Dillon vs Lee Dies
Quote from Reloader on November 13, 2012, 10:06 pmI will be purchasing my first rifle soon (chambered in 5.56).
I have been doing some research on reloading this round, from what loads to start off with, what powder, etc. . (Now I have all Dillon Equipment. As of right now I load 380, 9mm, 10mm and 45ACP.) One thing I keep coming across is Dillon vs Lee Dies. As for sizing the body of the cases, everthing pretty much is the same as far as doing what it says it will do. I'm not to worried about that part.
My question is about the decaping/ sizing center section. I see Dillon uses a BALL Expander. Now from what I have been reading the ball expanding does what it is soposed to do, but with the ball expander there is a chance/ tendency for the ball to wonder to the weeker side of the case mouth thus kicking the neck centerline out of alinement of the body. Other than ease of removal, what are the benefits of the BALL type expander?
I know that with any brand of caseing, getting a uniform thicknees around the mouth, body, etc of the case is almost impossible. They do there best to make it as uniformed as possible.
I see alot of people going with the LEE Die (at least the sizing/ deprimeing Die) and using it in there Dillon press for the first stage. With the LEE Expander, I see there is a long tapered portion on the LEE Die that I would think would centers the case first before the expander does it job thus keeping the mouth/neck in centerline of the case body. I see this as a plus, having a case that is true. What is Dillon position in this setup?
I am not the type of person that is brand loyal (Yea, 95% of my reloading gear is Dillon). I will choose what is best for me now and in the long run.
I just want to eliminate as many possible problem as I can before i start loading for rifle.
Thanks
Bryan
I will be purchasing my first rifle soon (chambered in 5.56).
I have been doing some research on reloading this round, from what loads to start off with, what powder, etc. . (Now I have all Dillon Equipment. As of right now I load 380, 9mm, 10mm and 45ACP.) One thing I keep coming across is Dillon vs Lee Dies. As for sizing the body of the cases, everthing pretty much is the same as far as doing what it says it will do. I'm not to worried about that part.
My question is about the decaping/ sizing center section. I see Dillon uses a BALL Expander. Now from what I have been reading the ball expanding does what it is soposed to do, but with the ball expander there is a chance/ tendency for the ball to wonder to the weeker side of the case mouth thus kicking the neck centerline out of alinement of the body. Other than ease of removal, what are the benefits of the BALL type expander?
I know that with any brand of caseing, getting a uniform thicknees around the mouth, body, etc of the case is almost impossible. They do there best to make it as uniformed as possible.
I see alot of people going with the LEE Die (at least the sizing/ deprimeing Die) and using it in there Dillon press for the first stage. With the LEE Expander, I see there is a long tapered portion on the LEE Die that I would think would centers the case first before the expander does it job thus keeping the mouth/neck in centerline of the case body. I see this as a plus, having a case that is true. What is Dillon position in this setup?
I am not the type of person that is brand loyal (Yea, 95% of my reloading gear is Dillon). I will choose what is best for me now and in the long run.
I just want to eliminate as many possible problem as I can before i start loading for rifle.
Thanks
Bryan
Quote from Reloader on November 15, 2012, 4:43 pmThe Dillon expander ball is manufactured from carbide, which eleiminates the need to inside neck lube the cases. The shape of the expander has no affect on variations in case neck wall thickness. The differences aren't worth worrying about, except for the specific sport of benchrest shooting, where the rifle chamber is so tight that it is required to uniform neck thickness, otherwise factory rifle brass won't chamber.
Our experience is users purchase Lee dies because of price, not due to a design difference.
The Dillon expander ball is manufactured from carbide, which eleiminates the need to inside neck lube the cases. The shape of the expander has no affect on variations in case neck wall thickness. The differences aren't worth worrying about, except for the specific sport of benchrest shooting, where the rifle chamber is so tight that it is required to uniform neck thickness, otherwise factory rifle brass won't chamber.
Our experience is users purchase Lee dies because of price, not due to a design difference.
Quote from Reloader on February 11, 2014, 4:55 amFor what it's worth, I'm loading .223, .308, and 300 Blackout. The Dillon dies has a lot of benefit, but cost "does" come into play for me, as well.
Since my 3 rifle calibers are for semi-auto rifles, I went with the RCBS AR series dies. They full length size the cases a "bit" smaller to ensure reliable feeding in auto loaders. I use their dies to size/deprime (on a RCBS Rock Chucker single stage) and I progressively load with my Dillon 550.
Although the RCBS bullet seater die can also crimp, I elected to add the Lee Factory Crimp Die because the crimp is more uniform and I don't have to worry about the bullet getting seated any deeper during the crimp. I also don't have to worry in case some of my brass is a bit shorter than what the RCBS seater/crimp die was originally set up for.
My results are pretty consistent and I am pretty happy. I've never used any of the Dillon rifle dies, and I'm sure they are fantastic, but I am VERY happy with my results.
For what it's worth, I'm loading .223, .308, and 300 Blackout. The Dillon dies has a lot of benefit, but cost "does" come into play for me, as well.
Since my 3 rifle calibers are for semi-auto rifles, I went with the RCBS AR series dies. They full length size the cases a "bit" smaller to ensure reliable feeding in auto loaders. I use their dies to size/deprime (on a RCBS Rock Chucker single stage) and I progressively load with my Dillon 550.
Although the RCBS bullet seater die can also crimp, I elected to add the Lee Factory Crimp Die because the crimp is more uniform and I don't have to worry about the bullet getting seated any deeper during the crimp. I also don't have to worry in case some of my brass is a bit shorter than what the RCBS seater/crimp die was originally set up for.
My results are pretty consistent and I am pretty happy. I've never used any of the Dillon rifle dies, and I'm sure they are fantastic, but I am VERY happy with my results.