Since I'm getting my first 40 I'll be needing dies for it. My press and most of the rest of my equipment is RCBS. What dies do you fellows think I should get? I think carbide would be best but what brand?
For handgun dies, I like Hornady. They have a floating seater that helps the bullet enter the case straighter and are just good dies in general. I've loaded thousands of rounds of .38 Super with mine and they show no signs of wear at all.
Mooseman is right rcbs or lymann are great. I like the rcbs decapping die much better set up than most. I have a bunch of lee stuff also though and it works fine but would have prefered the rcbs if the pocket book would have allowed it at the time. And you are also right that carbide is the way to go.
Just make sure the resizing die you choose will size to the base of the case. You are going to run into Glock shot .40cal brass with the "Glock Bulge". I use a Lee sizing die with my Dillon set. The Dillon won't get down to the bulge.
Just make sure the resizing die you choose will size to the base of the case. You are going to run into Glock shot .40cal brass with the "Glock Bulge". I use a Lee sizing die with my Dillon set. The Dillon won't get down to the bulge.
Take Care
Bob
That's interesting. I know about the Glock bulge and I would think the Dillon would get down to it. Anyway, I haven't bought my dies yet. I'm having to focus all of my funds for taxes till next week. I'm pretty sure I'll go with the Lee 4-die set.
Yep, works great, even though it does separate the bullet seating and crimping operations. And not too expensive either. I have reloaded thousands of 40 S&W's and have yet to have a failure that wasn't caused by me.
Gandog. I've been reading a lot of stuff on the dangers of loading the 40 since it's already considered a high-pressure load. It seems that the 40 has more of a chance for a KP due to lack of full case support when chambered. I was just wondering since you have loaded a lot of 40 ammo if you have had a KB. What brand/model pistol are you using? I know the Glocks have the famous bulge due to lack of case support but I'm shooting a S&W 4006. I haven't started loading the 40 yet. I'm still collecting Dies, new measure and such. Also I need a new manual. Only one of mine even list the 40 data. My other manuals are older than the S&W 40 I guess. I like to compare different manuals for any load I make then I never go max. Right now my mind is made up to use the Lee carbide 4-die set with a Lee Auto Disk powder measure. The Lee powder measure appears to be able to meter well with the small charges that a 40 case would need. Since overpressure is a major concern then consistent metering will be too. Another thing that I liked about this setup is the meter attaches to the expander die and automatically charges the case.
Last edited by Down South; 04-08-2007 at 06:40 PM.
Reason: Dang Spelling.
All my die sets for pistol are the Lee 4 die sets. And I reload 10 different pistol calibers. I like Lee as they are generally cheaper than all the others and do just as good a job as them. The only thing I don't like about them is the cheesy red plastic box they come in. The plastic hinge tends to break off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Down South
Gandog. I've been reading a lot of stuff on the dangers of loading the 40 since it's already considered a high-pressure load. It seems that the 40 has more of a chance for a KP due to lack of full case support when chambered. I was just wondering since you have loaded a lot of 40 ammo if you have had a KB. What brand/model pistol are you using? I know the Glocks have the famous bulge due to lack of case support but I'm shooting a S&W 4006. I haven't started loading the 40 yet. I'm still collecting Dies, new measure and such. Also I need a new manual. Only one of mine even list the 40 data. My other manuals are older than the S&W 40 I guess. I like to compare different manuals for any load I make then I never go max. Right now my mind is made up to use the Lee carbide 4-die set with a Lee Auto Disk powder measure. The Lee powder measure appears to be able to meter well with the small charges that a 40 case would need. Since overpressure is a major concern then consistent metering will be too. Another thing that I liked about this setup is the meter attaches to the expander die and automatically charges the case.
I was reloading for a Ruger KP944DC, but traded that in and got a Sig Sauer P229 with both a .40 cal and .357 Sig barrel. The only problem I ever had was 2 squib loads, never a KB, and those were a long. long, time ago. And the squibs were from me not using the old mark one eyeball test before I seated the bullets. But Rugers are known to be tough guns. The only gun I ever hear a steady stream of KB stories is Glocks. I've also never heard one single KB story about a Sig. I think most KBs are caused by improper crimps and bullet setbacks in the mag, which can cause a BIG pressure spike. As a matter of fact,, the only gun I ever KB'ed was a Springfield Armory 1911A1 GI. Probably caused by a double charge of powder. So now I use powders that fill the case at least 1/2 way so a double charge should be obvious. It did no harm to my gun except the barrel bulged and the bottom of the mag blow out. IT actually did me a favor as I replaced the factory barrel with a Wilson Combat Match grade barrel and suddenly my groups were about 1/2 the size they with the factory barrel. I also got a Pact High Speed Powder Dispensor and digital Scale set, so I always get charges within +/- 0.1 grain.
Last edited by gandog56; 04-26-2007 at 01:15 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
