Is there a difference in Die Manufactures?

[Grub Master]

I am going to start loading 9mm on my Dillon 550 and need some advice on dies. I really want to set my machine up one time with a Quick Change Assembly and not mess with it again. I have a new set of Lee Carbide dies and have seen the "new" Hornady Titanium Nitride dies, they are only $46 shipped. Are they worth it? Should I get the Dillon at $63+ or use my Lee? I know the Lee will work, but I can always sell them and recoup some of my cost. I plan on reloading 400-500 rounds per week. Thanks

 

[AR-Trvlr]

IMHO it depends on how tight money is. If it's a bit tight, use the Lee and save money. If you're flush, buy the Dillon.

Of course, you should probably try the Lee dies first - it will just cost you some time. If you have problems, then by all means get rid of them. If they work fine, don't change anything.

 

[kletzenklueffer]

I've used Lee, RCBS and Hornady. I have no positive things to say about the Lee except that it came with the factory crimp die which was useful. I can't say enough about the Hornady Ti carbide dies. Resizing was smooth as melted butter, and I like the Hornady bullet seating with the floating seater. I can't speak for the Dillon Dies, other than to say a buddy used Hornady on his Dillon 650 and had some issues. He bought the Dillon dies and issues went away.

 

[SpeedyR]

if you go with the Lee dies, get the Factory Crimp with it. makes your loaded ammo come out nicely (sized and proper crimp). the Dillon dies come with a nice separate crimp die that is easy to disassemble, but I"ve never had any problems with the Lee.

I buy Lee dies for some calibers I don't reload often (32-20, 22 hornet, etc) but usually try to get nicer dies for stuff I use a lot. I've heard good things on the Hornady, but I use a lot of RCBS dies and just got a Redding die for my 223. I'm having issues with it in my 550 though (seating die has to be screwed in all the way to get the bullet seated to the right OAL).

I've used a few Lee dies in my 550 and no problems so far.

 

[Chuckdog]

I have no experience with the Dillon press or dies. With that said, I do have a good deal of experience with the other manufactures mentioned. The Hornady dies I have are top notch. I have have had clearance issues with them on some presses, but quality and accuracy of ammo produced are excellent. RCBS dies are very good quality, but their standard dies aren't as user friendly as many of the competitions products. I have used many Lee brand dies over the years, without a single complaint. I can't say they are any better than the competitions dies, but for my use they are every bit their equal. I use Lee collett, RCBS, and Redding neck sizing dies for my bolt rifles, and I can't say one loads any better than the other. I do like the fact that I don't have to clean case lube from my sized brass when using the Lee collett dies, so the get picked a lot. Lee pistol dies are all I buy now. The powder through expander and easily adjusted seating dies are great for me. I load for several different pistols in the same calibers, so I'm changing my seating depth and neck expander settings quite often for different bullet shapes and diameters. I also leave one of my four Pro Auto Disk powder measures setup on the expander. For about $30.00 a pop, they're cheap enough to own a few, and they work great. Anyone that knows me, will tell you I'm not tight with my money when it comes to shooting stuff, ( I wish I was! ) I buy the Lee dies because I like their features and quality. I bought a set of Lyman 9 mm dies back in late 08, or early 09 because that's all I could find at the time. They worked fine, I still use the sizer frim the set, but when the came available again I bought a set of Lees. My advice to you would be to risk a few dollars on a set of Lee dies. Try them for yourself, I believe you'll like them. If it turns out you don't, there's several of us that do that would most likely take them off your hands. Good Luck, Chuckdog.

 

[ngcsugrad09]

If you're using a Dillon, buy the Dillon dies. For volume reloading, you want dies that are meant for the progressive presses. A lot of dies are meant for single stage presses, whereas the Dillon dies are designed for their presses. The progressive dies have more of a bevel at the bottom for better feeding and the sizing die is setup to fully size a case on a progressive. Some of the single stage dies won't always give a full length resize on a progressive (has to do with height of die and press). If you're taking your time for rifle rounds, it's no big deal (I've got an assortment of dies for .223 and .308.) For volume pistol, get the better dies. I've known guys to buy the cheapest dies for a progressive press and constantly fight problems.

My Dillon with Dillon dies has been running strong for 50K+ rounds of pistol ammo.

 

[rbstern]

I've use dies from Lee, Lyman, Hornady, RCBS, and Pacific. I use mostly Lee for pistol. The brass or brass/bullet combo goes up into the die, and comes out as expected, with good dimensional tolerances and consistency. I haven't found a reason not to use Lee dies. Certainly Hornady and Dillon make great products. The premium you pay probably gets you an extra measure of quality control, and in the case of Dillon, a warranty that your grandchildren can use when you leave them your stuff.

 

[centerhunter]

I have several sets of Dillon dies for my 550. The Dillon dies will feed the pistol cases better on a progressive press since they are beveled and have a larger entry radius. They are also easy to clean and remove stuck cases. Plus Dillon has the best warranty in the business when it comes to their products.