Bullet feed dies?

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kmw1954

New member
After making a big mistake in ordering a Hornady Bullet Feed die and believing it would work with plated bullets, which I found out to late it won't. I am looking for feedback on the RCBS bullet feed die and trying to not make the same mistake.

Trying to set this up in an empty position on my Lee Breech Lock Pro press seeing as I can reliably load using just my 3 die set in the Pro1000.
 
That would be great if that is what I was using. The Xtreme 115gr RN 9mm are not passing thru.

The response I received from Hornady was useless and only stated that this die is not recommended for use with "plated" bullets.

Seeing as I am trying to use this on a progressive press with a Lee Auto Disk/Drum measure I certainly don't want to be double stroking this thing trying to get a bullet to drop and end up double charging cases.
 
I'm not using one.My brother is.He loads Montana Gold in 38 Super,mostly.
Jacketed.
He's using a Ponsess-Warren die in a Dillon 1050.
I promise you nothing,but it might be something to check out.
 
Didn't have to do anything to mine to get it to work but there are several YouTubes out there demonstrating how to polish the collet to get it to drop various bullets.
 
kmw1954 said:
That would be great if that is what I was using. The Xtreme 115gr RN 9mm are not passing thru.

The response I received from Hornady was useless and only stated that this die is not recommended for use with "plated" bullets.

Seeing as I am trying to use this on a progressive press with a Lee Auto Disk/Drum measure I certainly don't want to be double stroking this thing trying to get a bullet to drop and end up double charging cases.
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Plated and cast bullets are larger in diameter than jacketed. The die is designed to use jacketed usually .355" , that's why the larger plated .356" to .357" aren't dropping through.
The only thing I can think of is polishing the die out larger so the bullets you are using will drop through .
Gary
 
I find that difficult to understand a the Xtreme bullets are advertised at .355" and all I have measured have been .355" so I don't think the dies knows the difference between "plated" and "jacketed". Knowing the actual measured dimension is the actual .355" these should all be working. Sorry but I do not have a devise that will measure to .0001"
 
Buy some xtps and see if they will feed. If they won't feed then you know it's the dies and it doesn't hurt to have some xtps around anyways.

Then you call Hornady and tell them that the die isn't working and when they ask what bullets your using you aren't discrediting yourself.
 
For lead bullets in .358 for .357 Magnum loading I set the Hornady aside in favor of a Mr. Bullet Feeder die. That was on an LnL AP. On my Auto Breech Lock Pro and for 9mm I plan to use my Lee bullet feeder like I did on the Pro1000, noting that for that caliber they offer three sizes of fittings for varying bullet lengths. I have been loading jacketed in 9mm but expect a .355 plated would work as well.
 
I have pretty much ruled out getting a Mini Mr. Bullet just based on initial costs. I don't load enough to justify the expense in my mind for what I am doing. Though I would like to try the RCBS Die just to compare. At this point I've about given up with this Hornady die on this press. I'm just getting the feeling the two parts don't play well together.

I've looked at the Lee bullet feeder and watched a number of videos and the whole thing just looks like to many moving parts. Now if I was doing twice the amount of 9mm that I'm using now I would be looking at the Mr. Bullet.
 
From the RCBS pistol bullet feeder instructions:

The Bullet Feeder is designed to work with FMJ/TMJ, JACKETED or SEMI JACKETED Hollow Point, Soft Point, Round Nose, Truncated/Flat Nose and Semi Wadcutter designed bullets ONLY. Cast or swaged LEAD and adcutter(HB, BB, DE) bullets are NOT to be used. The lube from lead bullets deposits on the moving parts and collects dust and dirt, slowing down the function of the Bullet Feeder and eventually causing the motor to burn out and will void the Warranty.
The deposited lube also does not allow the bullets to be positioned properly for feeding from the sorting Wheel to the Feed Tube. The Wadcutter design will not sort properly through the Bullet Feeder.
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I have both the Hornady feeder die and the RCBS feeder die. I don't particularly care for the rubber band RCBS uses or plastic innards.....just a longevity concern, but I haven't used it enough to have to worry about it. I prefer the Hornady all-metal design where you can "size" the parts a little to make it work for different bullets. Just a matter of patience and tiny adjustments....try and retry until it works.

The Mr. Bullet Feeder design is better than the RCBS or Hornady in most ways, but the Hornady design is pliable and easily tweaked for a bullet not explicitly designed for.

I do like the ball-bearing design in the MBF. So does RCBS evidently, because last Jan. at the shot show they came out with a rifle bullet feeder that uses a variation of MBF ball bearings. But so far they haven't come out with pistol versions yet. That said, I really like the .223 and .308 versions I bought since the shot show. "Bullet-proof" ;)
 
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Just to be clear, I was/am referring to the Mini Mr. Bullet Feeder with the 6 tubes to feed the die and the RCBS that also comes with two tubes to feed the die. Not the one with the bullet collator.
 
In mentioning the Mr Bullet Feeder die, I should have included that I use it with a Bulley Adapter and the Lee bullet feeder tube assembly. It is worth the effort loading tubes, if you want to be less busy with each pull of the handle and maintain a rhythm. It can correspond pretty closely with refreshing the primer supply, so there can be fewer breaks and more of a breather.
 
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