Dies for New 550B

[Graham Smith]

I am currently using a Lee Loadmaster for .40S&W and a Lee 1000 for 9mm. Both work OK most of the time, but it seems that there are just too many little places where things can go wrong if you are not very careful (and sometimes even if you are being careful, the gremlins will attack, as they did the other evening). As the volume of my shooting increases, these problem areas are becoming more than a bit annoying, so, this fall I'm going to get a 550B (from Brian) for the .40S&W.

I currently have a EGW "U" resizing die and a set of Lee carbide dies. I have the U die setup on a separate single stage press and I run the brass through that, inspecting as I go and rejecting anything that doesn't look or feel good to me. Works well and the extra work is done on rainy weekends - you can clean, deprime, and size a whole lot of brass on a rainy weekend.

Here is the question... I've seen a lot of people recommend a different mfgr for each die, but I would prefer to just use a complete set from one. Is there any reason why I should order a set of Dillon dies with the press or just use the Lee dies I have now?

[buddy_fuentes]

The dies from Lee are good.....there is no need to change. I have a good many sets of Dillon dies and some Lee, RCBS, and Lyman. Some may have a better feature than others, but are not any better than the others. Once I have them "dialed in" there is really no need to change them.

I also use the EWG undersized die in a single stage press.

Good Luck, Buddy

[lcs]

IMHO, the LEE dies + the Undersize in 40 is great.

[revchuck]

I use the standard Lee dies in both calibers with no problems. All my guns in 9x19 and .40 have factory barrels, so I don't need the U die.

Edited August 22, 2008 by revchuck