Lee Roll Crimp Dies

RTLOF18918B

RTLOF18918B

New member
I'm going to buy a set of dies for the 9mm. I'm debating between RCBS and Lee Carbide roll crimp dies. I have never loaded pistol before but do reload alot alot of rifle and have both brands and like them both. I was talking to a friend who told me to get the roll crimp dies for a smoother crimp. What say you all? I only want to buy once.

Thanks,

Tony
 
Tony, I've been using Lee pistol dies for years in my Lee Progressive set up and very seldom have a problems out of them...The key to the roll crimp die is to get it set up properly at the start to finalize the crimp just as the bullet is getting fully seated...

It will take some trial and error, so don't get frustrated...Just keep in mind that, if you change bullet style/type, you will need to readjust the die all over again...For that reason, 99% of my 9mm rounds loaded are using the 124gr RN Copper plated bullet as they are for plinking/practice...

If I load the few HPs, etc.that I might want to shoot to mimic my self defense rounds, I'll switch over to another die set just to keep from needing to readjust my RN setting..
 
I may be mistaken, but I thought the newer Lee dies for semi's were taper crimp. My 9mm Lee dies are fairly old stock, but the crimp from the seater dies looks like a taper crimp. Our 9s cycle fine.

I did buy a taper crimp die for our 45s as my daughter's Kahr CW45 has issues with some of my loads. All of our other 45s handle them without a hiccup.
 
I don't know if Lee makes 9mm roll-crimp dies, but what you need is a taper crimp. Many people, me included, seat the bullet in one step, and crimp in a separate step. I feel that it yields more consistent results. Ideally, this requires an additional die to taper crimp; all the manufacturers offer them.
 
I'll second the 2 stage suggestion. I would not use a roll crimp. 9mm (and most other rimless rounds) headspaces off the case mouth and a roll crimp can make a mess of that.

I'd use Lee's "factory crimp" dies for all semi-auto pistol reloading. It amounts to a resizing of the loaded cartridge. I've seen a number of guys whose realoads were misfeeding badly get their mojo back with those dies.

good luck.
 
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