RCBS Lock-Out Die: Under / Over Load Protection OR a Waste of Money?

[Clarke123]

I looked, but haven't found anything here on the RCBS Lock-Out Die.

I am considering a progressive press sometime in the future, but have always been quite paranoid about "squib loads" and overcharges slipping by. The RCBS Lock-Out Die is supposed to actually lock-up your press if the load is missing or too far out of norm.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=536792

I would certainly appreciate informative, actual experience feedback!

Earl Clark - Cumming, Georgia

 

[wynnjammer]

Dillon powder check works well. have one on my 650 and have used it on my 550. you just set and it will alarm when it hit one that is over charged or no charge

 

[Cruisers460]

The RCBS Lock-Out Die is supposed to actually lock-up your press if the load is missing or too far out of norm.

It does exactly this. The first one that I received did not work well, a call to RCBS resulted in a free replacement. (Great service there) I set the new one up and it works fine. If I hit an over or under charge (and I have) on the Hornady LNL AP the die freezes the handles motion. I recommend using one.

 

[brown42]

Depends what you're reloading, the type of powder and type of press. If you're doing 9 with a powder like Unique (which meters terribly) it's pretty hard to double charge as the case would overflow with powder. I also believe it would be pretty difficult to double charge a case on an auto indexing progressive press, but I can understand it happening on one of those Dillons you have to index by hand. You'll also be giving up a spot on the press for this.

Find a powder that meters consistently (Accurate #5 is great) and just look in the case before you seat a bullet. You'll definitely know whether you under/over charge especially when you run out of primers, AA #5 is so fine that it practically all drains out through the primer pocket.

 

[Clarke123]

Depends what you're reloading, the type of powder and type of press. If you're doing 9 with a powder like Unique (which meters terribly) it's pretty hard to double charge as the case would overflow with powder. I also believe it would be pretty difficult to double charge a case on an auto indexing progressive press, but I can understand it happening on one of those Dillons you have to index by hand. You'll also be giving up a spot on the press for this.

Find a powder that meters consistently (Accurate #5 is great) and just look in the case before you seat a bullet. You'll definitely know whether you under/over charge especially when you run out of primers, AA #5 is so fine that it practically all drains out through the primer pocket.

The only loads that I would attempt on a progressive would be mainly target loads for straight walled pistol, the rifle rounds that I do are all done in a less
productive and more painstaking fashion ... Yes, I tend to be paranoid, but that's the only way I will be!

Regardless of the press that I use, I avoid any powder that provides the opportunity for double-charging without case overflow (or close to it!) ...
I will use Bullseye, but find myself weighing (almost) every load!

One of my main concerns is "Squib" loads ... Potentially, they are more likely to result in an accident than a slight overcharge.
As for "space on the turrent", that is a major consideration on something like a Lee 1000, but not as much on the Loadmaster or Dillon presses.

 

[brown42]

I've loaded many thousands of rounds without a squib or a double charge. As long as you pay attention and visually look inside each case you shouldn't have a problem. Bullseye meters pretty well and you'll definitely know if you over/under charge a case.

I have a Loadmaster myself. It's been a great press though it did suffer from the occasional tipped or upside down primer. My setup for the dies is now: universal decapping die, sizing die with decapper removed (this is the priming station, it's eliminated all my priming problems), expand and powder through die, seating die, factory crimp die which I love and don't think I'd be willing to give up for the Lock Out die.

If you do go with a Lee and the auto powder measure you may eventually want to move to a finer powder. Bullseye is pretty consistent and AA #5 is perfect. Something like Unique was so big and flaky that it could sometimes be off by a couple 10ths of a grain.

 

[Clarke123]

Thanks Brown42,

For the near term I will be using a Lee Classic Turrent, but my aspirations for the future is getting a Loadmaster myself.
A flexible LED light over the seating station has been recommended for "viewing" the powder filled cases prior to bullet placement and seating.

Since I decap and resize separately, I may have room on the yet-to-be-acquired Loadmaster turrent for just about anything I want. The separate decap /size allows me to clean the primer pocket, soak the cases in Dawn Diswashing Soap overnight, rinse, dry overnight, and then tumble ... giving me like-new brass to do the final load.

As for sizing lubs, someone (maybe it' a joke?) recommended that I take cable pulling lube (just another form of KY Jelly), dulute it heavily with Isoprople Alcohol, then spray the
mixture on the cases ... let them air dry and they are supposed to still have enough dry-to-the-touch "lube" to satisfy even the most picky sizing die. Sounds like "GERMX" ... Haven't tried it yet ?!

 

[brown42]

Definitely invest a little LED light. I've found little ones at Northern Tool that I taped to the press for a while and eventually switched to some clip on ones I got at Costco.

I've been using a RCBS lube pad and the lube that came with it. It works very well and the bottle of lube that came with it isn't running out anytime soon after close to 10k cases.

 

[noylj]

If you buy any progressive press other than the Hornady Lock-N-Load, you will have a hard time inspecting each case unless you enjoy bending over the whole press and shining a light into the case. Some have connected mirrors and lights to their press so they can eye ball each charged case.
The "problem" is that, at least for me, the attention at time is on seating the bullet and not on inspecting the case.
Of all the powder check systems, only the RCBS Lock-Out die and the Dillon powder check die will let you know that there is a problem. The others all require you to look at them while you are cycling the press and if you can look at the die every time, you can look in the case every time. However, if you are only human, you may not look at the critical time.
Of the two "positive feed-back" systems, the RCBS can not suffer a dead battery and it will NOT let you proceed without correcting the problem.
I looked at the Dillon, and decided that the RCBS was a much better system for me, so all my progressive presses have one.
I tend to get it set (which I always have problems with) and then DO NOT lock it down. It is so sensitive that it will hang up on cases that have even a small volume deviation from the case used to set it. Every hang up, I pull the case, weigh the charge (and they have all been spot on so far after a year and half), pour the powder back in the case and then adjust the die just a little so it does not hang up. There is no way you can get an double charge or a squib with out really working at it.
If you are into high speed shooting or shooting the .40S&W, you will want to ensure that every load has the right amount of powder.
The time that you must be very careful is if you are loading 10-20 rounds of a series of different powder and charge weights as you will probably NOT want to fuss with the Lock-Out die or Dillon's die and you will have to look into each case. At this point, you can pull off the case, charge it with a bench-mounted powder measure or a powder dispenser, inspect the charge in the case, and set the case back on the press. I don't trust myself to look in each case on the press, so I develop a technique that prevents me from having to.

 

[1006]

Using a powder with the density that allows the case to be almost full has kept me out of trouble. Red Dot and Clays work well for light target loads. Keep the powder hopper full and don't load light with dense powders to prevent squibs.