Bullet Feeding Die

[trigga]

I'm looking for a bullet feeding die for my lee classic turret. I will mainly be loading 9mm, 40 SW and .223. I've been looking at various dies such as Hornady which is caliber specific and mrbulletfeeder bullet feeding die. Hornady doesn't list that they have a die for .223 and mrbulletfeeder didn't specify which caliber. Is there a die out there that will work for a variety of calibers or will adapt to different calibers by changing out internals? If the end result is to buy multiple dies then I might just invest in a the lee breech lock progressive press which has the optional bullet and brass feeding.

 

[forty_caliber]

MrBulletFeeder dies do come in caliber specific sizes. In my opinion they are the superior choice over Hornady or RCBS options because these two use plastic "lips" to hold the bullets in the die between cycles and are prone to damage and wear.

MBF uses a captured ball bearing system to hold the bullets in the die and these "retract" into a channel for feeding. Another advantage is that the ball bearings allow the use of oversized lead projectiles that would otherwise jam a Hornady die. MBF also sells kits with the die and bullet tubes.

.40

 

[trigga]

I was a little confused about MBF at first because I couldn't find anything about caliber. Well, below the "add to cart" you can choose your caliber. $50 per caliber? Ouch. For three or four dies I could get a new lee progressive press. think I might try getting the breech lock pro and put the classic turret head on it. there's a video on youtube on it.

 

[Allen One1]

The Hornady bullet feed dies come in .223 and .308 along with about 5 pistol sizes, the collets are solid steel. I have a couple of sizes, these do work well for me and it really speeds up loading. You do have to watch that the bullet drops correctly before you push it to the seating die but it works. I still feed cases by hand and really should fix that someday.

 

[GW Staar]

The new RCBS Tube Rifle Feeder is a much better bullet feeding tool than anything they've ever sold before. It uses ball bearings like the Mr. Bullet Feeder, but differently........and the kit includes an "M" style step neck expander that works very nice. Come's in .223 and .308. Here's the parts included minus the graphite tube:



The short video below, demos how well it sticks a single .223 bullet into the expanded case. As I use them, I remove the expander out of my sizer, and expand with this. It expands minimum with its 1/16" deep bullet ledge, and flares not at all.



Do note, that I fed ONE bullet, so no bullet stack above it to help it "stick" to the case. MBF requires a stack, so the last couple don't stick as well.

I just built a shaker collator for them this week, to pass the time in quarantine and posted it here on THR. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/shaker-bullet-collator-possible.867504/

 

[kmw1954]

After I bought my Pro4000 ABLP press I got to looking what to use in the 4th hole as most of my die sets are 3 dies. At first I thought about a Powder Cop or Lock-out die. Then I seen the Hornady bullet feeder and thought that would be cool so I bought one. After weeks of trying I never could get it to feed reliably and it now resides in my parts drawer. I did also try the RCBS version and so far it has worked well. It hasn't really sped up my process but it has relieved the having to reach around to the rear of the press to place the bullet.

I whole heartedly agree that the Mr. Bullet Feeder is the best solution and after this RCBS one craps out I my move that way.

 

[kmw1954]

GW any clue if they are going to go this route with the pistol version?

 

[GW Staar]

GW any clue if they are going to go this route with the pistol version?

Kmw1954, I remember you had to settle for RCBS's plastic fingered feeder die when you could not find success with Hornady's in your application. I got the Hornady steel fingers to work for my pistol ammo (40 and 45) and could not get RCBS's plastic fingers to work worth a darn. Different strokes I guess...

The new tool for rifle is really nice....no fingers, just the ball bearings, two to release a bullet, two to stop the next in line....so there never is a "stack" as on MBF's.

I wish they would "go this route" with pistol, but they are not hinting at it, least not yet. I don't think they know what's next with their corp. task masters.......I wish a real reloading company would buy them out. Vista Outdoors is not a good match.....they don't have a clue.

What I think is weird, is that RCBS no longer makes the rifle electric case collator......maybe it didn't work well longevity-wise or repeatability-wise...never tried one, so I just don't know, but it was for the dropped Pro 2000. Seemed to me to be a no-brainer to use it on the Pro Chuckers with the new tube rifle loaders....but it never happened....it's gone along with the Pro 2000 press.

 

[9mmepiphany]

All good info above. I can only affirm that the Mr Bulletfeeder die is the way to go for handguns...this from someone who can make the Hornady bullet feeder die, in 9mm, work. I'm also really impressed at the route RCBS is going with their rifle bullet feeder die.

I'll address a couple of other points in the OP

Hornady doesn't list that they have a die for .223

They don't because their bullet feeder die for rifles is meant to work with the bullet feeding system. The bullet drops from the collator into a die which places the bullet and seats it. I've never seen that die sold separately

I might just invest in a the lee breech lock progressive press which has the optional bullet and brass feeding.

That would be a less than optimal route to follow. While folks might complain about the RCBS and Hornady bullet feeder dies when compared to the Mr Bulletfeeder, you'll find that praise for the Lee bullet feeder system is fairly rare. It is an example of a well designed system who's execution has been it's downfall. The most often cite issue is the fingers dropping bullets before they reach the case

 

[jmorris]

I might just invest in a the lee breech lock progressive press which has the optional bullet and brass feeding

I have been able to get most Lee devices to work, even managed to get a Loadmaster to the point of being able to load 100 rounds in under 4 minutes but the Lee bullet feeder was a complete waste of money. As in, I would have been better off just burning $20.

The principal is sound but the plastic fingers just don't hold up for very long and you wind up wasting more time dealing with them than it would have taken to just load placing the bullets by hand.

The pneumatic version MA Systems sells/sold, that they were trying to copy does work and is adjustable for tension.



It also cost a lot more.

 

[gwpercle]

My bullet feeding system is free . Thumb and index finger ....
Works well ... The designer knew what he was doing .
Gary

 

[jmorris]

My bullet feeding system is free . Thumb and index finger ....
Works well ... The designer knew what he was doing .
Gary

Sure and you could also go to the store for free using your feet vs driving, with less problems as well. The only difference will be how long it takes you to get there.

How long does it take you to load 100 rounds using your fingers?