Dies - will I notice a difference?

[Ozzi]

Hey All,

I’ve been sourcing all of my reloading components over the last bit.

Now the final step is figuring out what dies.

I’m curious what some of you are using.

I’m starting off with handgun calibres to start. (9mm,.40,.45acp, and .357)

The prices on dies I’m finding are all over the place. Does quality differ that much over rcbs, lee, and Dillon?

Curious if the premium Dillon dies have over rcbs are worth it, or if I’m just paying for the name?

I found RCBS dies at $80. Whereas the Dillon dies are closer to $160

 

[B]

For handgun I buy based around features more than anything. The "M" type expander from Lyman for instance is fantastic. Some pistol cartridges get loaded on the same cheap LEE set I started with a couple decades ago. For rifle brand can make all the difference if you get into long distance/precision stuff.

 

[Potshot21]

I'm no expert, from my understanding some of the higher end dies have some nicer features for finer adjustment and such. I've used Lee, RCBS, Hornady, and Redding dies and all have worked well for me. I gravitate towards Hornady dies for most cartridges as I really like their seating dies, and their "slip stem" on the resizer die has saved me a couple broken decaper pins.

If I was big time into PRS and had invested big bucks into a custom rifle, I'd likely purchase some higher end dies.

 

[Potashminer]

I have not loaded for handgun - be sure you are comparing whether normal steel dies to carbide lined ones for handgun sizing? After that - looking on shelf here - is RCBS, Lee, Lyman, Hornady, Bonanza brands that I load centerfire rifle with - several require slightly different set up - but I am the type that reads the little pamphlets in the boxes. Can not say that I have ever tried two or three brands of dies for any one cartridge or rifle - maybe someone does, to know if one brand is different than another, for same cartridge?

 

[Hitzy]

Pistol loading, Lee carbide 4 die set with the factory crimp die is all I ever used. Work fine, have no reason to change that up.
For rifle I moved on from Lee to Redding and Forster, prefer Forster but if I can't get them, Redding is fine for my needs.

 

[thump_rrr]

Where you will find a difference with the Dillon dies is that they are made for a progressive press therefore have a little wider mouth for operating on a progressive press. I don’t own any Dillon dies.

For pistol my preference is Lee for my single stage and Hornady for my progressive press.
The Hornady have more threads and go deeper.

 

[Anomaly]

Where you will find a difference with the Dillon dies is that they are made for a progressive press therefore have a little wider mouth for operating on a progressive press.

I started off with Lee dies in my Dillon and eventually changed them out to Dillon because of this reason. The wider mouth on the Dillon dies seemed to equal smoother operation/less mangled cases for me. Admittedly I picked up my Dillon dies used for about $100... I don't know that I would pay $180 for each set of Pistol dies from Dillon