Dillon dies vs Hornady and RCBS

[Puddlejumper]

Was wondering what the pros and cons of using other dies in my Dillon 500b would be? Is it worth saving $25 to get hornady or RCBS dies?

Guess I should add I'm looking at getting some .380 dies.

 

[whughett]

I’d be interested in those answers my self. I own a mix of Dillon, RCBS Lyman Hornady and Lee. The Lee are obviously cheaper The others, I’d save the money.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I would think the first advantage of using non-Dillon dies would be that you are getting a better quality die at a lower cost.

The only feature that Dillon dies offer that isn't available on other dies is the spring loaded decapping pin.

I've used dies from Dillon, Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, and Redding...listed in the order that I was introduced to them. Once you've used many different brands of dies, you can tell/feel the difference in quality of manufacture. Whether this translates into a functional difference is dependent of the die and the users requirements.

I've read and don't have a reason to doubt that Dillon dies are made for them by Lee. Lee also makes dies for DAA

 

[9mmepiphany]

Interesting side note on die usage:

A friend recently set up his Dillon 750 on my bench. He started with an all Dillon set of dies. But he's a tinkerer and has a burning desire to optimize processes. His current setup for 9mm is:
Resize - Dillon
Expand (powder drop) - DAA insert
Bullet - Mr Bulletfeeder
Seating - Redding Competition Seating die
Crimp - Lee FCD

 

[Charlie1022]

For straight wall pistol I found the Dillon dies have a radius that allows for smoother resizing. I used RCBS for years for my 38 & 357 before I upgraded to Dillon. I now have 380, 9MM, 40, 44, 45, 38, 357 I reload for for my handguns. I have 2 Dillon RL550B reloading presses that I really like.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have mostly Redding and RCBS dies plus one or two sets from other sources but no Dillon dies.

Dillon dies are top drawer and have some good features. But, since I separate resizing from loading on my progressive presses, I need a conventional mouth expanding die so the Dillon hand gun die sets do not work for me.

FYI, one of my presses is a Dillon BL550 but I use it only for loading cartridges. Most of my hand gun cartridge resizing is done on a Hornady L-N-L.

 

[9mmepiphany]

For straight wall pistol I found the Dillon dies have a radius that allows for smoother resizing.

That "radius" isn't for smoother resizing, it is for smoother entry into the dies...since indexing isn't the strong point of the Dillon presses. Redding offers the same radius on their "Pro(gressive)" line of dies to accommodate Dillon's alignment variations.

For straight wall pistol cases, I've found the Redding Dual Ring Carbide Sizing die to offer the smoothest resizing

 

[DukeConnor]

My pistol dies are all Dillon due to the fact I load pistol on a SDB. They work well for me.

I have Dillon carbide rifle dies for my 650, 223 and 308 and 300 bo.
They are expensive (not sure if thet are "worth it") but they produce acurate and trouble reloads.

I am in the process of tooling up for 6.5 C and will buy dillon dies.

I have never heard that dillon dies are made by Lee. No reason to doubt it, but would be interested in seeing that claim substantiated.

 

[Laphroaig]

I think the Dillon dies are pretty nice, a cut above Lee IMO. If I was starting out from scratch for a straight wall cartridge, I'd just get a Dillon set.

If I had dies already, I'd use what I had and get a powder through die and if necessary, a crimp die to complete the set. I have a mixture of RCBS and Redding that I use on my 550B for 45acp.

I'd never get Dillon dies for bottleneck rifle since I don't crimp and Dillons come with a dedicated crimp die that I'd never use and don't want to pay for. I get by fine with RCBS dies for .223 and 30-06.

 

[Phlier]

I do like the spring that Dillon puts on their decapping pins, but other than that, I don't really think they're worth the additional cost. I have a mix of many different brands of reloading dies, and haven't found Dillon's dies to be any better than any other brand.

 

[Puddlejumper]

I currently load 45 acp and 9mm on my 550b. All my dies are Dillon and it runs so smooth.

Looking to start reloading 380 and 223 since now I have both my girls shooting 556/223 with me. The costs are adding up to fast on ammo purchases. I've read that the dillon dies don't hang up as much on straight walled shells (380) but would like to save some $'s and purchase the 380 hornady dies but am afraid it's money thrown away.

 

[Puddlejumper]

For straight wall pistol I found the Dillon dies have a radius that allows for smoother resizing. I used RCBS for years for my 38 & 357 before I upgraded to Dillon. I now have 380, 9MM, 40, 44, 45, 38, 357 I reload for for my handguns. I have 2 Dillon RL550B reloading presses that I really like.

I've heard this claim from many reloaders.

 

[GW Staar]

Again its smoother because the radius allows for more slop in indexing between stations.....as per...

That "radius" isn't for smoother resizing, it is for smoother entry into the dies...since indexing isn't the strong point of the Dillon presses. Redding offers the same radius on their "Pro(gressive)" line of dies to accommodate Dillon's alignment variations.....

As for the spring-loaded deprimers.....RCBS offers those separately for all of their sizers for use in a progressive. I've never needed to order one in the years I've been using an RCBS progressive. Maybe needed in a Dillon progressive?

 

[Whiterook808]

When I first got my 550b 20 years ago I first tried it with my existing Lee dies. They were too short, so I had to put the lock rings under the toolhead. Things weren't very smooth, so I bought new Dillon dies in 45, 38, & 44mag. Everything just worked better and I like that I can clean the dies without losing the settings. I now also load 223 & 300BO on the 550 with Lee dies and they are working out fine. I think the Dillon dies are smoother, but you can make most currently manufactured dies will work.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I first tried it with my existing Lee dies. They were too short

Lee does tend to size their dies down to the minimum that will work

I like that I can clean the dies without losing the settings

This is a nice feature as it allows you to leave your dies in the tool head. It also allowed them to not have to use set screws in the lock rings and to crowd the dies closer together

I can easily clean out the dies mounted in my Hornady LNL AP by giving the dies an 1/8 turn and pulling out the bushings.

 

[bob4]

I load for 9MM and 40cal on my Dillon 550. About to start with 357 Mag. I also load for a 270win ,300WM, 243win, .223. I do not own 1 Dillon die. Not that I wouldn't. Just haven't had the need.

 

[Skgreen]

isn't available on other dies is the spring loaded decapping pin

I have a couple of these: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011892738
Same stem works in my 9mm and 45 ACP RCBS dies.

 

[nofendertom]

I like the Dillon 9mm and 45acp dies because they have a separate taper crimping die.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I like the Dillon 9mm and 45acp dies because they have a separate taper crimping die.

I'm pretty sure all the other die manufacturers offer consumers a choice between a separate crimp dies or a combo seat/crimp die.

Interestingly DAA recently started offering a combo die for Dillon users to seat and crimp in the same die. They were getting a lot of request from users of the bullet feeder as they wanted to retain a station for a powder check

 

[Shak3s1977]

I've got Dillon and Lee dies on my 550. I like the radiused entry on the Dillon Dies. Seems to help at the first station the most (probably due to the paperclip adjustment not quite right). After that I don't really think the radiused entry is really needed. The taller the case, the more the Dillon Dies radiused entry on the sizing die seems to help.

I don't like adjusting the Dillon Dies as much as the other brands. Making fine adjustments on the seating die for example, sucks compared to my Lee dies but I do like the easy cleaning of the dies.

The 223 dies have a built in stuck case remover that is a nice extra feature, but that won't pertain to your 380 dies. The spring loaded depriming pin doesn't matter to me either way. My Lee and my Dillon both work, so not important to me.

Get what you can afford, if you ask me.

 

[Ks5shooter]

All green or me. RCBS never an issue in 30+ yeaers of reloading.

 

[jmorris]

Dillon pistol dies have a spring loaded decapping pin that helps greatly to eliminate drawing primers back into the pocket. Other pins can be modified to mitigate the problem, not to mention not every brand of primer even has the issue. Some may to be lucky enough to have never even had the problem.

A clip allows you to take apart the die for cleaning and reassemble it afterwards and never change the original adjustment.

They also come with better jam nuts for progressives but you can buy them for other brands of dies.

You get some bullets with the Hornady ones, that for whatever reason seem more susceptible to rusting than others.

I threw this together to make pretty much any die adjustment precise.

 

[375supermag]

Hi...
Way back when I started reloading the first die set I bought was a Lee .357Mag set. Used it on a Lee C press...never really cared for the press or the die set. It did turn out serviceable ammuntion but I just wasn't happy with the set up.
I bought a Lee 1000 progressive in the same caliber. I had nothing but problems with the press and eventually boxed it up, put it in a cabinet where it remains to this day some 30 years later.
I replaced both Lee presses with a RockChucker and RCBS dies in.357Mag. Still using that same die set to this day for some of my .357Mag loading. I have bought many die sets since that time and generally buy RCBS. I have one die set in .375SuperMag from Redding. It is a fine die set but very expensive but it's pretty much the only option.
I have a few sets of Hornady dies that I bought for my two LnLs. I have not been overly impressed with their die sets and am slowly changing over to RCBS dies for the LnLs. I find that Hornady equipment tends to rust in my climate controlled reloading room, while none of my RCBS equipment has ever rusted. I had to completely disassemble and clean the rust off of my first LnL when I recovered from lymphoma in 2016. I hadn't been in the reloading room for well over a year because of hospital stays, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The LnL gets constant attention to keep the surface rust at bay. My other LnL hasn't started to rust yet but it gets a lot of preventative maintenance to try to avoid it.
Both presses get used at least weekly.
I have a couple of Dillon 550s that I bought at auction and after the holidays, I will be transitioning by bulk loading for most of my big bore revolver cartridges to one of the Dillons. I have a couple of die sets from RCBS that I will try first before I spend the money for Dillon dies.

Almost all of my rifle due sets are RCBS as well though I do have a few Redding sets that I acquired at auctions.

Personally, I doubt I will ever buy another Lee press or die set although I have purchased one of their case trimmer tools to try although I haven't used it yet.
I doubt that I will buy any more Hornady die sets in the future either.
RCBS seems to be the brand that works best for me as far as die sets.

I am contemplating a turret press in the future but it will probably end up being a Redding unless I find a used Lyman at an auction first.

 

[IWAC]

I have only one Dillon die...the Pro Crimp (I think) .38/357 taper crimp die...taper crimp, then it will preform a roll crimp if wanted. The only negative is the O ring lock ring. . It doesn't seem to be as precise as it might be, but the crimps and ammo seem to be consistent, any "slop" can be mostly eliminated by marking an index mark on the press and die. I am considering replacing it with one of my spare lock rings.
My set of RCBS dies just keep on keeping on, turning out good ammo.

 

[10mm expert]

Was wondering what the pros and cons of using other dies in my Dillon 500b would be? Is it worth saving $25 to get hornady or RCBS dies?

Guess I should add I'm looking at getting some .380 dies.

No ! I have stoped Using anything but Dillon dies all the other dies or inferior you don’t get correct seating and crimp plus the Dillon dies or high-speed