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Old May 2, 2002, 11:01 PM   #1
KITT
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Lee 357 Sig dies

I am looking in my catalogs and cannot find a listing for Carbide 357 Sig dies... does anyone know if Lee makes the 357 Sig dies in Carbide???
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Old May 2, 2002, 11:18 PM   #2
John DR
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The only carbide die that I know of for the 357 Sig is made by Dillon.
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Old May 3, 2002, 04:51 AM   #3
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Carbide dies only work with straight wall cases, so you do not need lubrication. With the bottle neck 357 Sig, you will need to lube the case. Purchasing a carbide die for any bottle neck cartridge is a waste of money.

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Old May 3, 2002, 10:43 AM   #4
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And the Dillon ones cost over $100, not worth it in my opinion.
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Old May 3, 2002, 07:36 PM   #5
KITT
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Exactly what I needed to know.... So I guess its Lee steel dies and lube the brass. Thanks for the info!
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Old May 3, 2002, 07:50 PM   #6
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Actually, I have found through experimentation between steel and carbide 357sig dies, that the carbide one has a little less friction and is therefore slightly easier to use. Whether it's worth $100 more for this comfort is up to you I like it. But the Lee works great.
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Old May 4, 2002, 02:29 PM   #7
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Don't waste your money on the Dillon's.

Almost all of my dies are Lee's.

Just spray a generous amount of spray lube on the outside of the case and the mouth and your bullets will slip into the case, no problem.

Treat them just like rifle case!
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Old May 4, 2002, 08:32 PM   #8
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Respectfully, I disagree with most of the posters on this topic.

The Dillon carbide dies operate much more smoothly, and you only need to give a very light spray of lube on the cases.

Also, the carbide dies will not scratch your cases.
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Old May 7, 2002, 12:44 PM   #9
Peter M. Eick
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I must agree with the post above. The dillons are definately worth it because they are easier to size the brass in, burnish it slightly and in general are easier to use.

Well worth the money.
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Old May 7, 2002, 03:15 PM   #10
Joe Portale
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Well folks, I must disagree that Dillon dies are smoother to use. I have a collection of all sorts of dies, Dillon, Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman and so forth. And there is one thing that I have learned:
every one of the makes could use a nice light polishing with Flitz. In fact when I buy a set of dies, I polish the innards before they ever see a round. My polished Lee 357 Sig steel runs just as well as a Dillon set. I recommend that everyone get out the Flitz and polish their dies. Your opinion on this is yours, just like I have mine. But a little Flitz and about twenty minutes to save $75 that could be spent on bullet, primers and powder, it's worth the effort.
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Old May 15, 2002, 02:35 PM   #11
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Joe,

I'm a big fan of Flitz, but I never polished my dies with it. Can you elaborate a little bit on the technique?
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Old May 16, 2002, 05:20 PM   #12
Joe Portale
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Hey Pigshooter,

Go to this website, 'Ol Varmint Al has a page that can explain the polishing of a reloading die better than anything I can say.

http://www.cctrap.com/~varmint/arelo.htm#Polish

That is where I learned about polishing the dies. He has tons of cool information on other things there also.

Joe
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Old May 17, 2002, 07:48 AM   #13
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Thanks Joe. I have actually been there looking at the moly stuff, but never noticed the rest. Great link!
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Old May 17, 2002, 09:52 AM   #14
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357 sig dies and lube.

I don't know what all the fuss is about. My set of RCBS 357 Sig dies has worked just fine for the last year and a half. I use a lube pad. (Actually the same pad I have used for all my loading for the last 32 years, though it has been recovered several times over the years. I bought it from Herters in 1970.) I use RCBS case lube. After sizing cases I just rub the lube off of them by dumping them on a towel on the floor and folding it over them and giving it a good rubbing. No muss, no fuss.
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Old May 17, 2002, 10:43 AM   #15
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Joe, thanks for that link. I'll be polishing some of my dies this weekend to try it out.

Steve (who's trying to do his part to get us to the 1 million mark by Sunday)
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Old May 22, 2002, 09:29 AM   #16
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Get the Lee dies. Cheap and good. Don't bother lubing cases as there's little surface area to worry about. Some folks lightly lube every 5-6 case just to be on the safe side but I've never found this necessary myself.

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Old May 22, 2002, 11:42 AM   #17
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I got a set of RCBS .357 SIG dies for sale. Anybody interested?


$20.00
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Old May 25, 2002, 12:54 AM   #18
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The steel Lee dies for 357 sig are fine. Love mine. Just use horn one shot spray.
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