Tried out the Lyman M die in 38 special

[Peter M. Eick]

Pretty darn nice. I certainly see why these are promoted for lead bullets. It made it a lot easier to get the bullet seated straight without guiding them into the die. You just press lightly and they go straight in and the up into the seating die.

If you are not familar with the M die, it is a sizer expander that has two diameters. What you do is adjust the die so the second diameter is just enough to get the lead bullets to seat without a lot of flare to the round.

Match the M die with a Redding Profile crimper and I got the nicest crimps on 38 specials I have ever made.

 

[Walkalong]

Hello Peter.

I have some Redding expander dies in .38, .41, .44, & .45 of the Lyman two step type. Do the Lyman dies have a bigger diameter to them compared to the Redding? The Reddings are just big enough to allow plated or jacketed in with virtually no wiggle room. I can give diameters if needed when I am home.

 

[ranger335v]

Last time I checked a set of Reddings pistol dies it was obvious they have copied the Lyman M expander die plugs. Meaning the major part of the plug is just under bullet diameter, as normal, and a short section is just over bullet diameter to make the start of seating easy, plus a real "belling" taper just above that. It's a GREAT design!

I love Lyman's "M" expanders, use them for ALL of my reloading, including rifle stuff. They distort bottle neck cases less than conventional expander plugs, making for straighter ammo.

 

[Walkalong]

Last time I checked a set of Reddings pistol dies it was obvious they have copied the Lyman M expander die plugs

Absolutely. Lyman has made them that way for quite a while.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

It sounds like I should order my next couple of sets of Reddings over Lyman's. I did not state it in my original post, but the metal work on the Lyman die is poor at best. When you sit at the press and can stare at the top of the dies and the machining, the quality difference between lyman, rcbs and redding is very very obvious. Not that it really matters much to the finish round, but I do like nice toys!

Thanks for the tip!

 

[ranger335v]

Pretty is nice but it costs. Guns, dies or women.

 

[Linear Thinker]

Peter, you bring up a good issue - die machining. As a former chipmaker, I can appreciate a first rate machining job and can tell a good steel from so-so - Redding is at the top of the list. Hornady/Pacific second, RCBS third, Dillon third, Lee fourth, Forster fifth, Lyman at the bottom.
Honorable mention: Lachmiller and Hollywood.
Not so: Herters.

All of the above have some good points to differentiate them from the competition, or out-compete them, eg: Lee FCD and collet dies. I use Forster Benchrest dies in 22H and 308, they do a great job in spite of poor finish.
Just my 2 cents,
LT

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

Like the engine in my truck, I couldn't care less about what the outside of the die looks like, as long as it is functional and accurate in the right places, most of which are on the inside. I'd rather see a company put their money and effort on the inside where it counts. Whether the knurling is perfect or the outside finish free from blemishes bothers me not.

On another front, does Redding offer M-type expanders for rifle cartridges?

Andy

 

[zeke]

Big Jake-have used the lyman rifle expanding dies for straighter jacketed bullet seating.
Am using the next smaller caliber (like a .257 for .264) to just get the bullet seated straight in the brass, before using the bullet seating die. An better/more expensive alternative is the Redding/RCBS competition bullet seating dies.