is it me or my press?....but seating primers in .45 acp seems to require way to much force. i am brand new to reloading and this is an older used press...I'm thinking this thing is gonna go up on the auction block.

What primer, what brass?

cci primers...and whatever brass I pull...Winchester, RP, Federal.

Are you loading any other calibers (with which to compare)? Is your brass brand new? What brand/type of brass?

Off brand brass may be different. Nickel cases can also feel different from brass cases.

If it's a really old machine, you might want to send it back to Dillon for a refurb job.

But I wouldn't give up on it if I were you. The Square deal is a great little press for straightwalled firearms cases.

You should be running straight wall pistol cases dry.The ram should have a good lube on it.

All Dillon machines, except the 1050, prime on the upstroke. Depending on the brass, it can take some pressure. Then again, you may be pressing harder than what you need to.

Is there a difference between large and small primers on your machine? I have 2 SDBs - one for large and one for small primers. I don't see a real difference in how much pressure is needed between the two machines. Some cases just take more pressure/force.

If concerned, you can ship your machine to Dillon and they will check it out and refirb it.

Another thought, call Dillon when you are at your machine. They are good at asking questions and they might be aware of something that needs to be checked.

I ran 400 rounds of .45 last night and experienced numerous cases that were excessively tight when priming. WLP and primarily CCI cases. I found that by rotating the case a little, it would prime with some effort. Alignment was correct, and I did not find this to be a problem with Winchester or Federal cases - those slipped in pretty as you please with no extra effort.. Could just be a quirk with the CCI brass....

quote:

Originally posted by RaoulDuke:
cci primers...and whatever brass I pull...Winchester, RP, Federal.

Rerason I ask is some cases, like CCI, have slightly smaller primer pockets. Combined w/ some primers being slightly larger & they don;t want to fit. I find RP primers the smalles diameter across the spectrum of pistol, rifle, etc. You might pick up 100 & give them a try.

thanks for all the reply's. I have not tried it with small primers. Although I have all the gear for 9mm and .38. It is older, i'm not sure how old but it is a plain old SD not a SDB. Maybe a trip to Dillon would smooth things out.

CCI primers are the hardest to seat out there. Dillon changed the primer punch design so that its height was set by a set screw instead of by the length of the punch. The problem with the old design was that the steel punch would wear a divot into the primer slide and eventually it won't seat primers deep enough.

Try having Dillon send you a new primer slide. If the punch has an hourglass sort of shape at the bottom then you know that is your problem.

the primer punch is hour glass shaped. After speaking with Dillon it turns out I was trying to seat some in WCC brass (military) that is part of the problem, it still is hard to seat in RP and others...but even over the phone he said it sounded a bit noisy. I will be shelling out the $39.95 and sending it in for a rebuild.

Yes, I agree the CCI primers can be problematic, especially with the SDB press....Try Winchester primers and see if that doesn't correct it. The CCI primers are chromed (or nicoled). Sometimes the edge of the primer catches on the edge of the primer pocket and it will not seat properly; increasing the force may deform the primer....

RaoulDuke, Fredj338 did not mean to try small primers in the .45 brass. You would quickly find that they will not stay seated in the .45 brass (unless you have come across some of that new "no lead" brass which does use the SP primers). He was stating that Remington Peters large pistol primers have a slightly smaller diameter than other manufacturer's large pistol primers.

The SDB seats primers at the top of the upstroke where leverage is at its lowest. It always took a lot of effort to seat LP primers of any brand in any make of .45 ACP brass in either of my SDBs. The 550 does better but still seats where leverage is least in its design. Which is why I spent the entertainment budget on a 1050 instead of a new gun one year.

No worries Jim....I was unclear. I meant I have never tried loading a small primed cartridge on the press.

I really want to like the press, so I will send it back for a refurb. If it still is a pain in the ass to do .45 I will dedicate it to 9mm and just have to get another. Besides I need to be able to do rifle.