Carbide Dies?

lizziedog1 · March 10, 2006, 10:47 PM

I have looked through all the die charts of all the companies. Carbide dies seem to be available for most straight cased rounds. They are even available for the .30 Carbine cartridge. But I could not find one company that makes carbide dies for the .45-70. They all make the regular steel dies for it though.

My question is why doesn't any die making company make carbide dies for the .45-70? It seems to be as straight of a case as any. The popularity of this round seems to also be rising.

Any theories on this?

Jim Watson · March 10, 2006, 11:04 PM

.45-70 is not perfectly straight. It would take a long tapered carbide insert which would be really expensive. Just like .30 carbine and 9mm carbide dies have longer inserts than .45 ACP and cost more.
It isn't THAT popular (again) yet.

brickeyee · March 11, 2006, 10:47 AM

And the ,30 carbine dies I have still recomend lubrication.
There is a lot of metal in contact at the same time.

WIL TERRY · March 11, 2006, 01:48 PM

I have been using carbide dies for well over 40 years now. They are not perfection nor do they load the best of ammuniton since they are made to oversize the entire cartridge.
Now after 40+ years I find myself using spray lube even on brass going through carbide dies as it makes the sizing all but effortless. At times I now wonder why I did not see that carbide dies didn't load ammunition one whit better than steel dies.
As far as the 45-70 cartridge is concerned, the steel dies work so well, the cases size so effortlessly, there is no need for carbide dies unless your loading tens of thousands of rounds commercially for resale.

lizziedog1 · March 11, 2006, 03:02 PM

Thanks for all the responses.

But don't you think that carbide dies are helpful when reloading a bunch of small cases. When I reload .38 specials I do not want to spend all that time lubing and then delubing hundreds of small cases. I guess the size and quantity for larges rounds makes carbide dies not that vital. But I do like them for handgun cartridges.

trooper3385 · March 14, 2006, 09:24 PM

I could be wrong here, but I thought one of the main benefits of the carbide dies is for nickle cases. The nickle cases can scratch the inside of the steel dies. Since alot of the pistol cartridges are nickle, the carbide die does not get scratched. I don't have any experience with reloading nickle cases, so I could be wrong. If anyone has any experience with this, let me know. I have alot of nickle cases for my 7mm rem mag and as far as I'm aware, they don't make carbide dies for the 7mm. Are they going to scatch the inside of my dies or not. If you make sure there lubed well, will this prevent it from scatching. Or should I just forget about reloading nickle cases in a steel die?

Ifishsum · March 15, 2006, 01:39 AM

The main benefit of carbide dies is you don't have to lube cases in most instances.

I've scratched steel dies using nickel plated rifle cases before and no longer reload them. They don't last as long anyway - more brittle.

The nickel plated pistol cases seem to work fine with carbide but the necks split a lot sooner than brass.

March 10, 2006, 10:47 PM	#1
lizziedog1 Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2005 Posts: 289	Carbide Dies? I have looked through all the die charts of all the companies. Carbide dies seem to be available for most straight cased rounds. They are even available for the .30 Carbine cartridge. But I could not find one company that makes carbide dies for the .45-70. They all make the regular steel dies for it though. My question is why doesn't any die making company make carbide dies for the .45-70? It seems to be as straight of a case as any. The popularity of this round seems to also be rising. Any theories on this?

March 11, 2006, 01:48 PM	#4
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 1,322	Carbide Dies Are One Of Those Things Handloaders Went Gaga Over, Including Me. I have been using carbide dies for well over 40 years now. They are not perfection nor do they load the best of ammuniton since they are made to oversize the entire cartridge. Now after 40+ years I find myself using spray lube even on brass going through carbide dies as it makes the sizing all but effortless. At times I now wonder why I did not see that carbide dies didn't load ammunition one whit better than steel dies. As far as the 45-70 cartridge is concerned, the steel dies work so well, the cases size so effortlessly, there is no need for carbide dies unless your loading tens of thousands of rounds commercially for resale.

March 10, 2006, 11:04 PM	#2
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,539	.45-70 is not perfectly straight. It would take a long tapered carbide insert which would be really expensive. Just like .30 carbine and 9mm carbide dies have longer inserts than .45 ACP and cost more. It isn't THAT popular (again) yet.

March 11, 2006, 10:47 AM	#3
brickeyee Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2004 Posts: 3,351	And the ,30 carbine dies I have still recomend lubrication. There is a lot of metal in contact at the same time.

March 11, 2006, 03:02 PM	#5
lizziedog1 Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2005 Posts: 289	Thanks for all the responses. But don't you think that carbide dies are helpful when reloading a bunch of small cases. When I reload .38 specials I do not want to spend all that time lubing and then delubing hundreds of small cases. I guess the size and quantity for larges rounds makes carbide dies not that vital. But I do like them for handgun cartridges.

March 14, 2006, 09:24 PM	#6
trooper3385 Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2005 Location: South Texas Posts: 814	I could be wrong here, but I thought one of the main benefits of the carbide dies is for nickle cases. The nickle cases can scratch the inside of the steel dies. Since alot of the pistol cartridges are nickle, the carbide die does not get scratched. I don't have any experience with reloading nickle cases, so I could be wrong. If anyone has any experience with this, let me know. I have alot of nickle cases for my 7mm rem mag and as far as I'm aware, they don't make carbide dies for the 7mm. Are they going to scatch the inside of my dies or not. If you make sure there lubed well, will this prevent it from scatching. Or should I just forget about reloading nickle cases in a steel die?

March 15, 2006, 01:39 AM	#7
Ifishsum Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2005 Location: Oregon Posts: 1,033	The main benefit of carbide dies is you don't have to lube cases in most instances. I've scratched steel dies using nickel plated rifle cases before and no longer reload them. They don't last as long anyway - more brittle. The nickel plated pistol cases seem to work fine with carbide but the necks split a lot sooner than brass.