Plan on rolling my own 9mm... No experience reloading pistol, all rifle so far Don't have a turret or progressive press. Single stage only. Didn't want to drop $200 on a set from Redding.

The first set I came across was the Lee carbide 4 die set. I have a few Lee dies and they're pretty decent. I like that their die sets come with everything... shell holder, etc... But there were several negative reviews. (However, there are folks who seem to troll the net and crap on Lee every chance they get too.)

The other set is a Lyman carbide 3 die set. Price is competitive, but I'll probably have to buy my shell holder separately. So the price on the dies isn't all I'll have in them.

My local guy has a Hornady 2 die set... No shell holder included so I'd have to order one. And in my experience Hornady sizing dies tend to size on the small side and work the brass more than I like to.

Roll the dice on the Lee set or pony up and order the Lyman set and order the other necessary parts?

Any favorites you would recommend?

Any I should avoid like the plague?

Mike

Can't really help ya, however I bought all my reloading stuff many years ago and it was all RCBS and those I did not have I still went to them.

Never had any problems with them and never been turned away from a store that did not have what I wanted to add either

Just what I got and served me well !

The 4 die set from Lee is fine for pistol reloading. You are not talking bench rest here. I use them for my pistol rounds and they do just fine.

Thanks Grit. I like RCBS too. But it's hard to get anything RCBS right now unless I want to piece/part it all together. I think California's covid restrictions have them all but shut down.

Mike

Thanks Scuba.

I'll never strive for BR accuracy. High percentages on man-sized steel at 1000+ for rifle... Bullets traveling in the intended direction for pistol.

Mike

Hornady 2 die set for 9mm?? Doesn't make sense to me. Usually straight wall cases require 3 dies, one to decap and size, one to neck expand, and one to seat the bullet and crimp.

I have a Hornady 3 die set with a titianium nitride sizer that I like just fine. Also have a Lee carbide sizer for .45 ACP. Both are decades old but good quality and work great. I would not hesitate to go with either but I like to buy Hornady because of their continued innovation that improves our ability to make better ammo.

I just now loaded a couple of hundred rounds of 10mm with a Lee 4 die set on my turret press. They do just fine.

You may be right Ed. I just glanced at the Hornady case on the shelf as I walked by. But for the price they could include a frickin shell holder.

For my 300 WM I love the Hornady bullet seating die... Not a fan of the sizer though. I have an RCBS sizer I prefer to the Hornady.

But, I tend to be fussy. So there's that. Lol

Mike

Midway has the Lee 4 9 mm die set in stock. The extra die is their factory crimp die which is excellent! They are great dies for the money!

Miley, that's the set I'm looking at.

Mike

I run the lee carbide 4 die set

with a slight change

I run a taper crimp die and not the factory crimp die .

because I load primarily cast coated or plated. and those die settings work just fine when I run XTP hollow points

the pistol lee factory crimp dies squeeze down cast bullets to be too small

my 9mm cast stuff will hold a 66% steel at 100 yards from a Glock so while not "match grade" it isn't a slouch either

I run Aliant Power Pistol in a Lee pro auto disk and that drops the powder close enough to make a good load

I don't know how many I have made and I bought the dies used from a co-worker who upgraded to a Dillon

I was shooting about 2-3K a year for a while so the dies probably have 20K through them and I think the only thing I have done is clean them

I use Lee dies and have no problems. I don't run cast bullets in autos though.

I knew Dick Lee. He helped me out a few times. They make a good product.

Thanks guys.

Pete, I will be running jacketed bullets. So I plan on using the crimp die that comes with the set.

Honestly, I'm not a 9mm devotee... But it had a few key points that led me to settle on it

Appreciate the help everyone.

Mike

Use the Lee dies, you won't have any trouble with them or your ammo. As far as the guys running them down, some people don't understand the difference between cheap vs. inexpensive. I've loaded thousands upon thousands of rounds with Lee and never had any trouble.