Lyman TC 9mm Size die Help

[highmountaincaster]

Hey fellas I have a question, I am new to reloading 9mm and I have acquired a Tungsten Carbide sizing die but when using it I noticed that it sizes the cases 0.010 smaller at the base when compared to my regular 9mm sizing die. Is there something wrong with this die? I called Lyman and the woman just told me “ get another one”. So much for customer service. Below are 2 pics showing what is happening. The case on the left in both pics are using the regular Lyman die and the case on the right in both pics are of the Lyman TC die.281672281673

[onelight]

If they size the top 1/2 the same it's probably a difference in how the mouth of the sizer is shaped .
If so use the one you like I don't think it will make any real performance difference.

[highmountaincaster]

Could the Lyman tc die be undersizing it to increase tension to prevent bullet setback? The Lyman TC die measures 0.370 at the mouth 0.372 in the middle and 0.377 right below the “ring” and 0.386 on the ring.

Regular Lyman dies measures 0.369 at the mouth, 0.379 in the middle and 0.387 at the top.

[Valley-Shooter]

That's how carbide sizing dies work. Very little taper all the way down, but not all the way to the bottem. Most of them work just fine.
9mm is also special because it tapered. Your steel sizing die also tapered. It actually sizes the 9mm correctly. Nobody wants to lube 9mm cases, so we use the carbide.

Just use your expanding die so your bullets fit.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[jetinteriorguy]

Are you sure that’s a 9mm Luger/Parabellim die and not a 9mm Mak die or a .380 ACP die?

[highmountaincaster]

It just says “9mm TC Size” on the die so I have no clue, it came in a four die set but this set was purchased used about 5 years ago and never used.

[gwpercle]

The 9mm is a tapered case ... slightly , but tapered .
Steel dies can be made tapered ... so you get a properly resized case .
Carbide dies can't be made tapered the ring of carbide sizes the mouth the same diameter as the base ... the carbide ring sizes from top to bottom straight down , no taper .
Bottom line is if you want them to look like the cases on the left ...use the steel die .
If you don't mind the look of the case on the right ... use the carbide die .

I use steel dies on 9mm Luger ... I don't like the carbide ring at the bottom ...it looks Wonky .
" Not everything in life is perfect" ... what my old man used to tell me
Gary

[Green Frog]

I would actually like to have my 9mm TC die size a little smaller at the base. Some of my round don’t quite fall to full depth in my max case size gauge because they’re still a bit fat at the base after FL sizing with my old RCBS TC sizing die. I don’t know if it’s just my personal experience, but overall I tend to find Lyman dies a little bit “tighter” than other brands. Depending on how the specific guns are chambered, this may be a good thing, or I may just be overworking my brass.

Froggie

[NSB]

If you take a couple of sets of different dies for the same cartridge, they often times have slight diameter differences. Just ignore it.

[TNsailorman]

Like the man said, 9mm are a slightly tapered case and well as the .30 Carbine case. Steel dies can be made with the taper with no problems but the carbide ring in the Carbide die has to be made in a straight cylinder shape. If the ammo fits the chamber of your pistol, you should have no problems and as already stated too, I consider it a benefit as you should get more reliable feeding with Carbide die sizing. my .02 anyway, james

[zarrinvz24]

Some of the higher end dies are made with a tapered carbide insert. I know for sure redding does. That was one reason why I sent my Lyman dies back to midway and splurged on a nice set of Redding Dies. Please let me know if you'd like me to take a photo of the carbide insert so you can see what I mean. It is much longer than the usual insert. Also this is why 9mm carbide dies are more expensive than the other Redding carbide dies.

Steel dies are potentially more accurate than carbide dies because they fully size each part of the case, but require one to lube the cases. Removing the lubrication requirements is why so many of us prefer carbide dies. Much less mess but there is a trade off.

[Green Frog]

I inherited an early RCBS TC set of 9mm dies from my Dad. Unfortunately, it leaves the cases unsized down near their bases. He also had a CH taper crimp die he added to the mix, but I still don’t get a good plunk with some of my reloads when I drop them into my Midway Max Cartridge Size Guide. Do I need to seek another, tighter TC sizing die? Perhaps one that is able to reach further down on the case?

Froggie