9mm sizing dies

[rhd2542]

My Dillon 9mm sizing die does not take all the bulge out of the brass. Using a 650 Dillon. Is there a better / modified die being used?

[gng4life]

I would try a U-Die but it still will not take all the bulge out. Make sure you are adjusting your die to go down to the shellplate and only have a paper's width distance between the two. The only real option is to have them rolled and that's quite pricey.

[hkguy]

i had the same problem with 9mm dillon sizing die on my L-N-L. I got the Lee factory crip die and it solved all my case sizing problems. can be had for less than $20 and well worth it.

i still use the dillon sizer but the Lee factory crip die has a carbide sizing ring in it that sizes as it crips. solved my feeding issues in my glocks and kahrs when using range brass.

[Bob DuBois]

Lee makes a very well designed sizing die that's in the first station on every pistol caliber I load. It will size closer to the extractor groove than some of the other brand dies. I've spent some time trying different set ups in 9mm minor on both my 550, thirty years old and a 650 purchased this year. After trying both the U die and a standard sizer, settled on the standard Lee Carbide sizer in 9mm.

I also like the adjustment on Lee's seating die, it's easier to make a small adjustment in OAL. I did have a insert made to use heavy bullets because the stock insert wouldn't touch the nose of the bullet. Lee will do this for a small fee, if you send them the bullet your using they will match the seating insert to it. The only drawback are Lee's locking nuts, weak, suggest purchasing the one inch nuts from Dillon.

Midway USA has a sale several times a year and Lee dies are not expensive.

If you go with the U die it can be purchased from EGW or Lee direct.

[MoNsTeR]

The regular Lee sizing die is what you want

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=578115

[98sr20ve]

FCD is a little bit of a Pet Peave of mine. It just bugs me to have people say it sizes better and lower. If you take a close look at the FCD and the standard Lee Sizing die you will see they both size the same distance down. If you measure them you will see the FCD is MUCH larger (in the order of .006" bigger) then the standard Lee sizer. The standard Lee sizer is very good. It sizes low, set it up to just touch the shellplate. It will remove the bulge as well as any other standard sizer. If your FCD is making a difference after using the Lee Sizer then you have a crimp or a bullet seating issue that the FCD is ironing out. FCD does not size nearly as well as the standard Lee Sizer die.

[Bob DuBois]

I Usually don't use the Lee FCD, if I do it's backed off enough that it just a taper crimp. In 9mm I'm using a Dillon crimp die.

Edited July 13, 2011 by Bob DuBois

[Torogi]

My Dillon 9mm sizing die does not take all the bulge out of the brass. Using a 650 Dillon. Is there a better / modified die being used?

+1 on EGW U-die. get it on EGW website for $29. while at it, get their 7 count chamber checker for $20, or if your budget fits get the 50 count, makes your life easier.

[noylj]

I find that the "best" sizing dies are the Hornady New Dimension TiN dies. They size lower than others. Otherwise, the others all seem to be equally good.

I find that the FCD, used with jacketed bullets, not only crimps as good or better than other taper crimp dies, but the sizing section guarantees chambering without affecting the bullet.

With oversize lead bullets (say, 0.454" bullets in the .45 Auto), I have had some swaging so don't use it for lead bullets.

Right now, I run all my .40 and .45 cases through the FCD/Bulge Buster.

[98sr20ve]

I Usually don't use the Lee FCD, if I do it's backed off enough that it just a taper crimp. In 9mm I'm using a Dillon crimp die.

That's impossible in any caliber other then 9mm. In 9mm it makes very little difference. 9mm is a tapered case so the Carbide ring doesn't touch any bullet unless it's really fat and really seated deep.

Oversize Lead 9mm bullet seated to 1.080". Drop test in FCD

124gr MG seated at 1.130" OAL. ONLY reason it drops into the FCD is because the taper of the 9mm round. No straight wall case drops into a FCD like in this picture. They will not go in at all with out a press.

Lee Sizer.

Hornady Dies

Very little difference in how low the size and how small they size.

Edited July 14, 2011 by 98sr20ve

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I have used the Dillon, Lee and EGW sizing dies. The EGW is the smallest of the 3. I did find that the Dillon worked just fine for Production loads and Glock brass. I move the die down till it just touches the shell plate. As soon as I started shooting Open 9mm in a STI I was having some problems after 3-4 reloadings. I ended up getting a Case Pro and all the problems went away. I have also noticed that the brass is not getting shorter as much also The Case Pro fixes the rim of the case as well. If you are shooting production with lower pressure the Dillon die should work if adjusted down. For open 9mm I would get a Case Pro. Thanks, Eric

[Sarge]

I have loaded with the U-die for most of this year and have come to really like it. The rounds fit in my 9 MAJOR Open gun with room to spare.

[noylj]

EGW is a custom Lee die made for EGW and sizes a case down more than needed by anyone shooting safe pressure loads.

I "know" that my Hornady new dimension dies size lower than my Dillon, Lee, and RCBS.

I "know" that I have only had a few lead bullets swaged down with the Lee FCD and I "know" that it gives me an excellent crimp.

I also "know" that after 35 years of picking up range brass, I have only hit bulged 9x19 cases in the past 4-5 years and consider it a sign that a lot of people are NOT loading to the manufacturer's recommendations. After finding quite a few pick-up cases with that "ridge" from the bulge being shoved and ironed down during sizing, I have finally had some 9x19 cases to scrap.

[toddje]

I agree - my Hornady's size further down the case than my Lee dies. I don't own any other brands.

+1 on the Lee FCD as well. The Factory Crimp die is a winner, in my opinion, in making sure things chamber when the time comes.

I am not sure about the 9x19 bulged cases. Bulged cases sounds like too light of a recoil spring/striker spring or combo to me for 9x19 - opening up the slide too early. Could that be part of the explanation?

[kmc]

I was having problems with a bulge in my 9mm brass...and had a pile of 34 rejects (range brass) after loading ~500 rounds. I read lots of threads here and decided that I'd try a Lee U die to see if it would help. Alas, the Lee U die is too short make it to the shellplate--it doesn't help that I have a UniqueTek machined toolhead installed. The machined toolhead is slightly taller (~.060) and the nifty locking rings have a roll pin that's in the way of using a nut, even if you could get it on. Are there any longer options that work similarly to this U die (for example, is the EGW U die longer?)?

As a backup plan, I replaced my Dillon taper crimp die with a Lee FCD that *would* fit through the machined toolhead as long as I modified the nut to be thinner. Once I got this set up, I ran my pile of 34 bulged rounds through the FCD and found all but two now gauged ok (and the two were just barely oversized. I need more experimentation but it looks like this fixed the problem. I'd still like to use the U die but I don't know how to do it without giving up my machined toolhead and I'm not keen on that. If nothing else, it would mean getting everything (including the MrBulletFeeder) set up again.

[Sarge]

You put the nut under the tool head when dies are too short

[razorfish]

I ended up sticking with my Dillon sizing die in 9mm. The key to Dillon (as many others have already pointed out) is to get it as close to the shell plate as possible. This in not as easy as it sounds, but when you get it right your reject rate drops to nearly zero.

Again, I did the complete cycle... started with Dillon die, moved to EGW undersize (what a workout!) and briefly tried a Lee (had to slow down my rhythm to avoid clipping brass) . I never tried the factory crimp die as rarely load FMJ. After tens of thousands of rounds in each I finally learned that when I got the Dillon die set low it was the best of all worlds for me. I still get three to five out of 1000 that won't drop check in my Dillon gauge, but the rest are fine.

Note that my initial drop check is with the EGW 7-Hole gauge and 95% of my Dillon Die processed 9mm drop checks just fine (yes the EGW gauge is a bit tighter than the Dillon gauge). Again, the remaining 5%, with the exception of the very few, drop check just fine in my Dillon gauge.

So again, the key is lowering the Dillon die and making sure it doesn't move when tightening up the nut.

[BeerBaron]

they key to any of them is getting it as low as possible. the lee is quite good for that and personally I thought the lee sizer was better than the dillon (in 9mm only I'm talking about).

I don't see the need for the U die for minor PF shooters. it may be worthwhile for open guys.

the lee FCD is great and i've never had it swage bullets in 9mm even some pills that were 3.565. mostly I load these days 3.560 frontier CMJs but I've loaded lots of moly coated lead too.

there will always be a small part the die cannot size no matter which shell plate and die and toolhead you have. I too have gotten range brass with the very pronounced band around the bottom. i believe it's mostly from glocks etc with unsupported chambers. OR it's old brass that's been re-sized many times and kept pushing the bulge lower and lower till it's no longer able to be sized by the die. I just throw that brass out.

for the small $$ it's worth trying a lee sizer and/or a lee FCD. if you don't like it, it's not much $$ and plenty of people will buy that 9mm die of your hands.

[BeerBaron]

PS, I haven't tried the hornady ones, but they do look very nice.

[kmc]

You put the nut under the tool head when dies are too short

I was going to try that. However with the CNC machined toolhead in place, the underside of the toolhead is not even with the 650 frame. I could rig something up by building a spacer for 2/3 of the die to even the toolhead up with the frame. This seemed like quite a hassle, so I went with the FCD which would fit without hassle. That seems to have drastically improved things since I get VERY little bulged brass out the end. I may yet go back to it but I'm going to sit tight for now. After this and the primer adjustments, I've finally got the press running like a top right now. When this things works, it *really* works.

[Sarge]

Wait, Whidden toolhead? My Udie fits in mine with the nut on top. Throw away the LEE nut and use a Dillon nut. There will only be a few threads to work with but it works fine.

[kmc]

I ended up sticking with my Dillon sizing die in 9mm. The key to Dillon (as many others have already pointed out) is to get it as close to the shell plate as possible. This in not as easy as it sounds, but when you get it right your reject rate drops to nearly zero.

Again, I did the complete cycle... started with Dillon die, moved to EGW undersize (what a workout!) and briefly tried a Lee (had to slow down my rhythm to avoid clipping brass) . I never tried the factory crimp die as rarely load FMJ. After tens of thousands of rounds in each I finally learned that when I got the Dillon die set low it was the best of all worlds for me. I still get three to five out of 1000 that won't drop check in my Dillon gauge, but the rest are fine.

Note that my initial drop check is with the EGW 7-Hole gauge and 95% of my Dillon Die processed 9mm drop checks just fine (yes the EGW gauge is a bit tighter than the Dillon gauge). Again, the remaining 5%, with the exception of the very few, drop check just fine in my Dillon gauge.

So again, the key is lowering the Dillon die and making sure it doesn't move when tightening up the nut.

Are you using range brass? I have the Dillon as low as I can make it on my 650 but I was seeing ~6-8 / 100 fail to gauge. After a couple of thousand rounds, I had a pile of rejects. I put in the FCD only (still Dillon sizer) and nearly all of the bulged brass were fixed. I've checked and re-checked to ensure my Dillon sizing die is just touching the shellpate when its fully raised. Did you do something different? I'd love to get the Dillon die so it worked that well...

[kmc]

Wait, Whidden toolhead? My Udie fits in mine with the nut on top. Throw away the LEE nut and use a Dillon nut. There will only be a few threads to work with but it works fine.

Yup, Whidden. Hmmm, I wonder if could actually have the thing turned upside down? Is that possible? I need to check... Mine sticks up about 0.060 above the press--which makes the reach even further. This is roughly the same difference I see underneath the toolhead that makes it uneven with the frame. Oh and with the Widden tool die, I have a roll pin in the way and have to use the clamped nut that goes with the toolhead rather than either a Lee or Dillon nut (I usually use the Dillon nuts whenever I used the Lee dies).

[Sarge]

sounds like their "floating die" tool head. I just use the standard model

[razorfish]

KMC... I have equal success with range pickup brass sizing with my Dillon die. Again, when I first started using the Dillon die I was having similar results, but working with it I was able to get it to size correctly.

Tighten the die against the shell plate, back it off a bit less than 1/8 of a turn and carefully note the position of the die. The key is to maintain this position while tightening the nut... not an easy task. When you get it right, it works like a charm.

If it matters, I'm using a 650.