[Garyshome]

You have to flare it, so as not to shave the boolit. If you seat and crimp on the same station there will be shaving problems also. A lee FCD on the last stage will crimp and re size the case so it will be in factory specs. All the benefits with no shaving!

 

[Col. Mortimer]

Yeah, I'd have second thoughts also...

I resize, deprime, flare, powder dump, seat, crimp all in one pass using ONLY Dillon dies in my XL 650.

Is he 'selling' Lyman dies by chance?

He does not but I think he is hurting his business by driving customers away from his lead bullets to jacketed. He should actually test different dies and find out for sure. Otherwise, it's just an opinion and hear say.

 

[Col. Mortimer]

You have to flare it, so as not to shave the boolit. If you seat and crimp on the same station there will be shaving problems also. A lee FCD on the last stage will crimp and re size the case so it will be in factory specs. All the benefits with no shaving!

I like the way you think.

 

[iflybeech]

I will join the flare group and I use LEE dies. I too find that the bullet gets shaved with no flare. Too much flare and the case gets jammed in the seating die. I hold the bullet in place while raising the case so that it will not tip over.

Bill

 

[Col. Mortimer]

I will join the flare group and I use LEE dies. I too find that the bullet gets shaved with no flare. Too much flare and the case gets jammed in the seating die. I hold the bullet in place while raising the case so that it will not tip over.

Bill

I think you have the right idea. A flare will work as long as you keep the bullet upright. The problem seems to be with dies that seat and crimp in one step.

 

[3gunWoody]

How would flaring cause shaving? It is giving you more room for the bullet.

You can use any standard thread dies on the 550. The powder station has its own die, that the powder hopper sits on, and which contains the proper powder funnel. No matter what brand of die you use, you still use the Dillon powder funnel die at that station.

All Dillion converse kits come with the proper powder funnel that also flares the case. As quoted above dies will still work.

 

[Garyshome]

I have shaved lead with no flare, I have never shaved lead with a flare. I like the way I do it now. It Works For Me. Not flaring does Not Work For Me.

 

[papasmurf]

I do agree with not using the FCD with lead. It's swages the lead down and causes it to be a loose fit in the case. I quit using it when I noticed I could actually turn my .45s in the case. I always use the FCD with jacketed, though. Can't agree with flaring causing shaving, that's why you flare.

 

[Tailhunter]

I won't do it again. What a frigging mess.

I load Lucky13 bullets, no problem.

 

[dirtyharry]

Matt does not sell dies so he has no stake in recommending them. He does have quite a resume of shooting achievements and probably has forgotten more stuff than most of us will ever know. But his focus is accuracy. Not at 7 yards or twenty yards. I too have a Dillon 550. I load lead, jacketed, plated, etc. For 95% of my reloading, the Dillon flare on the powder funnel is fine. But when you are trying to wring out every last bit for accuracy sakes you will look for any improvement, no matter how small. I shoot pistols 50-100 yards so I want accuracy. From time to time I buy dardas bullets but I prefer a swaged bullet. I too have switched to the lee M die on my silhouette loads. It does not leave the flare on case like the Dillon but expands it evenly. The bullet drops right in and makes the seating alignment that much more precise. The point that Matt is making is that when a bullet is pushed into a flared case it can, not always, but it can alter the base of the bullet a bit. Even with a beveled bullet. Pull a few bullets next time and do a close examination of the base. It just depends on what sort of accuracy you are looking for and if you are willing to take the extra step or two.

 

[lucky13bullets]

I won't do it again. What a frigging mess.

care to elaborate on this, never once heard from you about any problems, and being that you are right around the corner in sandy ridge, you could have come right to the shop and either got a refund or we could have showed you what you were doing wrong.

 

[Tailhunter]

The lead is very soft and the lube is tacky/sticky. Made a mess in my Dillon dies. I am not a religious lead shooter so I just chalked it up to "oh well". I have since used another brand, lead is a lot harder and the lube stays put. I really don't load enough lead to make a difference.

 

[lucky13bullets]

well, since your right around the corner, bring them back up, and we will give you a refund or replace them.

 

[ArbowAxle]

I've loaded quite a bit of 38 special lead using Dillon dies. Just like any other dies, adjust your expansion and crimp properly. The Lyman dies might do a better job, but I haven't had any issues using Dillon dies. I think..... all my lead has a beveled edge, which helps.

 

[Wardor]

The lead is very soft and the lube is tacky/sticky. Made a mess in my Dillon dies. I am not a religious lead shooter so I just chalked it up to "oh well". I have since used another brand, lead is a lot harder and the lube stays put. I really don't load enough lead to make a difference.

The Dillon dies are designed specially for this reason. Pull the pins, spray, put pins back in. 30 seconds, no change in die settings.

Sent from my SCH-I535