caliber specific M dies

[DeanWinchester]

So I made a trade for a box full of goodies, much of which has been around a while. I happened upon 3 M dies still in the cardboard box. .303 british, 30/06, and .300 savage. None of which do I load for [at the moment!!!]

I've been using a .30 long M die I bought from midway for my 308. What is the difference in the ones marked for a specific caliber and the ones they make now? I notice they only make a .30 short or long. I have had some trouble with the .30 long die not being able to go deep enough with the 308 and wish I had bought the shorter one for 30/30. Tell me, there's VERY little difference in a .300 case and a .308, couldn't I use it for .308 winchester? I'm going to try in a few days when I can back to the bench.

Thanks for any input.

[garandsrus]

I think the caliber specific only indicate what expander is in the box. The 30/06 will probably have a "30R" stamped on the end of the expander (or some number like that) which will more than likely be the same as the 30 long you have.

John

[C.F.Plinker]

The 303 British normally takes the 31L die, the 300 Savage the 30S die and the 30-06 the 30L die. The 30 and 31 are marked on the end of the plug and refer to the diameter of the steps on the plug with the 31 being about .003 larger than the 30. The S and L indicate whether the body of the die is the Short body or the Long body. The long body is usually needed for cases longer than 30-30 or 308 although many can use the short body by unscrewing it part way out of the press.

You have both the long body and the short body as well as both the 30 and 31 plugs. By mixing and matching bodies and plugs you be able to size almost any 30 caliber case. Since you have both bodies all you need to do for additional cartridges is order new plugs from Lyman. They sell them separately. All you need to do is call 800-22LYMAN. If you have access to a lathe or someone with a lathe, you could make your own to whatever diminsions you need.

[DeanWinchester]

Great, thanks for the info!
These are kinda old and I didn't know.

[beagle]

Beware! If they're that old, check to see if the shafts holding the expanding button are aluminum. If so, call Lyman's customer service and they'll normally replace them free with steel shafts. They made them for a while and found that continued use caused the aluminum shaft which was threaded 10-32 wore under pressure and left you with a expander button stuck in a case. Happened to me a couple of times and it's a PITA and usually results in a lost case./beagle

[DeanWinchester]

Well, I was just fixin' to post this and ask how old they are.
So...How old are they?

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd371/Reloadingfool/mdies.jpg

[DeanWinchester]

DOH!!!

Dunno why it's upside down.