9mm Sizing Die Observations...

[alank2]

Hi everyone,

My quest for the perfect 9mm sizing die has taught me a few things. The first is that it is very important that 9mm is a tapered case. I didn't think much of 9mm being a tapered case since it is a slight taper until trying to reload for it!

Most die manufacturers of carbide dies use a carbide ring to resize brass in their sizers. The problem is that carbide is pricy and they want to use as little carbide as possible to do the job. The issue here is that you can't use a small ring to resize 9mm as it will turn the case into a straightwall case because the top of the ring will go further down the case making it all the same size even if the ring is tapered. Ideally you would want a carbide ring that is full height for the case itself, tapered just right to put the correct taper back into the brass.

I've tried the Lee sizer and the Dillon sizer. I have not reloaded on the Redding sizer, but it should arrive today so I can try it out this weekend perhaps. Redding emailed me their sizer ring height.

Dillon : 3/16" 0.188" tall

Lee : 9/32" 0.281" tall

Redding TiC: 7/16" 0.438" tall

Honestly the Lee didn't do a bad job. I probably would have stuck with this set if the seating die was a little more radiused and smoother in press operation.

Dillon dies might work great for other calibers, but the short ring height sized way to much (55-60%) of the case into a straight walled case at .376. This created a coke bottle effect where the brass behind the bullet base was shrunken by comparison. I certainly liked that the Dillon dies were higher quality than the Lee dies even though they didn't build the 9mm with enough carbide.

I am hoping the Redding Pro series dies will be ideal! Redding does charge $11 more for their 9mm sizing die because it has more carbide in it.

Thanks,

Alan

Edited May 25, 2006 by alank2

[LukeDuke]

Alan,

So glad you posted this. I've been loading .40 for a while, and I just set up a second toolhead for 9mm to load for my son's G17. I noticed the same thing: the Dillon sizing die straight-walled more than half of the case at exactly .376". My finished rounds looked like an hourglass (I guess this is what you call the 'coke bottle effect'). I was almost afraid to shoot 'em. But I did. And no problems at all. Nevertheless, I'd like to find a sizing die that does the job properly and still runs well in a progressive machine. Looking forward to your report on the Redding Pro.

--

Luke

[Vlad]

I've been using the Lee die for 9mm on my Dillon press for some time now. It sure makes the case tapered (in fact a bit more then it needs to) and it works like a charm.

[yoshidaex]

+1 on the Lee die. Though I do use a Lee "U" die.

alank2: if you need internal dimensions for the "U" die, let me know.

Edited May 25, 2006 by yoshidaex

[ctgun]

The chamber is very tight on my open G17 and the dillon dies were not cutting it. The loads that I made on the Dillon dies worked great in my Sig 226 but not in my open gun. What I ended up doing is getting an EGW undersize 9mm die and I love it. No problems with the tight chamber anymore. If you are in search of the perfect 9mm sizing die I would recomend looking at the EGW die.

[shooterbenedetto]

i have been using dillon 9mm dies for 2yrs no problem here...

[alank2]

Hi everyone,

I tried the Redding Pro series 9mm dies and reloaded just 30 or 40 rounds on them the other night, and they worked fine. Here are my thoughts on the 3 sets (at least for 9mm):

Lee: Cheapest. Sizer was good, it sized fairily well although it left black rings on the case that won't polish off. Seater was terrible, it was not radiused enough and would tend to hang up the press. I found a bunch of brass bits and stuff in it even after very little use. The FCD seemed fine. The quality was fair and they contain aluminum parts. The rings were terrible, use Dillon 1" rings from Brian instead if you buy Lee dies.

Dillon: I loved the radiusing on the seater and crimper. Their dies were certainly high quality. I didn't like the sizer in 9mm as it sizes 60% of a 9mm case into a straight wall case. While this seems to shoot fine, it produces the most coke bottle effect looking ammunition I've seen. I also did not like that to adjust the seating depth you would have to adjust the die up or down in the toolhead, it is easier when the seating die has a seperate adjustment.

Redding Pro: The sizer is titanium carbide and is the tallest of the 3. I think it does the best job of resizing a 9mm case properly. The Lee did almost as good a job however. The Redding seater and crimper are not nearly as radiused as the Dillon, but I noticed no hanging up using them and I didn't see any chopped up brass in then afterwards.

Of the 3, the Redding for me was the best overall solution. BUT, if it weren't available, I would have bought the Dillon seater and crimper along with a Lee sizer. For calibers other than the 9mm, I'd probably buy the entire Dillon set.

Thanks,

Alan

Edited June 2, 2006 by alank2