Dillon Steel vs Carbide Bottleneck Dies

[SnipTheDog]

How much of a difference is it from a Dillon 308 steel die set vs a Dillon 308 carbide die set?  I could see that the carbide dies would last longer with a better wear characteristics.  For pistol calibers, I only want to use the carbide dies, but for rifle in either 223 or 308, does it really matter all that much especially with the lower levels of use?

[Tom Freeman]

I use carbide 223 and 308 dies just so I dont have to use so much lube and it takes a lot less effort to pull the handle.  After loading a bunch of ammo my shoulder isnt sore anymore and the seating depths is much more consistent.

 

I tried a Dillon 223 Carbide trim die and didnt like it.  I have the carbide 308 trim die and its awesome.

[DJRyan13]

I have the 308 carbide trim and it’s great... But I can’t get the 30-06 to size right. It’s already had a trip to Dillon with no help. “Works fine for us...” Sigh...

[chevrofreak]

The full length 223 carbide die takes about as much force to size a lubed case as it does to size an unlubed 9mm case.   I was blown away by that. 

[hmg1]

As others have stated, less effort to use, and if a case is a little shy on lube, you will not have a stuck case as you would with a steel die.  Well worth the extra $$.

[jaypap]

I've been looking for the Dillon .223 Carbide Dies for a while, can't find them anywhere.

 

If anyone knows where they are in stock let me know?

[Sigarmsp226]

The Dillon 223 Carbide Dies are on backorder at Dillon Precision and every Dillon distributor that I have checked with, and that has been well over 20..... Here is what I learned on my last call to Dillon Precision on this topic....The Dillon rep was very nice and knew his stuff.....Told me that the dies are made in Israel and the current supplier has temporarily closed due to covid....and that once they re-open they have a sizable backlog but the supplier does have two additional machines on order to help support the increased demand.  Currently the supplier only has one machine dedicated to making these Dillon carbide dies....He went on to say that they will catch up but for now they have removed this specific item from their website for ordering due to this situation....

 

The Dillon rep went on to say that they will accept a phone order but will make it clear that the order for their 223 carbide die set will be managed as a separate one line order item (cannot be combined with any other Dillon items) that will be shipped when die sets arrive based on date of orders received and your cc will not be billed until your order ships....Again this Dillon rep was very very professional, very open related to the situation, and also said in his opinion their carbide rifle dies were worth the price....Hopefully this helps....Mark

Edited May 13, 2020 by Sigarmsp226

[99mpower]

just use a good lubrication, and you can use either.

[SnipTheDog]

On 5/13/2020 at 3:56 PM, Sigarmsp226 said:

The Dillon 223 Carbide Dies are on backorder at Dillon Precision and every Dillon distributor that I have checked with, and that has been well over 20..... Here is what I learned on my last call to Dillon Precision on this topic....The Dillon rep was very nice and knew his stuff.....Told me that the dies are made in Israel and the current supplier has temporarily closed due to covid....and that once they re-open they have a sizable backlog but the supplier does have two additional machines on order to help support the increased demand.  Currently the supplier only has one machine dedicated to making these Dillon carbide dies....He went on to say that they will catch up but for now they have removed this specific item from their website for ordering due to this situation....

 

The Dillon rep went on to say that they will accept a phone order but will make it clear that the order for their 223 carbide die set will be managed as a separate one line order item (cannot be combined with any other Dillon items) that will be shipped when die sets arrive based on date of orders received and your cc will not be billed until your order ships....Again this Dillon rep was very very professional, very open related to the situation, and also said in his opinion their carbide rifle dies were worth the price....Hopefully this helps....Mark

 

This makes sense.  I looked on the Dillon website for 308 carbide dies, but they only had the 30 carbine and 30-06 carbide dies listed.  In their catalog, they had a much longer list of carbide dies.  I originally ordered the steel 308 dies, but Dillon was good enough to swap out the order once I learned that I could back order the 308 carbide and wait until they shipped.  Once shipped, they would bill my credit card.

[cool]

 

''I've been looking for the Dillon .223 Carbide Dies for a while, can't find them anywhere.

 

If anyone knows where they are in stock let me know?''

 

https://www.armurerie-gilles.com/@FR-FR/jeux-d-outils_lc56.html