Is this the Lyman M Die?

[slowr1der]

I've been meaning to pickup a Lyman M-Die after hearing about them on here. Anyway, I bought a bunch of stuff at an auction and a set of older Lyman dies came with them. The expander die says it's a 45 Exp Die M1. Is this the same as the M-Die you'd by separately? Or is that a newer die than these?

 

[Lafitte]

Must be, the script on the die is correct for an "M die". I use a .30 cal M die to expand the neck on 30/06 brass for loading gas checked lead bullets. Just expand enough to clear the gas check.
Lafitte

 

[ReloaderFred]

Probably, but if you unscrew the expander, take it out and look at it, there should be a two step section at the top. If there is, then it's for sure an M Die.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[slowr1der]

It does kind of look like it has a double step on the expander plug. Here is a picture of what it looks like. Is this the same as the M-Die?

 

[ReloaderFred]

Yep. The first part of the expander provides enough expansion for neck tension on the bullet, and the top little step is to bell the case mouth enough to allow the bullet to just sit there without holding it while seating. It also helps to facilitate straight seating of the bullet.

You might polish it a little bit, since it looks like it's been sitting around for awhile.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[slowr1der]

Thanks for the help. That's a huge help! I'm also excited to finally get one of these. I've had this on my list to buy and I kept putting it off. I had no idea this set would include one. I bought it for something else in the lot and figured I'd just try to sell this set to recoup a few dollars. Looks like I'll be keeping it instead.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've got the M Die in several different handgun calibers. They really do make a difference and I think you'll be happy with your new tool.

Fred

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I use them also, they do make a big difference. I think it is the only expander for pistol dies Lyman sells. I have an old Lyman steel die set from the late 1980s, in .357mag, and it has an M-die expander.
That one of yours looks like someone was expanding dirty brass with it. I would also clean it up and polish it a little. It will work much smoother.