Dillon depriming die issue

[cpa5oh]

I've got a Dillon 550B...I use Lee dies for 9mm and .45acp. I have a .40 gun and wanted to start reloading for it a little bit so I bought some .40 dies - got Dillon dies.

There's alot of things that are awesome about these dies - like the fact that you can take the insides out of them without removing them from the toolhead. But the problem I'm having is that the depriming die isn't always depriming...there's a spring mechanism inside of the die, and I hear snap (which I understand is normal,) but 30 out of 200 upstrokes of the ram, the spent primer didn't come out of the brass.

Anybody have the same issue? Am I doing something wrong/is there a way to fix this?

[Braxton1]

You're not doing anything wrong. It's a known issue with Dillon dies.

Dillon decapping pins are too square on the ends. The used primer can stick to it easily and is drawn back up into the primer pocket.

The solution is to chuck the pin in the die and radius the end of the pin. Don't "sharpen" it; just round it off a bit.

[cpa5oh]

Thank you! I'll try that tomorrow.

[Jonathan Taliani]

I went a different route that has worked better than a radiused Dillon pin for me. Following another member's advice, I switched to using Lyman decapping pins in my Dillon dies. Simply take a Dillon pin (broken is perfect if you have one) and grind off the pin leaving only the barrel that holds it in place. Then just drop a Lyman pin into the collar followed by the Dillon barrel and screw it on as normal. In ~20k rounds, I can only recall 1-2 not decapping since making the switch.

[cpa5oh]

To bring this thread full circle - I followed the recommendations here to radius the tip of the decapping pin (which was also what Dillon recommended via email.) I ended up using a file to radius the end of the pin - took me two tries: first one I radiused it at a 45 degree angle and that didn't help...second time I radiused it at much more than a 45 degree angle, which appears to have worked.

[RePete]

My solution is to use Lyman decapping pins and top part of a broken Dillon pin on top.

The lyman pin is smaller.

Edited August 21, 2012 by RePete

[Bob DuBois]

Think you would enjoy the Lee die set in 40S@W also.

[cpa5oh]

Not sure if I'm going to be happier with these Dillon dies than I am with my Lee dies in other calibers or not...

The Dillon dies have the ability to be taken apart without removing the die from the toolhead, which would come in handy for cleaning (I load primarily lead bullets.)

On the other hand, the Dillon dies cost $80 with the powder die (to Lee's $45) and the Lee set comes with their "factory crimp die," which I *think* is better for final case resizing than the Dillon crimp die (which I *think* literally just crimps the case neck to the bullet rather than resize the whole case.) As I don't like to sit there and chamber check my rounds, this might end up being a problem. Guess I'll chamber check for a while until I get comfortable that I'm not having issues...

[TonyT]

I prefer Dillon dies when loading lead bullets due to the ease of cleaning the seating stem without disturbing die alignment. I purchased a Lee carbide set in 40 S&W and it has worked well for me.

[wes777]

Cleaning dies is a crutch.

:surprise: