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Post by chris623 on Jun 1, 2017 17:58:53 GMT -5
Gettin' ready to start casting and reloading for the 9mm HP. I use a Dillon 550B for my pistol rounds. In the past, when money was "flowing" at my house, I'd just call Dillon and order their dies and a dedicated die plate. Pretty pricey to do it that way. So what brand reloading dies would you suggest that are good precision dies?
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Post by CXM on Jun 2, 2017 7:18:53 GMT -5
My 550b works fine with any standard thread die.
If I am not going to use Dillon dies (which I don't for cartridges I don't plan to load in much volume) I like Redding and Lyman carbide dies very well... RCBS are good too but not quite so nicely finished... they do work well and they have good customer support as well as does Redding... I have not used Lyman customer support so I can't comment on that, but they have been around over 100 years so they must at least have good service.
For small volume cartridge loading, I keep a RCBS rock chucker single stage press... for 50-100 rounds this is easier than getting all set up on the Dillon 550B... but it is certainly possible to run small amounts of ammo on the Dillon. My Dillon has held up very well indeed... I got it in 1995 and I must have put close to 100,000 rounds through it and it still works well... any part that failed was replaced at no cost by Dillon...
Anyway, any of the major three brands I listed will give good service... I tried Lee once, and I was very disappointed... though at the price I don't have much to complain about... the dies work... but they are designed for very light use... and their strange die system is an annoyance, being not like other dies... but I suppose if you didn't use anything else you would get used to it.
Hope that helps....
CHuck
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Post by chris623 on Jun 2, 2017 11:44:10 GMT -5
The only reason I bought the Dillon was for pistol cartridges. When I sit down to load, I don't load small quantities, preferring to load as many rounds as I have bullets for. So I'm typically loading 500 or so rounds...........that is after I've found the load I like. If I decide not to use the Dillon dies, I'm probably only going to save $20-50, so even though I'm a bona-fied cheapskate, I'll probably just dig a little deeper in my pockets and stay with Dillon.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments.
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Post by CXM on Jun 2, 2017 12:44:08 GMT -5
There is no question I prefer Dillon dies over the others for use on a Dillon 550b press...
I too tend to be a bit 'thrifty' but like to buy good quality equipment... my grandfather told me only rich people can afford to buy cheap goods... and he was certainly right... but for small volume stuff (and for stuff Dillon does not make dies for) I find the name brand dies work fine... if not quite as elegantly as the Dillon would.
When I load on the 550b I run big batches... it has the plus of allowing me to buy components in bulk... and I also like to keep substantial quantities of components on hand in anticipation of future shortages or huge price increases.
Regards
Chuck
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Post by chris623 on Jun 14, 2017 13:21:36 GMT -5
I finally broke down and purchased all the stuff I needed to convert the 500 to 9mm from Dillon. Dare not tell the little woman of the house!  She told a friend of hers she knew before she married me I was sex-crazed..............but had no idea I was so "obsessed" with firearms!  A fellow from Cast Boolits sent me some samples of the Lyman #356402 bullet, so I'll be ready when the dies and stuff arrives. |
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Post by gt40doc on Jun 14, 2017 14:56:01 GMT -5
I think that you made a good choice in getting Dillon dies for your new caliber. Other dies will certainly work. I own dies from many different manufacturers, and they all work good. I was not pleased with the one set of Lee dies that I purchased for 30 Luger loading. The sizing die looked like it was finished inside with a rat-tailed file. RCBS dies replaced them, and work just fine for me.
The thing about the Dillon dies for use in a progressive loader, is that the mouth of the dies have a slight radius to help feed the case mouth into the dies. I have added this radius to other brands of sizer dies when used in my 650. It keeps things running smoothly.
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Post by che on Jun 19, 2017 10:07:41 GMT -5
For small volume cartridge loading, I keep a RCBS rock chucker single stage press... for 50-100 rounds this is easier than getting all set up on the Dillon 550B... but it is certainly possible to run small amounts of ammo on the Dillon. My Dillon has held up very well indeed... I got it in 1995 and I must have put close to 100,000 rounds through it and it still works well... any part that failed was replaced at no cost by Dillon... I am with Chuck. I am semi-retired so I don't need ammo like I used too. On my Rockchucker I usually make 80 to 150 rounds at a time now. But I did make 500 44 Specials on it the other day. |
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She told a friend of hers she knew before she married me I was sex-crazed..............but had no idea I was so "obsessed" with firearms! 
A fellow from Cast Boolits sent me some samples of the Lyman #356402 bullet, so I'll be ready when the dies and stuff arrives.
