I'm buying a Dillon Square Deal and shoot a lot of wad cutters.

Has anyone had experience with it using DBWC and will it seat them consistently?

With thanks, Racingsnake

That is all that I load on one of my SDB's....38 special LHBWC, classic 2.7gr of Bullseye. I trimmed all of that particular brass to 1.145" and the SDB seats them consistently and beautifully.

You may need to make sure that you have the correct bullet seating die in the seating station as they have RN, SWC and WC seating dies available.

The only issue that I have had, and this can happen in any loader, is that with the Hornady brand LHBWC the dry wax that they use sometimes requires that the seating die be cleaned every 500 or so rounds as it collects in the die causing irregularities in seating depth. That is not a problem of the seating die or the loader though. Just an observation.

That's good to know.

What make of case trimmer are you using?

To get a consistant crimp with any press the cases need to be the same length. As a rule I don't trim handgun brass but it's a good idea. It helps if you use the same headstamp brass or you could bite the bullit and order a bunch of starline brass.

If one is trimming cases based on over-all length, is headstamp still an issue?

No, what I meant was there will probably be more consistant case length with the same brand, headstamp, brass. Once you get cases that are the same length you probably wont need to trim them again, just keep them together. Sometimes the case mouth isn't square but that's rare.

Thanks Glider

Trimming the cases to 1.145"? Why when the case length is supposed to be 1.155"? My thinking is that the HBWC and especially DBWC already reduce the case capacity quite a bit so I don't wish to seat the bullets any deeper than necessary. Are you shooting these in an automatic? I prefer the BBWC seated to the top groove for revolver use, simply because they are easier handle and load into the cylinder. I only find use of DEWC or HBWC seated flush in a 1.155" OAL to be necessary when loading for auto loader pistols. Taper chimp gives consistant crimp without trimming.

I have been reloading for 30+ years now and I do not own a case trimmer. I mostly load 38 Special, .45 acp and .45 Long Colt and I have not had any issues with cartridges stretching beyond working spec's. Now just to be honest here, my hand-loads are usually on the mild side as I use them strictly for punching holes in paper, so the cases don't really get beat up. I have re-loaded some of these cases more times than I can recall and once in a blue moon there will be a case that splits, but for the most part they just go on & on.

I do reload .45-70 Gov't. and .38-55 rifle cartridges as well and have never seen stretching beyond what will work in my Marlin Lever guns, but those two rifle cartridges have only be re-loaded 2 or 3 times so far and I don't shoot them quite as often as I do my handguns. I load them to a mild to medium velocity and so far so good (20 + years).

I would suspect that high powered, high velocity cartridges like the .223, 30-06 would indeed need to be re-sized after a few firings but I don't get involved re-loading them because I simply don't shoot enough of them to warrant it.

For the first 10 or so years I've re-loaded tons of 38 Special 148 gr. wad cutters on the Dillon SD-B but switched over to 158 grain RNL. I find that the RNL is just if not more accurate, shoots to the same POA-POI as my carry ammo, and there is virtually no leading at all due to the shape of the bullet and the ease of its entry into the forcing cone. The only draw-back is that the holes are not cut as clean and neat. Still...... no problem seeing where they have hit the target up closer.

Trimming the cases to 1.145"? Why when the case length is supposed to be 1.155"? My thinking is that the HBWC and especially DBWC already reduce the case capacity quite a bit so I don't wish to seat the bullets any deeper than necessary. Are you shooting these in an automatic? Remember that the base is hollow, thus the 'HBWC', so there is more room in the case than one might realize. And they were initially set up for a Model 52 and had to fit in the magazine, but are used quite nicely in my 686-3. I prefer the BBWC seated to the top groove for revolver use, simply because they are easier handle and load into the cylinder. I only find use of DEWC or HBWC seated flush in a 1.155" OAL to be necessary when loading for auto loader pistols. Taper chimp gives consistant crimp without trimming." That's is simply my way of doing it. I am attempting to eliminate as many variables as I can to prove out that it is me making the errors and not my ammunition. How else would I know one way or the other?

If you are only having to clean your die after 500 rounds, that is outstanding. While using traditional lubed cast bullets, I have to clean more often than that.

For taper crimps (which I assume you will be using with any WC bullet) I never worry about case length. For the most uniform roll crimps, I do trim my brass to a consistent length the first time I reload them. Do I have to? Of course not. But it does provide a more consistent crimp. But then again, I uniform all my primer pockets the first time through the loading process. Again, not because I have to, but because it results in much more consistent primer seating the entire life of the brass. You don't really know how bad they are until you uniform some.

It all depends on the seating plug...But, Yes, the SDB works great with wad cutters.

I have loaded at least 500 Hornady HBWC's in my CH auto champion without cleaning and the seating depth has not changed enough to be visible without calipers.

With the Hornady dry wax, it does collect inside the die, as a matter of fact, I had trouble removing the die once due to the amount of wax build up inside the die. I had to use a mallet to remove it. This is on the SDB at the seating die. That's why I clean every 500 or so loads. Apparently, your CH auto champion does not have this issue....but then again this thread is about SDB's and how they seat/crimp wadcutters.

So true about the thread. The SDB must be a very different animal. I can't imagine not being able to remove the die. The plug maybe but not the die.
I'll go back to my rat killing.

You're right Skunkhome, it is prolly the difference between a SDB and your CH auto champion, but since switching to Bear Creek Moly-Coated Bullets, that issue has been completely eliminated.

The die was stuck inside the toolhead sleeve, glued to the wadcutter seating head/die and I could not remove it without some 'help'.

I finally downloaded the SD owner's manual and I see that it is in fact very unique. About the only thing it has in common with the old CH is there is a round knob on the end of the handle.