Carbide Pistol 3-Die Set (9mm Luger)

Dillon designed these dies around the specific problems a progressive press creates, which is why they cost more than a comparable three-die set. On a progressive, a case arrives at a station under a shellplate at speed and not perfectly centered, so Dillon gives the sizing die a long tapered carbide ring with a radiused opening that funnels a slightly misaligned case in instead of catching on it. The decapping assembly floats on a spring so it self-aligns to the flash hole and snaps the spent primer clear, which addresses the primer draw-back that plagues decapping military brass. The seating die disassembles quickly so you can clean bullet lube and shavings out of it without losing your seating depth, and its flip-flop stem switches between round nose and semi-wadcutter profiles without unscrewing anything. Crimping lives in its own third die whose insert also comes out for cleaning without disturbing the crimp adjustment. Everything is sintered carbide, hand finished. Note that Dillon's own manual is explicit that bottleneck rifle cases still require lubricant even with carbide rifle dies; the lube-free benefit belongs to straight-wall pistol brass.