9mm dies

[saibot]

Hi experts!

Newb question. A friend of mine said he doesn't shoot much anymore and said I could have his Lee reloading kit. He said I should start off with a singe stage to learn and then a progressive to get higher production. He also said I'd need to get carbide dies from my 9x19 luger to use it. I went to Lee's website and they have 3 or 4 piece die sets and I don't know which to get. And if I want to move to a Dillon 650, for example, could I use the same dies? Are they all the same? If so should I get the Lee's?

I also saw a blurb on http://www.precisionbullets.com/ about not using Lee dies:

RELOADING TIPS

Make sure to have a good bell on the case so not to shave off the coating during the seating process.

Do not seat and crimp the bullets in the same die. Use a separate taper crimp die.

We highly recommend Dillon reloading equipment.

Do not use a roll crimp or Lee Factory Taper Crimp Dies.

The roll crimp will cut through the coating. You must use a taper crimp die.

The Lee Factory Taper Crimp Die will undersize the bullets causing accuracy and fouling problems.

Most of the time a heavier crimp will work better.

Would this be the same for plated bullets?

Ahh! Help!

[Miranda]

some options.

The Lee four die set is good to have.

From what I can tell, they are considered good dies.

The single stage press will do the job of reloading ammo.

The guys here use a lot of ammo and they tend away from single stage presses

because of the time it takes to load a lot of ammo

with anything except progressive type presses.

the advice you were given is good and correct.

It may not cover your needs for the amount of ammo you might find you want.

In general you will use a lot more pistol ammo than rifle/hunting ammo

and so you will find you will want a progressive or at least a turret press

for the pistol ammo re-loading.

miranda

[Flatland Shooter]

The big question is how much shooting will you do?

With a single stage press you will be doing good to load 100 rds per hour (I was never this good.).

It doesn't hurt to have a good single stage press on the bench, but if you are shooting a match every two weeks and getting a little practice every week, you are looking at least 500 rds per month.

My experience is with a Dillon 550. Working steady, I load 200 - 300 rounds in less than 45 minutes. Yes, compared to others I'm slow.

It boils down to time versus dollars. If dollars are tight go with the single stage until the dollars improve or you find you just don't have enough time to load. Then move to the progressive.

If dollars are not a consideration, go with a Dillon and be done with it. I've had my 550 since 1986 and don't regret the investment for a minute. I've got a Rock Chucker (RCBS single stage) and use it once every five years or so. Nice to have, but not needed.

As for the Lee dies, yes they will fit but the Dillon dies are designed for progressive loaders. The bottom of the dies are radiused for better feeding. It results in less time loading and fewer pieces of brass ruined in the process.

And when you buy that Dillon, buy it from our host, Brian.

Bill

[rfwobbly]

May I suggest one single station press and one multi-station press.

Single station presses remain worthwhile for your HP hunting rifle reloading (with goes much slower than pistol) and decapping pistol cases before tumbling... if you want to get into tumbling.

The die set you choose will depend upon your press. If you got a 3-station press, then a 4-die set won't do you much good. However, if your have a 4-station press, then a 4-die set is far superior.

The Lee carbide dies are a very good deal. I'm convinced that Lee's best products are their dies. Lee's worst products are their powder measures and primer feeds. If you're shooting more than 200 rounds per month, these limitations will surely show up when using a used Lee press. This is not a put down by any means, like many here my first progressive was a Lee. So take the Lee from your pal and learn something, but when you "hit the wall" realize that it's probably the press and not you.

Hope this helps!

Edited November 24, 2008 by rfwobbly

[al503]

I use the factory crimp die for everything including moly plated bullets. No issues at all. I've pulled a few bullets to see if I was damaging the moly coating but didn't find anything.

[lcs]

I use the factory crimp die for everything including moly plated bullets. No issues at all. I've pulled a few bullets to see if I was damaging the moly coating but didn't find anything.

Same here.

[Graham Smith]

A single stage press is always worth having on hand. The Lee Breech Lock press is versatile and relatively low cost (I have one) and Midway often has sales on Lee equipment.

Up the price scale from that is the Lee Turret press (I don't have one, but know people who do and they like them for lower volume rifle loading).

Up from that are the Lee progressives - the Pro 100 and LoadMaster, good for lower volume but prone to problems (I have one of each that need to find a home one of these days as I now have a Dillon 550).

So, definitely look at getting a single stage press, tumbler, scale, etc and spend some time with that getting a feel for reloading. As to dies, the Lee Carbide 4 die set is very reliable.

When you decide to get serious, go for the Dillon 550B (the 650 is nice but probably overkill for most people). A lower cost alternative to the Dillon is the Hornady - a lot of people have had very good success with it.

[saibot]

Man, this place it great!

Thanks again to you all for all of the great advice!