Reloading .40 on a dillon - problem fixed

[tigerfan_9]

Like many others who reload .40 on a dillon with dillon dies, i was having the battle of the case bulge. the dillon dies (in .40) just don't size far enough down the case to get the loaded rounds to case gauge properly.

many on here have bought lee dies or the EGW die to fix the problem but i took some advice from a few on here and "fixed" the dillon die before shelling out more cash. at my company i have access to precision metal working equipment and more importantly, someone who knows how to use it. it was an added bonus that the guy who can use the equipment is a big reloader / gun guy.

using a lathe he took off 0.025" total (0.022" of steel and 0.003" of carbide). this has fixed the problem as now all rounds case gauge (the occasional one is lightly snug but most drop in) while before the fix is seemed like almost half would not go in the gauge. (he used a diamond grinder to take off carbide)

the other post involving this fix were guys just grinding off a couple hundredths of steel off of the bottom and it seemed to work for them. they were using bench grinders so taking off carbide was not an option without destroying the die.

just wanted to share my experience with the board so others may use this fix instead of spending additional money on a lee or EGW. hell at worst if you mess up the die then you can get one of the others.

[CocoBolo]

Like many others who reload .40 on a dillon with dillon dies, i was having the battle of the case bulge. the dillon dies (in .40) just don't size far enough down the case to get the loaded rounds to case gauge properly.

many on here have bought lee dies or the EGW die to fix the problem but i took some advice from a few on here and "fixed" the dillon die before shelling out more cash. at my company i have access to precision metal working equipment and more importantly, someone who knows how to use it. it was an added bonus that the guy who can use the equipment is a big reloader / gun guy.

using a lathe he took off 0.025" total (0.022" of steel and 0.003" of carbide). this has fixed the problem as now all rounds case gauge (the occasional one is lightly snug but most drop in) while before the fix is seemed like almost half would not go in the gauge. (he used a diamond grinder to take off carbide)

the other post involving this fix were guys just grinding off a couple hundredths of steel off of the bottom and it seemed to work for them. they were using bench grinders so taking off carbide was not an option without destroying the die.

just wanted to share my experience with the board so others may use this fix instead of spending additional money on a lee or EGW. hell at worst if you mess up the die then you can get one of the others.

Well you would think that Dillion and maybe some other Die makers would wake up and produce them like this so you would not have to cut it down.

[earlbob]

Well you would think that Dillion and maybe some other Die makers would wake up and produce them like this so you would not have to cut it down.

Amen to that. Perhaps they know something we don't though or its the money, guns and lawyers messing with them and these new fangled idea's...

Edited March 31, 2010 by earlbob

[calishootr]

the other way is to take it offthe shellplate, and to sink the shellplate down tight where the cases barely cycle thru

I did the die cut, took so much off, the 10th round i resized pulled the carbide ring out ofthe die!!!! used some nasty strong threadlocker to put it back, 20+ yrs later its still going strong

the flare onthe dillon dies is a nice addition, tho now with all the brass out there being 'glocked' or shot a few dozen times and being bulged, it would be nicefor a die that sizes ALL the way tothe bottom

[tigerfan_9]

Well you would think that Dillion and maybe some other Die makers would wake up and produce them like this so you would not have to cut it down.

Amen to that. Perhaps they know something we don't though or its the money, guns and lawyers messing with them and these new fangled idea's...

Well other die makers do this just not Dillon. Like I said the usual fix is to spend more moeny to replace the resizing die with a lee or egw die to size lower on the case. Dillon has stell bellow the carbide and a wider bevel than the rest. We emailled Dillon about it and I doubt we were the first considering the number of people on here who use Dillon and have had the same issue. It doesn't seem to be as big of a problem in other calibers so it seems like they would remodel the 40 die because of this.

Anyway, for those using Dillon for 40, here is a possible fix without having to shell out more money. Mabe one day Dillon will fix it for future loaders.

[tigerfan_9]

the other way is to take it offthe shellplate, and to sink the shellplate down tight where the cases barely cycle thru

I did the die cut, took so much off, the 10th round i resized pulled the carbide ring out ofthe die!!!! used some nasty strong threadlocker to put it back, 20+ yrs later its still going strong

the flare onthe dillon dies is a nice addition, tho now with all the brass out there being 'glocked' or shot a few dozen times and being bulged, it would be nicefor a die that sizes ALL the way tothe bottom

if you do it off the shell plate then you have to take care and take off the exact amount from all 4 slots so you have consistent reloads.

[TonyT]

I use Dillon dies in 9mm, 38 Special, and 45 ACP. For 40 S&W I purchased the standard Lee carbide die set and it has taken care of glocked brass without any problems. I prefer the Dillon dies with their falre and especially if one loads lead bullets - one car readilly remove the seating insert from the die, clean it and reassemble without messing up the die adjustments. In 40 S&W I only use either plated or jacketed bullets so the Lee seater was not a problem. Since there is less flare on the carbide insert of the Lee die one has to be a bit more careful insesrting the case into the sizing die.

[Fire_Medic]

I use Dillon dies in 9mm, 38 Special, and 45 ACP. For 40 S&W I purchased the standard Lee carbide die set and it has taken care of glocked brass without any problems. I prefer the Dillon dies with their falre and especially if one loads lead bullets - one car readilly remove the seating insert from the die, clean it and reassemble without messing up the die adjustments. In 40 S&W I only use either plated or jacketed bullets so the Lee seater was not a problem. Since there is less flare on the carbide insert of the Lee die one has to be a bit more careful insesrting the case into the sizing die.

I bought the Redding T/C Pro Series Dies for 40SW/10mm and have never had another sizing issues in station 1. The press runs a lot smoother with these dies also. An old timer I chat with about reloading recommended these dies and it's been money well spent.

Just my $0.02

[LPatterson]

Well you would think that Dillion and maybe some other Die makers would wake up and produce them like this so you would not have to cut it down.

Amen to that. Perhaps they know something we don't though or its the money, guns and lawyers messing with them and these new fangled idea's...

Dillon is making his dies the way he does because he envisioned a progressive system where the reloader did not add brass except by a hopper. Other companies started out as a single stage system that required a die change for every operation. Except for the SDB there is nothing that says you have to use Dillon dies in a Dillon press but ease of progressive operation is a big reason to use them.

[kaleva tom]

New guy here. Could some one explain to me what's going on here? I just starting to reload .40 on a 550B, and I don't understand what this case bulge issue is, but I think I need to know!

[Merlin Orr]

A lot of handguns have a "loose" chamber - usually cut extra large at the rear section to allow your ammo to feed easier. The cut that allows easier feeding also allows the brass to "swell" in the unsupported area. When you reload the brass that has been shot in such a chamber in a tight chambered gun it is tight at the rear portion of the brass and will not fully seat in your tight chambered gun causing a stoppage. A normal sizing die sometimes has trouble with this brass as it does not size far enough down toward the rim of the brass to fully remove the bulge caused by the brass being fired in an unsupported chamber. You can buy a special die that resizes the brass down further and tighter- or grind down a regular die and remove the dies lower radius (which allows it to go over the brass easier due to a little larger opening at the bottom) or use a roll sizer or other machine to remover the bulge prior to reloading.

[kaleva tom]

A lot of handguns have a "loose" chamber - usually cut extra large at the rear section to allow your ammo to feed easier. The cut that allows easier feeding also allows the brass to "swell" in the unsupported area. When you reload the brass that has been shot in such a chamber in a tight chambered gun it is tight at the rear portion of the brass and will not fully seat in your tight chambered gun causing a stoppage. A normal sizing die sometimes has trouble with this brass as it does not size far enough down toward the rim of the brass to fully remove the bulge caused by the brass being fired in an unsupported chamber. You can buy a special die that resizes the brass down further and tighter- or grind down a regular die and remove the dies lower radius (which allows it to go over the brass easier due to a little larger opening at the bottom) or use a roll sizer or other machine to remover the bulge prior to reloading.

Got it! I figured that's what the issue was. I ran cross this the other day. I just wanted to be sure, and I will be taking care of this. Thanks!

[jrb06]

Using the Lee dies for 40 and have very few pieces (1 in 700-800) that will not case gauge and the ones that dont case gauge are so very close that they will barrel gauge in my XD. I dont even try them in my Schuman equipped STI

[rsgirdner]

Okay, I need to start this thread again. I have recently purchased a Springfield XDM 40, and a FN Browning Hi Power 40. I will only be reloading my own brass shot with these two guns. Will I have the brass bulge problem using these two guns?

[sublime195]

Should be no problem in the xdm. Not sure about the browning though. You can field strip the firearm and drop a round in the barrel to confirm.

[noylj]

On my Super 1050 I use a Hornady New Dimension Titanium Nitride sizing die and it gets within a 0.05" of the extractor groove. The only problem I have had is that a case with a bulge will sometimes form a "sliver" of raised brass in a curve that looks like it was the unsupported part of the case from a plastic gun. I throw those away.

[hrt4me]

On my Super 1050 I use a Hornady New Dimension Titanium Nitride sizing die and it gets within a 0.05" of the extractor groove. The only problem I have had is that a case with a bulge will sometimes form a "sliver" of raised brass in a curve that looks like it was the unsupported part of the case from a plastic gun. I throw those away.

I also use Hornady New Dimension TiN dies with similar results.

[wlmouret]

Ok so i have a dillon case gage al all my rounds are good to go in it. Does that mean they will fit in any chamber out there or are there chambers that are tighter than the case gage?

[Amerflyer48]

Ok so i have a dillon case gage al all my rounds are good to go in it. Does that mean they will fit in any chamber out there or are there chambers that are tighter than the case gage?

best gauge is your chamber,...pull the barrel and use it ,..clean barrel and re install and your worries all go away...

John

[Shadowrider]

Another Hornady New Dimension TiN die user here. Only I run them through a Redding GRx die first. I don't even bother with gaging or chamber checking anymore. The GRx die is the way to go if you have any question at all. Just get the carbide one, it's 'da bomb!

[wlmouret]

Ok so i have a dillon case gage al all my rounds are good to go in it. Does that mean they will fit in any chamber out there or are there chambers that are tighter than the case gage?

best gauge is your chamber,...pull the barrel and use it ,..clean barrel and re install and your worries all go away...

John

THX

[JayJayJay]

So what your telling me is not to get the Dillion SD because the Dillion dies do not work? So i should get the 550 and get another brand of dies and if i do what ones?

[JayJayJay]

So what your telling me is not to get the Dillion SD because the Dillion dies do not work? So i should get the 550 and get another brand of dies and if i do what ones?

I am getting a dillion in the next few weeks and will only be reloading .40. After reading this I take it the Dillion Dies do not work correctly. So you guys suggest I get a differant Die and since the Dillion SD does not take other Dies I have no choice but to get the 550?????????? If I do get the 550 than what Die brand do I get???????????????

[lcs]

So what your telling me is not to get the Dillion SD because the Dillion dies do not work? So i should get the 550 and get another brand of dies and if i do what ones?

There are four Dillon reloading machines. There are more positive than negatives about Dillon reloading presses The SDB is an entry level press good for most reloading.

You must use Dillon dies on an SDB. IMO, negative for the SDB. Dillon dies do not do well with 40 brass if the brass has a bulge at the base. 550/650 allow the user to use a variety of dies.

[windscreen]

To Amerflyer48, a proper case gauge should be cut to a SAAMI minimum chamber. So, if the round fits the gauge, it should fit any to spec chamber. There may be undersize chambers out there, but I don't know why anyone would purposely want it.

When I used to reload dry, I'd get an occasional round that wouldn't fit in the case gauge. Those rounds always had a lip, or even a burr where the carbide sizer stopped. This is on a 650 w/ Dillon .40 carbide sizer.

Since I switched to the following technique, I've had 100% out of 15,000+ pass the case gauge:

-pre-size with Dillon carbide in station 1 (decapper removed), Lee FCD (crimp stem removed) in station 4. Cases lubed w/ Hornady one-shot. The Lee die sizes down farther than the Dillon, but doesn't have much lead-in radius, so it needs shells already located on the shell plate. As an added plus, the brass doesn't get worked as hard as with a U-die. It is amazing how much less force it takes to size Glocked brass when lubed.

-tumble off lube for 20 mins in corn cob

-reload with primary toolhead that has a Dillon carbide sizer w/ decapper in station 1. This gets the case properly located on the shell plate and punches out any cob stuck in the flash hole.

Thanks to the case feeder, you can really pound out the pre-sizing fast. Considerably faster than pushing them thru one by one on a single stage w/ a G-Rx die. I think I'd scream if I had to do that.

-Steve