Are the better dies worth it??

[mioduz]

Ive reloaded at a more typical volume for years but getting my ducks in a row to do a higher volume now.  For bulk type ammo I've never used anything but Lee and Hornady dies.  They seam to have always worked for me so I had no complaints, but maybe there is more to this than I know

 

Asking if the more expensive dies such as lyman or mighty armory are worth it for non match grade loads?

 

Experience/opinions?

[Nolan]

Yes, and No. 

 

For rifle some of the more expensive dies are worth the extra cost.  For pistol, Lee, Hornady, Dillon carbide sizing dies, and standard seating and crimping dies work just fine.  My personal experience has been primarily with Lee and Dillon for something like 30 years for 100s of thousands of rounds.  I have used Hornady dies for .44 Mag, but for less than 10K rounds, no problems.

 

Nolan

[SGT_Schultz]

Since I assume we're talking about ammo for this sport (meaning handgun ammo used at relatively short distances and on generous targets) the answer is no.

 

 I only spend real money on reloading tools for precision rifle ammunition.  Everything else just gets the basics.

[Ken6PPC]

I agree with Nolan and SGT_Schultz. 

 

If you don't see any deficiency in the dies you are using, continue to use them. 

 

I think most shooters use common dies for action pistol shooting, and only start to invest in the higher quality reloading tools for high precision shooting.   

[Aggrofish]

Pistol? No way. As others have stated for rifle it's possible if you're chasing 10ths of an MOA. I do like the Redding FL bushing dies and competition seating dies for .308/6.5CM/338LM. Pistol its Dillon Carbide. 

[Sleigher]

I used various dies from Hornady, RCBS, Redding, etc. before I got my Dillon (RL550B), but at least in pistol cartridges I've switched entirely to the Dillon dies simply because they've got some features that make reloading more efficient and less of a PITA. The best example is the bullet seating die where the seating plug is held in by a retaining clip so that it can be easily removed, lead bullet waxy lube deposits cleaned out, and replaced without losing any adjustments. It's just very handy. If I were a benchrest shooter I'd certainly look for whatever dies maximized the little things those guys worry about. For my purposes, the dies I like are whatever dies are the easiest to use.

[L3324temp]

For pistol you don’t need anything more than lee. I load fir multiple pistol calibers and own nothing but lee dies for them. I also use them for bulk 223. Precision rifle is different.


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[Absocold]

2 hours ago, L3324temp said:

For pistol you don’t need anything more than lee. I load fir multiple pistol calibers and own nothing but lee dies for them. I also use them for bulk 223. Precision rifle is different.
 

 

This.

 

The only thing I'd add to Lee dies is Squirrel Daddy de-priming pins as the Lee pins are too soft. Dillon dies are fine as well. Don't care for Hornady or RCBS. If you're playing the precision rifle game then Redding competition seating dies are nice.

[4n2t0]

Are the better dies worth it??

 

NO!

Edited July 29, 2020 by 4n2t0

[IHAVEGAS]

I really like a micrometer adjustable seating die, those are worth it to me for convenience, I doubt that they seat the bullet any better than a standard die however. 

[Boomstick303]

2 hours ago, IHAVEGAS said:

I really like a micrometer adjustable seating die, those are worth it to me for convenience, I doubt that they seat the bullet any better than a standard die however. 

 

+1

I really enjoy my micrometer adjustable seating and crimping dies, both Redding Dies.  

 

Are they required?  No.  Are they a luxury and have and use?  Yes.  If you have different OAL for different ammo of the same caliber, say for Pistol and PCC, I think the adjustable setting die is the way to go.  

Edited July 29, 2020 by Boomstick303

[MikeyScuba]

The only die that ever died on me was a hornady one.  I use mostly Lee dies.  The decap die with squirrel daddy pins is the bomb.  I just happened to drive past Squirrel Daddy a few weeks back on the way to ORD to fly home.

[noylj]

This is only for dies used for straight wall cases for handguns

If I was ordering individual dies and money was not a issue:

Hornady New Dimensions sizing dies (Lee and Hornady size lower on cases than other brands and the Hornady and Redding ceramic sizes easier)

Powder-through expander dies would be powder measure specific. If all I want is an expander die, I would order one that specifically expands the case ID to 0.001" less than actual bullet diameter. This means a std. die body and a range of expander mandrels to cover jacketed and lead bullets. Brand doesn't matter.

Seating dies again would be any standard die body and a range of seating stems such that I have one "perfect" fitting bullet stem for each bullet I use.

Crimp dies would be ANY taper crimp die, except of the Lee FCD if using lead bullets. They all work great. For roll crimp, I would only use Redding Profile Crimp dies (or the Lee FCD in an emergency if I didn't have a profile crimp die and wasn't using lead bullets).

The only reason to sweat the brand is if there is a special aspect you need/want.

For instance, my fine muscle control is going away with age and I have a hard time placing small (.357" and smaller bullets) square on the case mouth, so I use Lee seating dies with the Lee bullet feeder to manually to position the bullet under the seating die. Most people don't have this issue or have needs so great that they have expensive bullet feeders so they don't even have to touch a bullet.

Bullet feeding dies are probably specific to the bullet collator being used.

You want to spend the money of a micrometer adjustable seating die so you can return the die very close to a previous setting--go for a brand that offers that option.

[Sleigher]

On 7/29/2020 at 12:48 PM, IHAVEGAS said:

I really like a micrometer adjustable seating die, those are worth it to me for convenience, I doubt that they seat the bullet any better than a standard die however. 

The idea of a micrometer adjustment really appeals to a certain part of me, but then I remember that at least in pistols I'm mostly loading cast bullets, that lube or lead debris builds up in the seater die until I notice enough to pull out the insert (Dillon die inserts for the win!) and clean it out, and that my bullet seating us thus already probably not predictable down to the thousandth of an inch or whatever. The result is that to date I don't own any micrometer adjustable bullet seaters.