Best 9mm Sizer Die?

[blind bat]

I bought an EGW/Lee U die when I was having extraction issues with my XD and Glocked brass. At the time I was loading on an old Lyman Spartan single stage press. I think my sizing problems were partially caused by the old Lyman press. The ram had some slop in it and the design of the press actually puts the cases on a slant as they enter the die.

Since purchasing a Hornady LNL AP I haven't had any problems with rounds not dropping into my Dillon case gauge. However, the U die really binds up the progressive press. I'd like to find a die that works well in the Hornady press but still does a good job sizing Glocked 9mm brass.

I purchased a Redding Competition Seater die not too long ago and have been really impressed with it so I'm leaning towards buying the Redding ti-carbide sizer die. Any thoughts or suggestions before I drop $65 on the Redding die?

[Sarge]

In 9mm my Dillon die works 100%.

[ampleworks]

Are you lubing the brass when using the EGW/U? The difference is night & day.

Due to the range brass typically found online, half of it is Glocked and my Dillon die would never fully take it out (sometimes 15% case gauge fail per 100 rounds!!!)

[CocoBolo]

I had a U-Die, tried Dillon, and Lee the Hornady Die is the smoothest and easiest I have tried.

9 mm seems to have a lot of variance in case wall thickness and getting all rounds to drop check means you have to give it a little more crimp. I was running about <10% on fat cases but with more and more 9 mm majors out there its getting worse. Also more people started reloading 9 mm. When I pickup 9 mm I look for the once fired stuff and leave mine lay. Yeah, that newb that doesn't reload I snag his brass.

I now have 9 mm die for my CasePro and run all my brass thru the CasePro before loading this is a cure the only failure are the cases that split. I also have a 9 major now and contribute to the very poor quality range brass with lose primer pockets on the range and they may be slighly buldged from the 10.2gr of AA#7.

[blind bat]

Ampleworks - No, I haven't tried lubing my brass. I'll give that a whirl this weekend. Do you lube every case or just an occasional case? I'd prefer not to lube all my cases. It seems counter productive because the time I save using the progressive will be lost to the lubing and post load tumbling. I used to have a 10% failure-to-gauge rate on my single stage setup but my the failure rate on the LNL has been much lower.

CocoBolo - "10.2gr of AA#7" Does that require a case stretcher?

FYI, This is my current LNL setup:

Station 1 - EGW U Die

Station 2 - Powder Measure with Case Belling Insert (case bell isn't great but it works)

Station 3 - Open - I have a little LED light above the open station so I can look straight down into the case to visually inspect the powder level. A poor man's Powder Cop...

Station 4 - Redding Comp. Seater

Station 5 - LEE FCD

P.S. Ampleworks - I'm also an IT lunatic. It seems like 75% of the people I meet at matches somehow work in a high tech field.

[Rolex]

YES- lube them ALL. Use one shot lube- or Dillon.

Both are very good at doing what they where made

for. It WILL make the reloading more easy for

you.

[Sarge]

Spray some case lube in a gallon ziploc bag and drop in some brass and shake. I use pure silicone spray and just lightly wet the inside of the bag. There is no residue to get rid of and it only adds about 30 seconds to the process.

[Nuke]

When I bought my LNL for reloading 9mm, everyone told me that a U die was a must have. I picked one up used, but already had the standard Lee sizing die in place, so I stuck the U die in a drawer...It's still sitting there. With the Lee sizing and FCD dies I have never had a round fail a chamber check.

[MoNsTeR]

Always used the regular (non-U) Lee sizer and never, EVER had a round that wouldn't gauge or chamber.

[DougCarden]

I am using the Redding Ti die set. Best dies I have ever used. The Crimp die is a marvel by itself. My reject rate is almost 0 now.

I plan to buy a Redding crimp die for all the calibers I load for! You won't be sorry...

DougC

[G-ManBart]

For 9mm the U-die isn't as important, but it almost never hurts and it's way better than using a FCD at the end. FCD's attempt to hide problems, and can actually cause problems (less neck tension).

If you want the press to run smoother, put a Dillon resizing die in station #1, a Lee resizing die or U-die with no decapping pin in #2, and shift your other dies over one spot. Find a nasty, swampy area. Throw FCD in as far as you can, or alternatively, give it to your closest competitor that you don't like. I really like the Hornady crimp die I'm using for 9mm now.

If you want to lube cases, but don't want to tumble rounds, or spend much time doing it, don't bother with One Shot (which I openly think sucks) or any other normal "case lube". Get a tube of pure, unscented lanolin at the local drug store (it's normally behind the counter). Put 2-300 tumbed cases in a box. Put a dab of lanolin that's maybe half or a third the size of a pencil eraser on your hands and work it around (heat softens it). Once you have that light coat on your hands, simply run your hands through the cases in the box...grab handfuls at a time and just sort of sift the cases...no need to touch them all. Wash your hands (which will benefit from the lanolin) and load your ammo. No need to tumble the cases if you don't use too much. Lanolin is the active lubricant in more than one commercial case lubes. R,

Edited March 12, 2010 by G-ManBart

[Pezco]

I use the EGW/Lee U die and don't have any issues with the press being slowed down.

[blind bat]

Wow, I was contemplating buying one die but it looks like I'm going to end up with an entire press filled will Redding bling.

I will try lubing my brass this weekend and see how things work out. I might also try replacing my FCD with my Lyman crimp die sans seating stem. I don't think the FCD is really necessary as it never seemed to have any effect on my failure-to-gauge rate. After some experimentation I went back to crimping my brass just enough so that when I pull a bullet there is just barely a ring left on the bullet.

[G-ManBart]

Wow, I was contemplating buying one die but it looks like I'm going to end up with an entire press filled will Redding bling.

I will try lubing my brass this weekend and see how things work out. I might also try replacing my FCD with my Lyman crimp die sans seating stem. I don't think the FCD is really necessary as it never seemed to have any effect on my failure-to-gauge rate. After some experimentation I went back to crimping my brass just enough so that when I pull a bullet there is just barely a ring left on the bullet.

No knock on Redding (I truly like their stuff and have a lot of it), but I haven't heard anybody suggest that the Redding sizing die is any tighter, better etc than some of the others out there. Of all the standard dies out there, it seems many folks think the regular Lee is the tightest and gets the farthest down the case.

I'm getting zero rejects running a standard Lee resizing die, Redding Competition Seating die and a Hornady New Dimension crimp die. Based on Doug's comments I'll check out their crimp die, but all I'm doing is just removing the flare I put in to seat the bullet, and no more, so I'm not sure how much difference a better/different/fancy crimp die might make. I was actually going to try the Redding crimp die, but they were out of stock at the time....the Hornady does a nice job. R,

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I was using the EGW "U" die for 9mm but found the Dillon die worked just fine for 9mm. I have loaded over 25,000 rounds total so far this way in major and minor and have no problems at all. I am using the Redding Comp seater and Dillon crimp die. I am loading on a Dillon RL1050 though I don't lube the cases but use car wax in the tumbler as polish. Thanks, Eric

[DougCarden]

Sorry about the quick post earlier. I have used RCBS, Lee regular and undersized dies, and the Dillon set for 9x19. The TI set from Redding is the best complete set I have used. The resized brass fits both ways into the case gauges I have, unless the case rim is buggered up. The Redding seater is so much better than the Dillon unit I normallly use that I dont have any bulges or cockeyed bullets anymore, period. I still use the LFCD for lead bullets, but I use the Redding crimp for jacketed, and have ordered crimp dies for my other calibers. They are pricey, but once you use them you understand you can put a price on quality, and you also get what you pay for someimes. This is one of those times....LOL.....I have no affiliation with Redding other than being a satisfied and loyal customer.

DougC

[G-ManBart]

I still use the LFCD for lead bullets, but I use the Redding crimp for jacketed, and have ordered crimp dies for my other calibers. They are pricey, but once you use them you understand you can put a price on quality, and you also get what you pay for someimes. This is one of those times....LOL.....I have no affiliation with Redding other than being a satisfied and loyal customer.

DougC

Hey Doug,

What does the Redding crimp die do differently, or how does it do it differently? I won't buy anything but their competition seating dies, use one once and it's a no-brainer, and I use their neck sizing dies and a few others for rifle, but haven't handled one of their pistol crimp dies. I'm always interested in a better mousetrap, just hadn't heard anyone mention these before. R,

[blind bat]

Hey Guys - I picked up a tube of lanolin this weekend from CVS. It was in the baby aisle, bottom shelf just before the formula. The box was labeled something like, "For Breastfeeding Mothers. Soothes sore nipples." That made me chuckle.

What a difference a little lube makes. (Go ahead, insert jokes here.) The press was super smooth. The lanolin took enough stress off the press that I needed to readjust my seating die slightly to get the correct OAL. I think I used too much because there the brass was tacky after it came off the press. I wiped them all down before gauging. I'll give the lanolin another shot before I try the silicon.

Doug - I'm also interested in hearing more about the Redding Crimp die. I barely crimp 9mm. I set me die so after pulling a round apart there is just barely a visible ring left on the bullet. I can slam my rounds on my workbench and not alter the OAL so I figure they are good to go... But I'm still a noob so what do I know?

Edited March 15, 2010 by blind bat

[DougCarden]

From my untrained eye, When I look at the crimp from the Redding die it is smooth and equal. When I look at the same crimp from the Dillon die, which mikes out the same with the dial calipers, it is not as smooth and uniform. Likewise with the Lee FCD.

I used the die set when I worked up my 50yd Bianchi load, and the ammo is a tack driver in my gun. The rounds drop right in and out of the case gauge right out of the press. I don't have to check the ammo, but of course I do. This is with roll sized brass and mixed range brass of unknown origin and how many times fired.

When I was taking a break at the practice range and talking to Don Golembeski he extolled the virtues of Redding dies and I agreed with him as I was using them.

I like them, and they work for me. If you are happy with what you are using go for it. I am always trying to do things a little better, and for me I think the high craftsmanship in these dies are worth the extra money. I use Redding Dies for .223, 308, and 9mm, and will be adding more pistol calibers to the fold when I can afford to.

DougC

[Jman]

Not using U's or standard Lee dies on my LNL. The Dillon sizer works fine with 9mm. They do smooth up the operation some. HATE the annoying click noise the decapping pin makes.

Jim

[G-ManBart]

What a difference a little lube makes. (Go ahead, insert jokes here.) The press was super smooth. The lanolin took enough stress off the press that I needed to readjust my sizing die slightly to get the correct OAL. I think I used too much because there the brass was tacky after it came off the press. I wiped them all down before gauging. I'll give the lanolin another shot before I try the silicon.

Yeah, the first time I tried lanolin I probably used 30% too much...most people seem to do that. It really doesn't take much at all, and a tube should last years. Within a try or two I got it to where the press ran smoother and there wasn't anything to wipe off the cases. The big thing is you don't have to touch every case to get the benefits. R,