiy shooetr but I load for my own and two friends 45/70's...............now when I do a run it is just get them to clean there brass prior to me getting it fill up the tube and crank them out, I have bot got the case feed yet but have no trouble just filling up the tube...................I still have some technique improving to go though. If you take your time I reckon the xl 650 is agoer