Are these Dillon Rifle Carbide or Steel Dies?

[Orion1]

The instructions show a "carbide expander ball" for this Dillon 223 die set, does this make it a carbide or steel set? Looks like Dillon makes either carbide and steel rifle sets. I'm a pistol shooter so not sure here. Thanks!

 

 

Also, the label on the box just says, "Progressive Die Set", "223 Remington". 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Orion1

[Farmer]

Both, to my knowledge no one makes a full carbide die set for bottle neck rifle cases. You will still have to lube the outside of your cases to size. The only item that is carbide is the inside neck expander. This makes withdrawing the case out of the die and expanding the neck easier and also helps prevent shoulder pull back. 

[pmiya]

Look at the bottom of the sizer die.  If it's a carbide die you will see the carbide insert.  Dillon makes carbide 223 and 308 dies.  They still require lubing the cases.

Edited January 3, 2023 by pmiya
Added Photo

[HesedTech]

2 hours ago, Orion1 said:

The instructions show a "carbide expander ball" for this Dillon 223 die set, does this make it a carbide or steel set?

Official description of a Dillon rifle carbide die set:

"

Description

DILLON CARBIDE .223 REM 3 DIE SET

Dillon Carbide 3 Die Rifle Sets include a sizing/ depriming die, a bullet seating die and a taper crimp die. The .223 and .308 carbide die sets have a full-length carbide sizing die. Lubrication is still required, but the increased scratch resistance and die longevity of carbide are of great benefit to these groups of users.

The depriming assembly includes a carbide expander ball for “squeak-free,” effortless neck expansion. This expander ball is located in the middle of the depriming stem to take advantage of superior initial leverage for easier extraction."https://www.titanreloading.com/product/dillon-carbide-223-rem-3-die-set/

 

"For high volume users, such as commercial reloaders, law enforcement agencies, and high power or service rifle competitors, we also offer .223 and .308 die sets with a full-length carbide sizing die. Lubrication is still required, but the increased scratch resistance and die longevity of carbide are of great benefit to these groups of users.https://www.dillonprecision.com/s000072

 

So the answer is... the die set box should be labeled "carbide die set" and all Dillon expander balls are carbide.

"The depriming assembly includes a carbide expander ball for "squeak-free", effortless, neck expansion."

https://www.dillonprecision.com/s000093

 

Dillon does say we can use the expander ball to "remove stuck cases," I have to do some research on this; yes I've had a stuck 223 case because of too little lube. 

[dillon]

DIllon makes carbide size dies in 223, 308, 30-06, 300 Blackout.  Case lube is still mandatory. The primary reason for them is die longevity. A carbide bottleneck size die is typically good for 900,000+ cases before wear becomes an issue. The cases also size with noticeably less effort, as the interiors are polished to a higher degree than steel die interiors. It used to be these were primarily sold to commercial loaders, but nowadays many more shooters are reloading in large quantities. 

[Orion1]

8 hours ago, dillon said:

DIllon makes carbide size dies in 223, 308, 30-06, 300 Blackout.  Case lube is still mandatory. The primary reason for them is die longevity. A carbide bottleneck size die is typically good for 900,000+ cases before wear becomes an issue. The cases also size with noticeably less effort, as the interiors are polished to a higher degree than steel die interiors. It used to be these were primarily sold to commercial loaders, but nowadays many more shooters are reloading in large quantities. 

 

So is this kit Dillon 10096 or 10839? Dillon has this listed differently under carbide rifle die set (10096) and steel rifle die set (10839).

[Farmer]

On 1/2/2023 at 1:36 PM, pmiya said:

Look at the bottom of the sizer die.  If it's a carbide die you will see the carbide insert.  Dillon makes carbide 223 and 308 dies.  They still require lubing the cases.

Ok, is that insert just a ring at the bottom or is it the full length and the shape of the brass? 

[HesedTech]

13 minutes ago, Farmer said:

Ok, is that insert just a ring at the bottom or is it the full length and the shape of the brass? 

Didn’t you read the quote from the Dillon description I posted? It says the carbide rifle dies are “full length.” Since my Dillon 223 die is steel I can’t confirm this, but if the description is wrong it’s on Dillon.

[Farmer]

15 minutes ago, HesedTech said:

Didn’t you read the quote from the Dillon description I posted? It says the carbide rifle dies are “full length.” Since my Dillon 223 die is steel I can’t confirm this, but if the description is wrong it’s on Dillon.

You know, when I first read this string your post wasn’t here. It was just a large blank area with nothing in it. Now I see your reply and the one from Dillon. Sorry for the disruption. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Farmer

[HesedTech]

11 hours ago, Farmer said:

It was just a large blank area with nothing in it.

Not unusual, represents what I'm often thinking about. 

I didn't mean to insult either, sometimes I get a bit frustrated that people will ask questions before they do a search on the forum. Quite often the question has been answered multiple times; how to determine OAL length for example.

[Farmer]

3 hours ago, HesedTech said:

Not unusual, represents what I'm often thinking about. 

I didn't mean to insult either, sometimes I get a bit frustrated that people will ask questions before they do a search on the forum. Quite often the question has been answered multiple times; how to determine OAL length for example.

No problem, Fully understand the frustration. 
I didn’t think they could grind a carbide insert that size and still make it somewhat affordable. That’s a large chunk of carbide!

[dillon]

Yes, it is a two piece carbide insert set. One piece for the neck and shoulder, the other for the body. 

[Farmer]

6 hours ago, dillon said:

Yes, it is a two piece carbide insert set. One piece for the neck and shoulder, the other for the body. 

Thank you for that information. 

[ExStreetWalker]

On 1/2/2023 at 1:57 PM, Farmer said:

Both, to my knowledge no one makes a full carbide die set for bottle neck rifle cases. You will still have to lube the outside of your cases to size. The only item that is carbide is the inside neck expander. This makes withdrawing the case out of the die and expanding the neck easier and also helps prevent shoulder pull back. 

 

You couldn't even be bothered to check.