Question about dies

[Jim]

I'm considering buying THIS (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=875273)set of dies for Jarrett. Anybody have experience with this set and, if so, comments, negative or positive?

I'm on a limited income, so I can't afford the higher priced brands.

[spqrzilla]

Those will work fine for the .44 Magnum.

But so will these for a few dollars less (http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=703076).

[Tazman1602]

Hey Jim,

The advantage you'll get with the four die set is the factory crimp die but the three die set should work fine.

I think you and I both like to seat bullet and then crimp in separate operations but you can still do that with the three die set.

......and I would take a Lee "cheapie" carbide over a non-carbide everytime. Lotta red on my bench............

Art

[Jim]

Yeah, I kinda' wondered about the necessity of "factory crimping", since it's going in a single shot rifle.
I dunno, I'm just a dumb ol' pipefitter, but seems to me, takin' into account he's only goin' to be shootin' MAYBE a hunnerd yds. when he's huntin', a roll crimp with the seating die oughta do just fine.
Wha' ya' think?

[Wayne Smith]

Jim, do you do anything on eBay? I've bought good sets of dies for pennies on the dollar. Just have to be patient and put in the most you are willing to pay and wait. You likely will have to let several sets go before you get one - as long as you stay at your max and don't go over it you will eventually get what you want in my experience. The only exeption to this is relatively unusual items, but 44 Mag is common.

[Maven]

+1 to what Wayne said!

[higgins]

I too have gotten a few good buys on Ebay, and it did require discipline and patience. another consideration would be that with Lyman dies you would get an M-die for neck expanding instead of a die that just flares the mouth and leaves the rest of the case possibly too tight. A Lee FCD for pistol (I believe) sizes the entire cartridge so is really unnecessary if you've properly sized the cases and closed the crimp; it's more useful for autoloader cartridges. If you want to go even cheaper, old Lyman dies with the steel sizer, but still including the M-die, go for even less. If you don't mind lightly lubing the cases and you're not into production reloading a steel sizer might work for you. I loaded .44 mag for a rifle for years using an old set of Eagle dies with a steel sizer. Used steel sizers that are stored under reasonable conditions are usually protected from corrosion by the presence of the lubricant.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

I have been wrong before . . . once, I think back in 1976 or there abouts . . . and I'm not sure if Lee makes them, as I only use RCBS . . . but RCBS make a "Cowboy" set of dies, which I "THINK" are set up for loading lead boolit, which means to me that they would have a larger expander die, so the brass won't be swaging down you fat boolits to copper sizes.

Save you from having extra expander die made, or buying an "M" die . . . just an Idea.

I ended up having Buckshot make me some to my spec which just screw into my RCBS dies, as these were too small.
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s220/ShawnTVT/Guns/Expanders-1.jpg

[Jim]

I really cannot explain the logic(or lack thereof!) in my thinking sometimes. It's odd even to me. I won't hesitate to buy a used firearm. But, for some reason, I don't like buying used dies.
I know, it don't make sense. I'm just weird like that.

'Course, I'm weird anyway, so where's the justification in my excuse?

[AZ-Stew]

I do all my handgun cartridge loading on a Dillon 550. I've had Lyman carbide die sets for .38/.357, .41 Mag. and .44 Mag since the 70s that began life loading for me in a Rockchucker. In the last few years I've gotten to the point where I don't want to deal with re-adjusting the seat/crimp die when I change from the Special to the Magnum case length for each caliber. It was a big improvement to set up a toolhead for each of the Special and Magnum cartridges. I bought the Dillon toolheads and powder dies from Dillon or at gun shows when I could find them, then bought a second set of Lyman carbide dies via e-bay for each caliber. I think I paid close to $20, shipping included, for each set. Didn't have any trouble finding them or winning the bids. One of the sets was absolutely brand new. It was made in the 80s and had been sitting around for so long that the oil had hardened and I had to soak the dies in mineral spirits to loosen up the adjustment screws and lock nuts.

I prefer the Lymans for their generous lead-in on the sizing die. I've had and sold RCBS carbide dies because the cases always hung up entering the die. I also have no issues with seating and crimping in a single step. The boolits I use work well this way. The only dies I have that crimp separately are the ones for .40 S&W and .45 ACP, which use a taper crimp.

Regards,

Stew

[Wayne Smith]

I really cannot explain the logic(or lack thereof!) in my thinking sometimes. It's odd even to me. I won't hesitate to buy a used firearm. But, for some reason, I don't like buying used dies.
I know, it don't make sense. I'm just weird like that.

'Course, I'm weird anyway, so where's the justification in my excuse?

We're all crazy in our own ways! Probably 3/4 of my dies are used. As are most of my guns. I equipped my gun/reloading room off eBay and here - a Lyman TrueLine Jr, a Hollywood Sr single, and a Brown Bair. Plus my old RCBS JR3. I guess I just like old things. I bought two powder scales and two powder measures off eBay as well, one scale was bad. RCBS replaced that one with a new one.

[buck1]

like Wayne, 75% +of my dies were bought used and no trouble at all yet. You can get top quality used dies on flebay or here for that matter for that same price or less. After you load one round on the Lees they will be used as well.
Not pushing , just offering food for thought. ....Buck

[462]

Lee's seater dies were swaging down all my handgun boolits, so I replaced all of them with Lyman.

I agree with those who mentioned ebay. All my replacement Lyman dies were purchased there. As stated, set your price and wait. Complete sets can be purchased for less than $20 shipped, and will often include the wrench (a rather spiffy tool).

Side note: Lyman Precision Alignment (PA) rifle dies are often available on ebay.

[rugerdude]

Almost all my dies are from Lee. Some will say Lee stuff is cheap and unreliable, but thier dies are excellent. I have no problems with any of mine, but I will mention one thing. On my .44 Factory Crimp Die, that carbide ring will really make contact with the case when I load .430" lead boolits. I do not like that!

I am seriously considering either sending the die back to Lee to have the opening reamed a bit or just knocking the sizing ring out altogether.

So far, I have not had this problem with my FCDs in .38 and .45.

[Jim]

.....I am seriously considering.....just knocking the sizing ring out altogether.....

I tried that one time and ruined the die. I hope you have better success than I did. That dern ring is in there like it's WELDED in!

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I have always been very satisfied with Lee’s dies, as far as I can tell they are equivalent or in some cases better then the more expensive RCBS, Lyman, etc… However if you are not going to be charging your cases with powder at the same time as you expand them you might find the “jerk” on the way back annoying. Also I personally found the crimp die to be an unnecessary extra step, seeing as the bullet seater die crimps beautifully and in one step when set up properly.

[starmac]

Just curious are the donated dies damaged or something, or are you just wanting to upgrade to carbide.

[songdog53]

The only time will really need factory crimp die is if you were ever to load 44 special for the 44 mag won't screw down far enough. Can't even guess number of 44 mags have loaded for rifle and hand gun on set i have had for 20 years. I have Lee, Lyman, Dillon dies and all work good for me. As have said loaded lots with Lee and never had a problem without crimp die till loaded 44 specials then had to order crimp die.

[firefly1957]

LEE dies have worked great for me. I have seen negative posts about the factory crimp die but it has worked great for me.
I originally got a 38/357 mag die to crimp the bullet in place in a .351 Winchester Self Load case because even crimped in my .351 WSL RCBS dies would leave the bullet loose. I found out later 38 special dies worked better. Using a Sierra 170 gr JHC .357 bullet SWAGED to .351 diameter and crimped with Lee factory crimp die I was able to get 1 inch 50 yard groups. Another problem solved was that round has a seating depth of two tenths of a inch and now bullet do not need to be re-channelured.
Most loads I do not use factory crimp die just ones I feel it is required.