Does carbide dies really worth it?

Carbide is the only way to go in my opinion.

I like Lee because they are cheap and have yet to damage one.

DILLON are amazing and no hassle replacement if you damage one (been there once).

RCBS have always re-polished or replaced my non-carbide dies but they are a total pain because of lubing and getting that lube off afterwards....
 
BCRider said:
The one set of non carbide dies I've got developed a gall or something and scratches the casings rather deeply. I've bought nothing but carbide dies ever since.

Call me a wimp but I still lightly lube my casings even with the carbide dies. It makes the lever easier to move and easier to feel anything amiss.
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I use a light spray lube on all my pistol cases as well, especially the longer ones: 44 mag, 41 mag and 357 mag. Easier on the press and easier on my arm.
 
BCRider said:
The one set of non carbide dies I've got developed a gall or something and scratches the casings rather deeply. I've bought nothing but carbide dies ever since.

Call me a wimp but I still lightly lube my casings even with the carbide dies. It makes the lever easier to move and easier to feel anything amiss.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I lightly lube every 3-4 cases. Makes a noticeable difference in ease of pressing.
 
Reloading any handgun cartridge with non-carbide will make you crazy. Dillon stuff is more expensive due to the name. Nobody else makes carbide rifle dies either, but carbide handgun dies are a standard for all manufacturers.
 
The Lee four die set actually has two carbide dies, work fantastic at a good price. The crimp die (carbide) adjusts the crimp with a top knob, no moving the die up and down.
 
i use both dillon & lee carbide dies for pistol . the only advantage to the dillon is that if your loading lead bullets , they super easy to clean & with no reajusting .
the lee are more easy to adjust in the seat & crimp modes .
 
Definitely worth it. Wish all my dies were carbide as it eliminates the need for lube and makes for one less step in the reloading process. If I were to use carbide rifle dies I'd probably use a light lubing due to the extra forces required to resize rifle brass. Thus far I only reload 45colt with carbide dies which doesn't really make that much difference in timed saved not having to lube since I only load a couple boxes at a time for my H&R Survivor. Once I have my 40 though I'll be glad not to have to lube since I'll be shooting a whole lot more. Maybe I'll get some spray lube too just for extra peace of mind like has already been discussed. Just the thought of lubing hundreds of pistol cases at a time by hand makes me cringe.
 
Well... You all convinced me! ;) I bought the Dillon carbide die, so I will experience it by myself. By the way, at my local store, Dillon was the cheapest brand in carbide die in 9mm, so I thought that they were like a "wallmart" brand... Obviously I was mistaken!

Regards!

Dark
 
All my pistols cartridge dies are Lee carbide... definitely the way to go... I tend to give them a light spray with One Shot anyway... more force of habit than anything.
 
Evil_Dark said:
Well... You all convinced me! ;) I bought the Dillon carbide die, so I will experience it by myself. By the way, at my local store, Dillon was the cheapest brand in carbide die in 9mm, so I thought that they were like a "wallmart" brand... Obviously I was mistaken!

Regards!

Dark
Click to expand...

You may be the first person to ever put Dillon and Walmart in the same sentence.
 
Easy 9mm said:
Although it isn't necessarily required, I still give my brass a shot of Lyman Qwik Spray. Makes both my Dillons run super smooth and requires so much less force to size.
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100% the reason I give a little lube aswell. I just load up my case feeder and give it 1 spray. Makes all the difference in the world
 
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