9mm die options

[alamo5000]

I have a cheap RCBS 9mm die set. I guess it works fine but I'm looking at other options.

Once the RCBS dies are set I guess they are ok but they are a bit fiddly to adjust so I've just been leaving them in the press which I want to stop doing. Also I had to use a Dremel tool to fix them myself right out of the box. The seating stem was jacked up so I had to fix it myself after RCBS refused to do the repair (even though they were brand new at the time). Basically the seating stem had all kinds of messed up tooling gouges on the inside of the stem and it would gouge up bullets when I seated them. After I ground it out and polished it it's been ok.

The caveat to what I want is the seating die also needs to have a taper crimp. I do not want to do two separate functions for seating and crimping.

I have been really pleased with dies from Mighty Armory and they do offer a 9mm sizing die so that's one option. Their seating die however doesn't have a crimp function so the seater is not an option.

I don't have a progressive press yet so for now the number of lever pulls matters.

Anyway what are some good options for 9mm dies that I might not be thinking of?

I am considering getting a Hornady 9mm seating die and using the Mighty Armory sizing die with it but no decision are made yet.

 

[Billl223]

I've loaded many thousands of 9 mm rounds. I use Redding dies but I know that I need a seating die plus a crimp die.

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

I use Hornady that has a taper crimp. Loaded thousands and thousands with them.
Personally, it's 9mm...so who cares. This isn't precision rifle stuff. I would just pick up what ever you find.
I'm not sure if Lee has a taper crimp, but they would be perfect for the task, IMHO.

 

[ICU22250]

I use a Mighty Armory sizer, Lee taper crimp and Redding micrometer seater in my Dillon Rl1100. Works pretty well for me, but I'm sure in 9mm you don't have to be very picky..

 

[DownhillFromHere]

When I first started reloading metallic cartridges circa late 1970s, I was all precise about getting the 9mm cartridges just as perfect as I could on that old single-stage press. I didn't even have a carbide size die so I was having to lube cases with all the aggravation that entails. I hated parting with the $$ for that first carbide die.

Over time, and with the addition of a Dillon progressive press, I learned to just pick a load in the middle of a given powder/bullet's charge range and run it. I don't really crimp per se... I bell the case mouth just enough to get the bullet started without shaving, and that's tight enough even for heavier loads. It wasn't like I was shooting bullseye competitions... but my loads still keep jacketed bullets on a 1/2-IPSC at 100 yards. Good enough. I just hoover up range brass - meaning that case lengths will vary a fair amount which in turn negates any benefit from trying to set a perfect taper crimp. The only quality control I do is throw out split cases and run loaded rounds through a Wilson gauge. Those which don't fit go into the "Glock jar" - Glocks will eat anything.

And I still use that late-1970s die set.

Run whatcha got, unless you're trying to make a bullseye-9mm.

 

[alamo5000]

I agree that with 9mm it doesn't really matter all that much (to a point). Overall, my main goal is just to have a nicer set for a number of reasons. I am not chasing SD's or groups or anything like that, I just want some nicer 9mm dies over what I have now. Basically I am very slowly over time upgrading and investing in my reloading room and everything in it.

The reason I want a seater die with a taper crimp is because I do not want a separate operation to remove crimps. If you load 1K rounds, that adds at least 1K lever pulls to the overall operation. If I ever invest in a progressive setup my thinking might change but until then this is the criteria.

I don't want or need a micrometer or whatever, not for 9mm and not for what I am making. I am still not sure if there are any other die manufacturers out there other than the known big few, ie Redding, Lyman, RCBS, Hornady, etc that I should look at before I start buying stuff.

 

[Tchitcherine]

Save up, buy a Dillon, crimp on the final stage, easy.

 

[alamo5000]

Save up, buy a Dillon, crimp on the final stage, easy.

Eventually this is the plan, but not yet. It's in the cards to get a progressive setup to go with other things I have, but it's not a priority yet. Just looking at what I shoot and how much of it I shoot I am prioritizing based on that.

 

[ICU22250]

Eventually this is the plan, but not yet. It's in the cards to get a progressive setup to go with other things I have, but it's not a priority yet. Just looking at what I shoot and how much of it I shoot I am prioritizing based on that.

Personally, to me anyway, crimping and seating in the same stage sucks. It's a pain to get it right.. I think I'd rather pull the handle twice as much on a turret press. Lol. I hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[alamo5000]

Personally, to me anyway, crimping and seating in the same stage sucks. It's a pain to get it right.. I think I'd rather pull the handle twice as much on a turret press. Lol. I hope you find what you're looking for.

I got an email from Mighty Armory and they are supposed to release another seating die that has a taper crimp later on this summer.

I'm sure that I would be happy with the Hornady seating die as well.

The only reason I'm getting these things is because I can. There is no technical reasons for it at all. If primers were more available then the same money would probably go towards that instead.

I general I'm upgrading everything in my reloading room so I will eventually have a lot more premium stuff.

A progressive is on the list but it's not a priority. As for now my work flow matters therefore the specific need.

 

[supercorndogs]

Lee carbide dies seat and taper crimp. I have only ever bought Lee dies for straight wall cartridge reloading. 9mm, 40 S&W, and 44 mag. Set up and operation is finicky but a Lee loadmaster will make you lots of handgun ammo for a couple hundred dollars. I got tired of mine and auctioned it on E-bay in 2019 or 2020 after I loaded a few thousand more rounds on it. Total rounds loaded on it was close to 20k. Its a much better time to buy than when I auctioned mine, that is for sure.

 

[StaveyIL]

EGW 9mm U-die (U=undersized )

 

[Ocean_Dweller]

Save up, buy a Dillon, crimp on the final stage, easy.

I started with RCBS dies then when I bought my Dillon 650, I had nothing but problems. Finally went with the EGW U Die, Redding competition seater, and lee carbide factory crimp die. This combo has been pretty much 99.9% reliable for me.

 

[99mpower]

#1... Wayne at Mighty Armory is a joke, and will slander any company he can. Also has some interesting views on ethnicity. On deployment, so i dont have all the screen shots, but stay away from Mighty Armory. I used to have a bunch of stuff from them, i pretty much threw it all in the trash

I load 9mm on a 1050 Ammobot, at 1800rds an hour. I've gone through all the different mixes, but what has worked for me the best is this:

#1. Dillon or Redding Carbide Size Die with decapping
#2. I use a flare die in my priming station to bell before powder drop. It minimizes "sticking" on the powder funnel
#3. MBF competition bullet dropper (brass weights and rubber bands to minimize any issues"
#4. Redding Competition Micrometer Seater
#5. Lee FCD or Dillon crimp.

minor tweaks can make things run much smoother, and produce better results. With automation, I actually process all my 9mm brass first, to include depriming with FW Arms Self Centering Spring Loaded Deprimer (Best deprimer, hands down), swage, checking to make sure no stepped brass, and a Dillon Carbide size die at the end. I also rollsize all my brass to help with base/rim sizing as well

 

[ICU22250]

#1... Wayne at Mighty Armory is a joke, and will slander any company he can. Also a racist. On deployment, so i dont have all the screen shots, but stay away from Mighty Armory. I used to have a bunch of stuff from them, i pretty much threw it all in the trash

I load 9mm on a 1050 Ammobot, at 1800rds an hour. I've gone through all the different mixes, but what has worked for me the best is this:

#1. Dillon or Redding Carbide Size Die with decapping
#2. I use a flare die in my priming station to bell before powder drop. It minimizes "sticking" on the powder funnel
#3. MBF competition bullet dropper (brass weights and rubber bands to minimize any issues"
#4. Redding Competition Micrometer Seater
#5. Lee FCD or Dillon crimp.

minor tweaks can make things run much smoother, and produce better results. With automation, I actually process all my 9mm brass first, to include depriming with FW Arms Self Centering Spring Loaded Deprimer (Best deprimer, hands down), swage, checking to make sure no stepped brass, and a Dillon Carbide size die at the end. I also rollsize all my brass to help with base/rim sizing as well

I dont know Wayne on a personal level, but he's always been top notch to me, I happen to like his sizing die for my 9mm and his decappers which I have a couple of. The FW arms decapper looks nice, and I have considered it, but I just can't get past the size of it, to me it looks like a skyscraper and it won't fit on my Lee APP decapping setup. I have a few sets of Wayne's dies and have no complaints, although I still have a set of 223 dies from him that hasn't seen brass yet, but I assume they will work just like my other dies. I would also be careful about using the slander word, I'm no lawyer, but calling a business man a racist on a public forum which could possibly cause irreparable damage to his business may qualify as just that, slander, and could possibly land someone in a lawsuit. JMO.. All I'm saying with respect to you is you may wanna choose your words more wisely in the future..

 

[99mpower]

I dont know Wayne on a personal level, but he's always been top notch to me, I happen to like his sizing die for my 9mm and his decappers which I have a couple of. The FW arms decapper looks nice, and I have considered it, but I just can't get past the size of it, to me it looks like a skyscraper and it won't fit on my Lee APP decapping setup. I have a few sets of Wayne's dies and have no complaints, although I still have a set of 223 dies from him that hasn't seen brass yet, but I assume they will work just like my other dies. I would also be careful about using the slander word, I'm no lawyer, but calling a business man a racist on a public forum which could possibly cause irreparable damage to his business may qualify as just that, slander, and could possibly land someone in a lawsuit. JMO.. All I'm saying with respect to you is you may wanna choose your words more wisely in the future..

I have the screen shots of his comments, pretty cut n dry. I'm on all the FB groups for reloading, and all the big automation groups. Wayne takes more than a few liberties, and copied FW Arms design on his decapper. Its all over the groups. Just sharing my experiences, and what i've seen personally, directly from him

 

[ICU22250]

I have the screen shots of his comments, pretty cut n dry. I'm on all the FB groups for reloading, and all the big automation groups. Wayne takes more than a few liberties, and copied FW Arms design on his decapper. Its all over the groups. Just sharing my experiences, and what i've seen personally, directly from him

I got ya, just don't wanna see anyone get in a pickle is all, nothing personal bud..

 

[99mpower]

I got ya, just don't wanna see anyone get in a pickle is all, nothing personal bud..

appreciate it.. i changed wording.. I know Will Aerni pretty well at FW Arms, and followed Wayne originally from the very beginning. Frustrating to see Wayne immediately change his design after Will came out with what he did at FW Arms, and everyone pretty much switched over

 

[CK1.0]

IMHO, with 9mm, it's actually probably worth the extra pulls to seat and crimp separately, the choices available for "2-in-1" dies that aren't terrible is very limited.

The DAA is probably the best (made by Lee, they probably have a version of the same thing). I've used one before, and know more than a couple high-volume IDPA/USPA shooters use them... not terrible, still a compromise though, mainly guys' use them only due to running out of stations on a progressive:

DAA 2-in-1 Seating and Crimping Die

We sell a lot of Bullet Feeders. And the most common request we hear is “Can I used the Bullet Feeder on my 550?” Or “can I use the Bullet Feeder and still continue to use my powder check on my 650?”.The answer to both questions is, YES, provided you combine your S...

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Honestly though, in 9mm, it's less of a crimp die and more like a "bell removal die", and that's why it can be hard for a lot of guys to get it right without overdoing it (even with the single-purpose dies)... it gets even harder to pull off with the 2-in-1's.

 

[padom]

First, outside Wayne as a person on a personal level, Ive never had any issues with Wayne on a business level and everything he has sold me has worked excellent. Dies, decappers, pins... Work great and size much easier and smoother than anything mass produced like Redding, Forster, RCBS, etc...

Ive played with all the combos... a seater/crimper all in one die sucks. I have a few difference ones and the consistency of seating depth is not there, there is not consistency..

Nothing better than a Redding Micrometer 9mm seating die and crimping with a Dillon crimp die on final stage. Just plain works and is consistent round after round....

 

[AllenOne1]

I run the 9mm Hornady dies with very good results. Thousands of rounds have been through those dies with no issues. I do remove the primers with a dedicated de-priming die though which is a practice that I recommend.

 

[308pirate]

I have a cheap RCBS 9mm die set. I guess it works fine but I'm looking at other options.

Once the RCBS dies are set I guess they are ok but they are a bit fiddly to adjust so I've just been leaving them in the press which I want to stop doing. Also I had to use a Dremel tool to fix them myself right out of the box. The seating stem was jacked up so I had to fix it myself after RCBS refused to do the repair (even though they were brand new at the time). Basically the seating stem had all kinds of messed up tooling gouges on the inside of the stem and it would gouge up bullets when I seated them. After I ground it out and polished it it's been ok.

The caveat to what I want is the seating die also needs to have a taper crimp. I do not want to do two separate functions for seating and crimping.

I have been really pleased with dies from Mighty Armory and they do offer a 9mm sizing die so that's one option. Their seating die however doesn't have a crimp function so the seater is not an option.

I don't have a progressive press yet so for now the number of lever pulls matters.

Anyway what are some good options for 9mm dies that I might not be thinking of?

I am considering getting a Hornady 9mm seating die and using the Mighty Armory sizing die with it but no decision are made yet.

Get a Hornady New Dimensions die set, the one with the titanium-nitride coated sizer. Sizer also de-primes, seater also crimps.

I haven't found anything that works better for straight walled pistol cartridges.

 

[308pirate]

I do remove the primers with a dedicated de-priming die though which is a practice that I recommend.

I've bent maybe two depriming pins in tens of thousands of rounds depriming with the sizing die.

Not worth the hassle of a fourth die to deal with.

 

[AllenOne1]

I've bent maybe two depriming pins in tens of thousands of rounds depriming with the sizing die.

Not worth the hassle of a fourth die to deal with.

I wet tumble the cases before reloading them so that is probably why I started depriming first. I also lube before sizing even though I run the Titanium Nitride sizer.

Make sure you order the seating die for a taper crimp and not the roll crimp version.

 

[308pirate]

I wet tumble the cases before reloading them so that is probably why I started depriming first.

I too wet tumble cases before reloading them. I don't get the fetish with cleaning the primer pocket.

It makes zero difference to accuracy and primer seating.

I'm pretty sure Hornady New Dimension seaters are available only as taper crimp for cartridges that headspace on the case mouth, so there is nothing to choose.

My ND 9 mm seater does a taper crimp. My 38 spcl ND seater does a roll crimp.

 

[AllenOne1]

I too wet tumble cases before reloading them. I don't get the fetish with cleaning the primer pocket.

It makes zero difference to accuracy and primer seating.

I'm pretty sure Hornady New Dimension seaters are available only as taper crimp for cartridges that headspace on the case mouth, so there is nothing to choose.

My ND 9 mm seater does a taper crimp. My 38 spcl ND seater does a roll crimp.

Well I like a clean primer pocket so I make the pockets clean, That's just me, not arguing that it makes anything shoot better.

Die set 546516 includes a taper crimp die 044170
Die set 546515 includes a roll crimp die 044144

My understanding is that the roll crimp is old school, used for revolver rounds mainly, but it's out there.

 

[Molon]

.. less of a crimp die and more like a "bell removal die",

That's the correct idea, which is accomplished more easily by using a separate crimping die. For those who might not be familiar with the idea of just "removing the bell" simply measure the outside diameter of a loaded round just below the case mouth. That is the number that you should be trying to achieve at the case mouth with the use of a taper-crimp die. You're less likely to degrade accuracy with this method and with a properly resized case, there is no need to actually crimp the case mouth into the bullet jacket.

The 10-shot group pictured below was loaded on a Dillon XL650 (with a Redding micrometer seating die) using the above method of removing the bell. The 10-shot group has an extreme spread of 0.482".

...