May be a dumb ? But....

[Mikelang15]

I am new to reloading as well as this site, So please bear with me here
Do you have to have different decapping dies for each caliber or can u use say a 9mm luger die for 38/ 9x18 etc...?

 

[GLOOB]

You don't need a decapping die, at all. You need a sizing/expanding/seating die for each caliber, and each sizing die will come with its own decapping pin. Or you can buy a universal decapping die, if you want to decap without resizing.

 

[dmazur]

Well, there are universal decapping dies, like this -

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=136543

but decapping is usually handled by the resizing die, and those are more or less "caliber specific".

Like a lot of things, there is no one answer to a lot of questions. For example, some reloaders use a resizing die on a single stage press to deprime and resize bottleneck cases, tumble to remove lubricant, and then use a universal decapping die in the first station of a progressive press to knock out any media that might be caught in the primer hole. The reason for using a universal decapping die is that it doesn't attempt to resize the case, which would require lube (which was just cleaned off) and would unnecessarily work the brass.

However, it is more common to do decapping as part of resizing.

Some resizing dies can be adjusted to handle different case lengths. I believe .44 Magnum / .44 Special and .357 Magnum / .38 Special are examples. However, these are straight-walled cases and really only differ in length, so the same die will work.

However, 9mm Luger is described here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9x19mm_Parabellum

and .38 Special is described here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Special

You can see that the cases are completely different in dimension, so the resizing dies have to match.

So, yes, you can get a universal decapping die that will fit almost any cartridge. However, you still need to get a resizing die for each, and those come with decapping capability.

Unless you have a specific need for universal decapping, I'm not sure it is going to save you anything.

 

[cfullgraf]

Currently, virtually all decapping is done in the sizing die. I would guess because of the popularity of progressives and when they re-prime the case.

If you buy used equipment, you can find some old sets of dies that decap in the expander die. They work fine on single stage presses and probably most, if not all turrets.

 

[LiveLife]

For pistol cases, I use combination decapping/resizing dies after cases are tumbled/polished.

For rifle cases, I decap separately using a universal decapping die so I can clean/decrimp the primer pockets before I tumble/polish the cases. I then resize the cases.

 

[1SOW]

I decap on an old Lyman Press and use a "universal" decapping die that fits all non-Berdan pistl and most rifle cases.

This set-up keeps all "the dirty work" on one press.