The only practical reason for carbide, is you don't have to lube the cases beforehand. For common straightwall pistol cases, they are a big timesaver for high volume shooters. Most of my handgun dies are carbide, except for a few oddball calibers. The Automag falls into the oddball catagory.
Here's a .44 AMP case stuck in a steel die that I was sent - I managed to extract it fairly easily, but whoever got it stuck had definitely not lubed the case:
RCBS makes a stuck case removal kit. I bought one on a whim and a week later stuck a 308 case in the sizer die. It worked like a champ to get it out (destroying the case in the process, but so what?). They are very cheap and a good investment:
https://www.rcbs.com/case-processing/accessories/stuck-case-remover/16-9340.html
It’s important to remove all lube from each case as part of the ammo construction process. You do NOT want any oil or lube on the case when the round is fired because it’s necessary for the case to temporarily expand and stick to the chamber walls. A lubed case allows tremendous forces to be placed on parts (bolts, slides) which are not designed to withstand them. So loading when cases must be cleaned off does not lend itself to a progressive press. When I load bottleneck cases that require lube (357 AMP, 357/44 B&D, 308) I lube, resize and deprime, then wash and dry the cases and set them aside for later. Then, at some future point, I take the cases which are ready to go, and prime them charge them, expand the case mouths, seat the bullets and crimp them.
For straight wall cases (and 44 AMP using a carbide sizer) I load progressively all in one go.
Thanks again to everyone here for all this great information. I have just purchased the RCBS steel dies from Green Giant! Now all I will need is some brass and primers and I'll be dangerous.
@bartwatkins I haven't been able to find any brass, but I was able to find a set of case forming dies and made my own brass
@bartwatkins I haven't been able to find any brass, but I was able to find a set of case forming dies and made my own brass
New Auto Mag brass is available all day long:
https://www.starlinebrass.com/44-auto-mag-brass
It’s slightly thinner than cut down rifle brass, so velocities will be lower for a given powder charge (or put another way, the max load in the loading manuals which was derived using rifle brass, may safely be exceeded once you have tested your own results with a chronograph)
@pantera-mike Really? Still shows to be on back order . Just like the last 3 months
@pantera-mike Really? Still shows to be on back order . Just like the last 3 months
Ah. YOU read the fine print, something I completely overlooked. DUH! Sorry about that…..
@pantera-mike Really? Still shows to be on back order . Just like the last 3 months
Ah. YOU read the fine print, something I completely overlooked. DUH! Sorry about that…..
Yeah, I already have an order placed and paid for with Starline - they will ship it when it's off backorder.
@Pantera Mike can you post a link to the discussion on the Hornady dies being crap? I didnt see anything on the AMT site; I just bought a set from Grafs but haven't been able to use them yet.
@Pantera Mike can you post a link to the discussion on the Hornady dies being crap? I didnt see anything on the AMT site; I just bought a set from Grafs but haven't been able to use them yet.
Here is one thread with photos:
http://www.amtguns.info/hornady-sizing-die-results_topic2466.html
i found several other offhand mentions (one by BEEMER1 who is also on here) that just state that the Hornady does are crap, without further elaboration.
@Pantera Mike can you post a link to the discussion on the Hornady dies being crap? I didnt see anything on the AMT site; I just bought a set from Grafs but haven't been able to use them yet.
Here is one thread with photos:
http://www.amtguns.info/hornady-sizing-die-results_topic2466.html
i found several other offhand mentions (one by BEEMER1 who is also on here) that just state that the Hornady does are crap, without further elaboration.
Crap, after reading that thread I'm now worried about my Hornady shellholder too 🙁
@bartwatkins I saw that tread also. That's when I started looking for RCBS dies. Found a set on ebay for $117.00 and a set of case forming dies from a tread that was almost a year old on another board
@bartwatkins I saw that tread also. That's when I started looking for RCBS dies. Found a set on ebay for $117.00 and a set of case forming dies from a tread that was almost a year old on another board
Yeah, I just purchased a set of RCBS dies from Green Giant (forum member here) but I do still have a Hornady shell holder (as I have a Hornady Reloading Press too). I guess if the shell holder does work, it wouldn't be too hard to find an RCBS one.
@bartwatkins I think I would go ahead and get the RCBS #3 shell holder, they are cheap and easy to find. It my save you some headaches down the road.
