Dies for Dillon when Dillon doesn't make them

[spawndn72]

Just curious what you guys use when Dillon doesn't make the dies.
I hate buying three die sets only to toss the expander die to the side.
For 327 Fed Mag, I ended up getting the Lee 3 die set and a Lee factory crimp die.
Just curious to see if there is a better way.

*Edit*
Should have mentioned I have a 550B

 

[Texas10mm]

I purchased Hornady dies for my 327 FM. I use a Dillon 32 H&R crimp die.

 

[highlander 5]

Redding and RCBS on the 550 I owned at one time as long as the die thread is 7/8-14 you're gtg.

 

[Laphroaig]

You can swap out to other die brands on the 550B. When I got mine I used what ever dies I already had, mostly RCBS. I've heard that some Lee dies are a little short and you have to put the lock nut on the bottom of the tool head to make it work. Still a good choice.

 

[rfwobbly]

I purchased the Redding dies when I needed to reload 32ACP... which ended up being more expensive than Dillon !!

 

[GoldieMI]

for 32 S&W long and 327FM I have RCBS
ended up with 2 sets - 1 set for 32 S&W long with 98 grain MBC and 1 set for 327FM with 98 grain MBC
that way I simply load what I want...it took me awhile to get the 327 dialed in and then I didn't want to change it lol

 

[sevt_chevelle]

Redding, it's all I get anymore

 

[MikeInOr]

I love my Dillon .223 and .308 carbide dies on my 650xl. Everything else is a mix of RCBS, Hornady, Redding, Lee and others. The only dies that I have found that stand out above the others are the Lee collet crimp dies. Otherwise I haven't found a significant advantage to one manufacture over another.

 

[SummitTech]

I've used only redding dies on my 650 and single stage. But I favor redding dies over others.

 

[Jim Watson]

I have a Duke's Mixture of all major brands. They are all 7/8x14 threaded which Pacific started and everybody else followed suit on, why not?
Lee threaded bodies are short, but they are ok with the thin 1" lockrings Dillon uses now.
RCBS has less mouth radius than others, the case has to be just right in the plate to enter smoothly.
The CH Speed Seater has a huge conical entry that straightens up a wadcutter that might not be set perfectly straight on the case mouth flare.
The Hornady seating die with Microjust spindle is much more convenient than turning the whole Dillon die body and is much less expensive than Redding.
The EGW (Lee) "U" die is a help with light weight short bearing surface jacketed pistol bullets.
The Lee Carbide Factory Crimp Die sizes 9mm down on the taper where the mouth radius of the Dillon sizer does not touch. It hardly ever "resizes the bullet" so I don't worry about that for my uses.
Lyman is good, sizes fine, the seating plug is a fine thread, good if you don't need a graduated spindle for frequent adjustment.

 

[mcb]

Like others you can use just about any brand standard dies in you Dillon. I have used some strange mixes of dies to load odd ball cartridges like 38 Short Colt, 38 S&W and 450 Bushmaster on my XL650.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Wouldn't the Dillon 32 H&R magnum conversion kit come with the right buttons,shell plate and expander?
Do you want to use the auto powder drop on the 550?
Doesn't that pretty much require the Dillon powder through die?
That should work for 327 I would think.
The Sizing, seating and crimp dies can be any 7/8"x14 brand.
I use Redding seat and crimp dies and a Lee sizing die with the Dillon powder through expander.

 

[joed]

I've used RCBS and Lee FCD dies in my Dillons. But, I have replaced all the sizing dies with Dillon dies. The Dillon carbide sizing dies are top notch in my opinion. I've had bad luck with the primer punch on RCBS dies on my presses.

 

[Texas10mm]

Wouldn't the Dillon 32 H&R magnum conversion kit come with the right buttons,shell plate and expander?
Do you want to use the auto powder drop on the 550?
Doesn't that pretty much require the Dillon powder through die?
That should work for 327 I would think.
The Sizing, seating and crimp dies can be any 7/8"x14 brand.
I use Redding seat and crimp dies and a Lee sizing die with the Dillon powder through expander.

The Dillon 32 H&R magnum dies won't work with 327 Federal Magnum brass due to the thicker web.

 

[Mike Kerr]

I have a mixture of die products. Dillon 450 and 550 series presses aren't picky as a general rule so I go with whatever I have or whatever I can get at a reasonable cost.

 

[PO2Hammer]

The Dillon 32 H&R magnum dies won't work with 327 Federal Magnum brass due to the thicker web.

Unless 327 brass is substantially thicker at the case mouth wouldn't that apply primarily to the sizing die?
The powder through die is the only Dillon die he needs (and probably has on hand), it just expands and flares the case mouth and drops the powder. It doesn't touch the case anywhere else. Should not be affected by web thickness.
He can use his Lee dies for sizing, seating and crimping, as I noted earlier.

 

[cfullgraf]

I use either Redding or RCBS dies on my Dillon BL550. I need a neck expander die for my preferred method of loading which Dillon die sets do not include.

I do like the features of their sizing die though.

 

[GoldieMI]

I use the RL550 Caliber Conversion 20146 and the RCBS 21412 Carbide dies on my 550 to do 327 FM.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Just curious what you guys use when Dillon doesn't make the dies.

Whatever I want: Lyman, RCBS, Hornady. I may even have a specialized Lee die somewhere on a Dillon die-holder.

 

[PO2Hammer]

I purchased Hornady dies for my 327 FM. I use a Dillon 32 H&R crimp die.

Just curious, how do you run the auto powder drop with the Hornady expander?

 

[Texas10mm]

Unless 327 brass is substantially thicker at the case mouth wouldn't that apply primarily to the sizing die?
The powder through die is the only Dillon die he needs (and probably has on hand), it just expands and flares the case mouth and drops the powder. It doesn't touch the case anywhere else. Should not be affected by web thickness.
He can use his Lee dies for sizing, seating and crimping, as I noted earlier.

It applies only to the sizing die.

Just curious, how do you run the auto powder drop with the Hornady expander?

I don't use the Hornady expander.

 

[GaryL]

I use a fair number of Lee dies (~60%) in a 550b, but the sizing dies are just barely long enough to work. If they were another 1/8" longer, that would be great.

If I had cash burning holes in my pockets, I'd try several different dies, pick the ones I like best, and pass the others on for the cost of shipping.

 

[Toprudder]

I hate buying three die sets only to toss the expander die to the side.

I have used the Lee powder-thru expander, with a Lee Autodrum measure, on my Dillon 550. I made my own fail-safe linkage to automatically reset the measure between throws.