Which dies for my Dillion? Need a set........
- Thread starter viking499
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Any of the major manufacturers die sets will serve you well.
If you do not have a 223 Remington set as of now, I recommend getting a small base sizing die.
Chances are you really will not need it, but it is cheap insurance against chambering problems in the future and costs no more to use (brass life is unaffected in my experience). Should you need a small base sizer die in the future, you will not have spent extra for another die.
RCBS AR die sets come with a small base sizer die.
Dillon sizer dies are made to minimum specs similar to small base sizer die.
The RCBS Gold Medal seater dies are the cats meow for ease of use and good performance but are pricey as well.
If you do not have a 223 Remington set as of now, I recommend getting a small base sizing die.
Chances are you really will not need it, but it is cheap insurance against chambering problems in the future and costs no more to use (brass life is unaffected in my experience). Should you need a small base sizer die in the future, you will not have spent extra for another die.
RCBS AR die sets come with a small base sizer die.
Dillon sizer dies are made to minimum specs similar to small base sizer die.
The RCBS Gold Medal seater dies are the cats meow for ease of use and good performance but are pricey as well.
Blue68f100
Member
Depending on what your use is, the Competition set by Redding is very nice. I have the Master Hunter Set and the FL-S (neck sizing) die also to not over work the necks. The Redding competition seating die has a sleeve to align the brass so the bullet seats straight minimizing run out. I also have the Hornady set all work well even on my LNL-AP. I have had no problem sizing brass to fit my min spec 223R chamber.
Kevin Rohrer
Member
The simple answer is to go w/ whichever dies Dillon recommends. Checking their site, I see that they sell their own .223 dies, as well as Redding, although I did not see any Redding .223 dies.
But if you don't like either make, there should be no reason you can't use whatever make you want. I use RCBS rifle dies and work fine in my 550.
But if you don't like either make, there should be no reason you can't use whatever make you want. I use RCBS rifle dies and work fine in my 550.
If I had it to do again I'd just get the Dillon dies.
I have a set of Dillon 223 on my 650. i also bought a set of Lee RGB 223 dies that I use to resize on an LCT. I've got a turret that has a Lee RGB 223 and 308 FL resizer along with an RCBS SB 308 for that caliber when I've had trouble with some LC brass.
I bought an RCBS 223 SB at the same time that I got the SB 308. I haven't had to use 223 SB die yet.
The Dillon 223 die is supposed to be the same as a SB die and I can't dispute that claim. Both the Lee RGB resizer and the Dillon 223 resizer have resized everything I've put in them.
I'm loading for 4 AR's and 2 Mini 14's and the Lee (and to a lesser extent, the Dillon 223 die) resized brass run great in all of them.
I have a set of Dillon 223 on my 650. i also bought a set of Lee RGB 223 dies that I use to resize on an LCT. I've got a turret that has a Lee RGB 223 and 308 FL resizer along with an RCBS SB 308 for that caliber when I've had trouble with some LC brass.
I bought an RCBS 223 SB at the same time that I got the SB 308. I haven't had to use 223 SB die yet.
The Dillon 223 die is supposed to be the same as a SB die and I can't dispute that claim. Both the Lee RGB resizer and the Dillon 223 resizer have resized everything I've put in them.
I'm loading for 4 AR's and 2 Mini 14's and the Lee (and to a lesser extent, the Dillon 223 die) resized brass run great in all of them.
mahansm
Member
One feature of the Dillon dies that makes them worth the price difference is the built in stuck case remover. This may not ever be needed, but if it is you really need it.
Olympus
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Lee dies have the same thing.
I like the Dillon dies, but they are more expensive, about $68 for the rifle set. My biggest objection is the set includes a dedicated taper crimp die, and I don't crimp bottleneck rounds. That's one reason they cost so much.
Sooo, if you do plan on crimping, I'd spend the extra and go Dillon, if not, something else. I load .223 with RCBS dies on my 550B and they work nicely.
Laphroaig
Sooo, if you do plan on crimping, I'd spend the extra and go Dillon, if not, something else. I load .223 with RCBS dies on my 550B and they work nicely.
Laphroaig
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I have a set of Lee and a set of RCBS .223 dies and both do the same job. I do not however own a Dillon progressive press but my shooting buddy does. He is using a standard set of RCBS .223 dies on his 550 with no issues at all.
bobinoregon
Member
I use Dillon dies for any caliber that they make them for that I load. Most of the rest of my dies are RCBS along with a Hornady or two. It's just personal preference, I really don't think any one is much better than any other.
Schwing
Member
+1
I just bought a set myself. I own a lot of dies from a lot of different manufacturers and can't tell any difference in function between them and my Lee dies.
I have a Dillon 650 so I am not sure if your tool heads are thicker/thinner but I do have to put the locking rings on the bottom of a lot of my Lee dies because they are a bit shorter. It doesn't harm a thing but some people are really bothered by it.
They currently have these on sale at midway for $28.79
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/434975/lee-pacesetter-3-die-set-223-remington
LiveLife
Member
+1.
Another happy user of Dillon 650 with Lee dies (even though I have Dillon and RCBS dies as well).
Another happy user of Dillon 650 with Lee dies (even though I have Dillon and RCBS dies as well).
LiveLife
Member
For ARs, Pacesetter set would be fine. If you have a bolt gun, Deluxe set with Collet Neck Sizing Die would be good. If you want everything, get the Ultimate set.
Pacesetter 3 die set has:
- Full Length Sizing Die
- Bullet Seating Die
- Factory Crimp Die
Deluxe 3 die set has:
- Full Length Sizing Die
- Bullet Seating Die
- Collet Neck Sizing Die
And Ultimate 4 die set has:
- Full length Sizing Die
- Collet Neck Sizing Die
- Easy Adjust Dead Length Bullet Seating Die
- Factory Crimp Die
Pacesetter 3 die set has:
- Full Length Sizing Die
- Bullet Seating Die
- Factory Crimp Die
Deluxe 3 die set has:
- Full Length Sizing Die
- Bullet Seating Die
- Collet Neck Sizing Die
And Ultimate 4 die set has:
- Full length Sizing Die
- Collet Neck Sizing Die
- Easy Adjust Dead Length Bullet Seating Die
- Factory Crimp Die
The truth about dies is that you get what you pay for. But like all items in a market economy, they obey the law of diminishing returns: progressively more expensive dies give you progressively less and less per extra dollar.
For coyotes and plinking, you probably don't need anything fancy. A set of Lee dies will be fine, used, if needs be. Whatever you can get for cheapest should suffice. In my experience Hornady has a pretty good quality to price ratio. RCBS is probably better quality, but they usually cost more, too. A two die set should be just fine for your purposes.
Some die manufacturer names that come to mind that will do for you, whether or not they are the best in the world:
Lee
Redding
RCBS
Hornady
Lyman
Dillon
Any of these will be as good as you need, and maybe better, depending on which model you get.
If you are thinking about getting into competition, now would not the time to buy dies for that. So don't worry about getting match-grade-this or precision-that.
For coyotes and plinking, you probably don't need anything fancy. A set of Lee dies will be fine, used, if needs be. Whatever you can get for cheapest should suffice. In my experience Hornady has a pretty good quality to price ratio. RCBS is probably better quality, but they usually cost more, too. A two die set should be just fine for your purposes.
Some die manufacturer names that come to mind that will do for you, whether or not they are the best in the world:
Lee
Redding
RCBS
Hornady
Lyman
Dillon
Any of these will be as good as you need, and maybe better, depending on which model you get.
If you are thinking about getting into competition, now would not the time to buy dies for that. So don't worry about getting match-grade-this or precision-that.
No competition planned in my future. Expense of the dies is not the problem, I can buy whatever set I want. But, if the $30 set will do the same thing for what I am going to do as the $130 set, my thinking is why spend the extra money if I don't need to. Am I thinking wrong on that?
LiveLife
Member
Nope.
And I like the fact that Lee dies come with free shell holder which is handy when I do load development on single stage press.
And I like the fact that Lee dies come with free shell holder which is handy when I do load development on single stage press.
Olympus
Member
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Absolutely not. Why pay $130 for something when $30 would get you the same results? Every set of dies I have are from Lee, pistol and rifle. I'm no competition shooter, but my Lee rifle dies get me sub-moa accurately from all my rifles, so that pleases me enough to keep buying Lee dies. They have yet to give me a reason to try another brand.
Load on a 550b - and use Dillon 223 dies. They are nice - no issues whatsoever.
I have several other rifle caliber dies - from Hornady, RCBS, and Lee. The Hornady had an issue with a clip. I forget how I fixed it, that was a while back, but it was fine after that. The RCBS die has a broken depriming pin I need to deal with. Guess it's been a while since I reloaded 30-06. Anyway, that's one of those "wear" items that are slightly more likely to "wear out" with some than others (in my experience). The Lee has been solid.
I have several other rifle caliber dies - from Hornady, RCBS, and Lee. The Hornady had an issue with a clip. I forget how I fixed it, that was a while back, but it was fine after that. The RCBS die has a broken depriming pin I need to deal with. Guess it's been a while since I reloaded 30-06. Anyway, that's one of those "wear" items that are slightly more likely to "wear out" with some than others (in my experience). The Lee has been solid.
RPegram
Member
I only use Lee dies in my Dillon. I use all their dies for pistol, but only seating and crimping for rifle (yes, I crimp 223). They work great and save me money. Also, as BDS states above, the Lee dies come with a shell holder which I also use in a single stage Lee press.
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