Dillon dies vs Hornady and RCBS

[10mm expert]

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.

I have a square deal b and a 650xl way to go I have been loading for 35 years mostly with a single stage up to 10 years ago and I will never go back to single stage matter fact I’m going to buy two or three more Dillons just so I don’t have to change calibers . Mike Dillon was a genius and people that don’t know his products don’t know what they’re talking about

 

[9mmepiphany]

Mike Dillon was a genius and people that don’t know his products don’t know what they’re talking about

Mike certainly was a genius at reading the market and marketing (direct) his product.

His flagship press, the 1050, originally came about because of the shortcomings of the Star Reloader. It has it's flaws, but they have been addressed by the aftermarket.

The Dillon 1050 has now been superseded by the Mark 7 Evolution (now part of the Lyman family) which addressed all the shortcomings experienced by shooters who reload in large quantities (Mark7 wa started by USPSA shooters)

 

[10mm expert]

I went to school with Wally Lyman
And I should a listen to my buddy back in middle school , his dad had bought two 550s back in 1987 which my body still uses now no problems , I would’ve had way more Dillons now and no junk RCBS, The RCBS is junk because it’s worn out and there’s no warranty it’s very hard to operate not smooth and all different lengths you have to play with a dies every cartridge

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I load on a Dillon 650, the vast majority of my dies are Redding.
Have one set of Dillon dies, 40 S&W, they collect dust now. Redding dies IMO are smoother, produce nicer looking and more constant ammo. The Pro comp seater dies are flat out awesome and worth the price.

 

[bob4]

The Pro comp seater dies are flat out awesome and worth the price.

I have 2 of these for my rifles and I love them. Never thought I might consider this for handguns. But If I have learned nothing else so far I have learned to buy it once and cry once. I've wasted more money trying to save a dime.

 

[rodinal220]

I have been using Dillon products since 1984 when I bought my RL450. I cannot remember when they started making dies but I have used them for decades now, 380 thru 45 Colt. I haven't had a lick of trouble with them. I also have some of their rifle dies, no issues. I think the pistol and rifle dies are geared more for progressive presses and rapid use. I was using Lyman 38/357 dies on my 450 and when I got Dillon dies they were better suited for progressive reloading.

I have die sets from RCBS,Lyman,Lee,CH4D,Redding. I have had good service from all these makes. It depends on what you are doing, type of press and the specific die set you are using, many variables.

 

[rfwobbly]

It's all in what you get used to and what does the job you want done.

• I do prefer the Dillon sizing dies for handgun reloading. The later version with that spring loaded de-capping pin is fantastic.
• If you buy the Hornady handgun die set, then the Expander Die stays in the case. The Dillon Powder Funnel makes it redundant.
• I'm fairly partial to the Redding Taper Crimp die in 9mm Luger, over the Dillon version
• If you shoot a lot of conical bullets (XTP, RMR Match Winner, PD JHP or similar), then Dillon doesn't offer a good Seating Die for those.*
• If you like to load DEWC flush in 38 Spcl, then the Dillon Seating Die can't do that either. The seating anvil has to be modified.*

* Anyone with a metal lathe can quickly get around these limitations.

 

[glc24]

I use Dillon carbide 40 S&W, 45 ACP, and 9MM pistol dies in my 550B. I have a set of Hornady 45 ACP dies, but haven't tried them yet. I also have Hornady and Redding 223 dies that I use in my Lee 4 hole. I like the Redding dies much better though.

 

[DukeConnor]

When I finally got on the 300 BO band wagon I was chopping and trimming 223 cases. I bought the harbor freight chop saw , a jig from a fellow on the 300 bo forum and a trim die for the Giraud.

I bought a set of lyman msr dies. They were priced right. I didn't want to pony up for the dillon dies.
They were too expensive.

I didn't like the msr sizing die and bought another sizing die.

After awhile I bought a lee fcd because i wasnt a fan if the msr crimp die.

Finally just ordered the dillon 300 bo carbide die set. $$

The dies I bought to save money are now resting in a box under the bench. The dillon carbides crank out ammo as fast as I can pull the handle on the 650.

Saving money can be expensive.

 

[9mmepiphany]

The Pro comp seater dies are flat out awesome and worth the price.

I bulked when I first saw the price, but it is truly a matter of getting what you are paying for. I use the Competition Seating die to load my match ammo in 9mm and .38Spl

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I have 2 of these for my rifles and I love them. Never thought I might consider this for handguns. But If I have learned nothing else so far I have learned to buy it once and cry once. I've wasted more money trying to save a dime.

Just last weekend, I reloaded about 900 rounds of 45acp with two new Redding dies. Their "Pro" expander die and comp seater, I had been using a Lyman M die and the regular Redding seating die. Redding's "Pro" expander die blows the Lyman M die out of the water. The brass feed smoother and didn't have ridges on the brass, you could see and feel each individual step of the M die on the brass, plus despite how tight you had the stem it would work loose and flare the brass at an angle.
I was loading some RMR 185 gr plated bullets, set the oal to 1.165 I think, pulled 12 random pieces from the first 100. Had 10 pieces measure 1.165....1 piece at 1.164 and 1 at 1.63
Also loaded some ACME 230 coated set at 1.260, my total variation was .003, with the regular Redding seater my total variation had a swing of around .010

I have their comp die in 9, 40, 45, 223, and 30-06 and will add 44 mag, in each case the comp die has tightened the oal and with the pistol, the finished rounds just look better.

 

[frankmako]

i have two 550. first one in 82, second one in 02. i have several tool heads setup for several different pistol calibers. none of them have dillon dies. started reloading in 73 and still using dies (lyman/rcbs) from the 70/80's. come to think of it i don't have any dies from dillon except a 9 mm taper crimp die that i am using in a 357 mag cast bullet head for match ammo.

 

[lightman]

I really don't like to respond to these "whats the best" threads. This one seems to be pretty civil.

I like Dillon dies and have a few sets. Some dies were not originally designed for using on progressive presses. RCBS, for one, has made some changes over the years to accommodate progressive presses. Dillon dies were designed for progressive presses. The newer Dillon dies are made to be easily disassembled for cleaning without changing your die settings. The carbide pistol dies have a longer carbide insert than many of the others. I am using a few of the newer RCBS dies in my 550 with no problems. I have not tried the Hornady dies. Some Lee dies are too short to work in a 550.

 

[jmorris]

Some Lee dies are too short to work in a 550.

For those I put the lock ring on the bottom.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I'm unqualified to give a comparison of quality or of value. When I started loading it was on a Dillon press, and so I bought Dillon dies because that's what the store carried. That was for 45 acp. They work well and I have no complaints. Consistency is good. I now own dedicated tool heads for 38 Special, 357 magnum (Yes I bought an extra set of dies to save time.), 10mm auto, 38 Super, 9mm, and the aforementioned 45 acp. They are all Dillon dies, simply because I find they work smoothly, and I don't have a reason to change. They work. That's all I can say.

That doesn't mean others don't work just as nice or nicer. I will be setting up a tool head with Redding dies I bought for S&W 460 magnum once I buy some bullets.

I don't think anyone buying Dillon pistol dies would be disappointed, unless overspending a bit bothers you.

 

[joed]

Dillon dies are top notch in my opinion. I've had several progressive presses by Dillon and load strictly pistol cartridges. I started with RCBS dies but a problem surfaced early while reloading. I've found with the progressive presses the depriming die pin comes loose. Actually had instances where it came off and ended up in a case that got loaded. I have replaced all my Sizing/decapping dies with Dillon.

The Dillon dies have a totally different system for the decapping pin. Most times the pin will survive a Berdan primer

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I use a mix of dies on my presses. I prefer Redding Dual Ring dies for resizing, for 9mm I use RCBS for resizing. RCBS works just fine for 9mm and I never have brass that won't feed or chamber in any of my 9mm pistols, due to a bulge of any kind that the die couldn't reach due to having to large of an entry bevel. I can't say that with another brands of dies I have and that brand isn't Lee either.

I use M-dies only, for neck sizing straight walled cases and go out of my way to accommodate a station for them.
For seating I use either RCBS, Hornady, or Lee for pistol. I just can't see paying premium price for something with the Dillon name, that doesn't work any better than any other brand of dies on the market.

For Rifle I use Redding or Forster. They are what I'm comfortable with and have always used because that what I inherited from my father. I think he had good taste.

 

[captain awesome]

Might as well list my favorites;
Pistol sizing/decaping; tie between Dillon's spring loaded decapping pin sizing dies and Redding's dual ring sizing dies. I Wish someone did both in one die.

Rifle sizing die; Dillon's carbide sizing dies. Why don't they make them with spring loaded decapping pins like the pistol ones???? Aside from that, I prefer RCBS and their carbide expanding balls and also their "x" dies which I like a lot, again why doesn't some maker combine all these features together???

Pistol expander; the "M" style dies. Redding makes the same thing as lyman now but does it better IMO. I purchased some "m" style expander inserts for the lee dies from a company called NOE (night owl express) and modified them on a lathe to be used in Dillon powder dies, required turning the outer diameter down .008" and drilling out the center and flaring the new hole to a funnel shape to run powder through. A company (Double Alpha I think?) Makes this very thing for 9mm, 40, and 45 ACP but if you run larger cast bullets or 45 colt, you're out of luck as far as I know if you want to expand at the same station as the powder drop unless you do what I did. I noticed my pistol ammo is more consistently accurate when using the the "M" style expanders. Less potential for run out I think.

Pistol seating; redding competition seater. These are my favorite by far. If another company makes something similar with a sliding sleeve and a micrometer on top I definitely be willing to try it. I believe these dies also produce more accurate ammo. For cartridges I can't get in the Redding competition, I just use Hornady's.

Rifle seating; Forster micrometer seating die, or Redding's. I pick Forster because I have read they are less prone to failure/breakage, and they are cheaper.

pistol Crimp: Lee factory crimp die for semi autos, and I don't have a preference for revolvers as long as it does a decent roll crimp. They all seem to do fine.

 

[MikeInOr]

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.

In my 650 the force needed to resize .308 and .223 "seems" less with my Dillon Carbide .308 and .223 resizing dies than with the RCBS and Hornady dies I previously used. But the force may just "seem" less because my wallet is so much lighter now? The carbide rifle resizing dies do not alleviate the need for case lube though, if anyone is wondering. For everything else I use a mix of most all other brands and have never found much of a difference between the different brands. The Lee collet crimp dies are some of my favorites and I have one for most every caliber.

On my 650xl a stupid .40S&W case will inevitably sneak in inside a .45acp case and jamb my press as well as bend the decapping pin (Damn my .40 S&W shooting buddies!). It is really nice that RCBS decapping pins are cheap and available locally when I have bent my last spare decapping pin. The first round I reloaded for when I got my 650xl 30 years ago was 9mm. I still use the same RCBS 9mm die set and tens of thousands of rounds later the RCBS dies still work just fine! RCBS dies do seem a bit more rust prone over MANY years than Dillon, Lyman or even Lee dies (Hornady dies seem to lie somewhere in between RCBS and the others as far as how prone they are to rust).

If you ever pack your press up for a move or storage I recommend giving the dies a shot of CLP (or other protectant) and a quick wipe down with a rag. Smokeless powder is an aggressive oxidizer!

 

[1 Cor 2:9]

I load .44 mag .45 ACP 9mm .380 .38 spec .357mag all with Dillon dies on 2 550s and the only odd die I use is the Hornady micrometer seat die for the 9mm as I load a variety of different bullet weights and types. Plated, cast, FMJ HP
the micrometer adjustment makes it easy to obtain proper OAL. Buy the Dillon you won't be disappointed.
JW