August 29, 2013, 09:45 AM | #1 |
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advice on s&w 500 dies
i have been reloading for last few years and reload for most pistol calibers.
i am going to start reloading s&w 50 cal soon. what do you recomend for dies? i have a hornady progressive press and have used hornady and lee dies.both with good luck.i like the lee factory crip dies also,but they do not make them for 50 cal pistol. was looking at lymans dies. what do you guys think? what is working best for you. also can i use winchester large rifle magnum primers i have? most books i have state just using large rifle primers. -thanks
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August 29, 2013, 10:03 AM | #2 |
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I have dies from a couple different companies, but the bulk of my dies are made by Lee and they also happen to be my first choice in handgun dies. And so that is what I bought for the .500 S&W Magnum.
I still don't own a Lee "Factory Crimp Die", and I certainly don't feel there is any need for one in .500 S&W Mag.
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August 29, 2013, 12:22 PM | #3 |
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I too recommend Lee.
Many of my dies are RCBS, but I do not recommend RCBS in 500S&W Reason. RCBS dies are made for both the much shorter 500 Special and the 500 Mag. That means your seating die will have to be adjusted with a large gap between the shell holder and the bottom lip of the die. Thus setting and adjusting your crimp will be more difficult than with other brand dies. BTW. No one makes brass for 500spl. Trimming 500 brass almost 3/8" to make 500 special is a PITA. |
August 29, 2013, 12:53 PM | #4 |
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I prefer Lyman dies , the chrome plating keeps the rust monster at bay (I live in South La.) , they not only look nice but do an excellent job of reloading ammo. I have a set of 45 acp dies with the carbide sizer, my first, they are older than dirt and still in use after 37 years service. I like Lyman.
Thats not the only set I have, I have several rifle sets and some 41 mag. dies, they all work just fine. Gary |
August 29, 2013, 05:46 PM | #5 |
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I bought 2 sets of dies for mine, a crappy lee set and a nice redding set. Why 2 sets you ask? Because I'm a 4 die set kind of guy, and I didn't find any quality 4 die sets for the 500.
I haven't loaded any yet, but my plan is to use the redding dies for everything but seating. I'm a firm believer you ruin ammo that needs a heavy crimp by trying to seat and crimp in the same step. |
August 29, 2013, 07:27 PM | #6 |
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I have the LnL also and use the Redding Carbide 500 S&W dies - in addition I use the Redding profile crimp die in the 5th stage to crimp. I use the Redding seating die to just seat the bullet and adjust it so it will just take away the case mouth bell and not crimp the bullet.
I also polish the expander plug a little so the expander plug doesn't touch the case body except for the belling portion of the plug - I feel I get maximum bullet case tension with the polished expander plug. |
August 31, 2013, 08:09 AM | #7 |
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good advice so far,i would like to use a die just for roll crimp as i do with my 44 mag.
-any one else have input?
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August 31, 2013, 10:45 AM | #8 |
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I've got the RCBS carbide dies for my 500 S&W loadings, have no complaints.
Unlike all my other carbide dies/pistol calibers, I have found it necessary to use a little bit of case lube when resizing these brass. |
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