Die questions.

[slickest]

I just bought my lee hand press and I'm slowly building up reloading supplies again. I have a lee hand priming tool and a pair of digital calipers on the way. When I was reloading before I never had my own press or anything. I was using my uncles set up that was all rcbs and at the time I just bought rcbs because I assumed it was best to stick with same brand of dies as the reloading press. When I was resizing the brass for my .223 I always just used hornadys one shot lube. I was reading about lee dies the other day and they stated with the pistol dies you don't need to use any type of lubricant with their dies. Is this true and is this standard for all carbide reloading dies? Also does the same go for rifle dies?
 
I'm looking at buying a new rifle soon and not sure what the caliber will be yet. This was the main reason of buying the hand press. I would like a turret and progressive set up for my pistols but I just don't have the room. So i guess my only other question is what brand of dies do you suggest for reloading cast handgun bullets? Also what brand for jacketed riffle bullets?
 
thanks for your time

[murphdog]

Slickest,
It is true that with Lee CARBIDE pistol dies, you don't need to use lubricant.  I believe that most other die manufacturers now use carbide for their pistol dies also, but when buying you should check to be sure.  When buying used pistol dies, it is always important to ask, as there are still a lot of steel dies floating around. 
It seems that carbide dies are not available for rifle cartridges, not even from Lee, so lube is still needed for rifle dies. 
As far as die brands are concerned, you will find a lot of opinions. I use Lee dies for my pistol cartridges and they seem to work well, and it seems that a lot of people think Lee pistol dies are OK.  But Lee rifle dies are not held in the same regard.  I use Lee dies for my 223 and they seem to work fine, but you might be better off starting with a different brand of rifle dies.  RCBS seems to be held in high regard.  I'm sure others with more rifle loading experience with give their opinions.    By the way, it seems that the threads on most dies and presses are interchangable, so your die brand probably doesn't have to match your press brand. 
Duane

[helotaxi]

As long as you are full-length sizing, you will always need lube for bottleneck rifle cases.  A pistol size die does all its sizing right at the mouth of the die and that's where the carbide ring is located.  In contrast, a rifle doesn't do much of any sizing until the shoulder of the case hits the shoulder of the die.  At that point the die is sizing the entire case all at once and the pressure involved is pretty high.  Without lube, the case will stick regardless of the material the die is made of.  I haven't seen a new production pistol die that isn't carbide.  While you don't need lube for a carbide pistol die, it does make the sizing operation easier and might make sense for your hand press.

Dillon makes a series of carbide rifle sizing dies.  They are not meant to eliminate the need for lube but rather to increase the life of the die in commercial production operations.  The reloader making ammo for their own use will never wear out a rifle die in their lifetime so the carbide rifle dies don't make sense from a cost standpoint.

[slickest]

thanks guys. I was just curious. I read about both the rifle and pistol dies but as stated I didn't read anything as in regards of not needing lube on the rifle dies. So can I assume that any straight walled brass i shouldn't need sizing lube but it still wouldn't hurt to use it?

[lrrice]

Nope, only carbide  straight wall pistol dies, steel die must have lube no matter the shape of the case.  Straight wall steel pistol dies will stick a case if you don't lube it.  You can see the ring of different metal inserted just inside the opening of a carbide die, the steel dies are the same material inside and out. 
When in doubt, use lube it won't hurt anything and a stuck case can really ruin and otherwise good day.   I don't know if its true or not but I have been told that steel dies are not as harsh on your brass when resizing.  I have both and haven't noticed much difference.  I used lyman and rcbs lube forever, just discovered lees water based lube recently.  It's kinda nice, its not as sticky and isn't supposed to dent your cases after its dry if you inadvertently leave too much around the shoulder.  Also you can wipe it off the loaded cartridge with a damp cloth. 

[helotaxi]

I don't know if its true or not but I have been told that steel dies are not as harsh on your brass when resizing.

Not sure how whoever told you that decided that it was the case.  Carbide is used because 1) it is very resistant to wear and 2) the surface is VERY smooth which reduces friction and almost completely eliminates the chance of brass galling to the die.  If anything carbide pistol dies are easier on brass than steel dies.

I used lyman and rcbs lube forever, just discovered lees water based lube recently.  It's kinda nice, its not as sticky and isn't supposed to dent your cases after its dry if you inadvertently leave too much around the shoulder.  Also you can wipe it off the loaded cartridge with a damp cloth.

I used a lube pad and RCBS lube when I first started reloading.  What a complete pain in the rear!  More recently I was introduced to Hornady One-Shot.  This lube is argued about within the reloading community like it was some hot-button, full of emotion political topic.  Some think it's the devil himself, others think it's the best thing ever.  I'll give you my experience.

I use it primarily for .223 and I've had fantastic results with the stuff provided that 1) it's the aerosol version not the pump spray 2) it's shaken up really well 3) it's applied fairly uniformly and 4) it's allowed to dry for a few minutes.  I have a baking sheet with my reloading stuff that I lay cases out on.  I'll shake the can until I feel stupid, and then shake it for another minute.  I spray the cases on the baking sheet, making sure that I get them all and then shake the sheet a bit to roll the cases around and spray them again.  Then I repeat the shake and spray once more.  At that point I set them aside to dry and take care of any other prep work.  I've stuck one case using this method.  It was a .223 case and was with a die that had a habit of sticking cases no matter what lube I used including Imperial Sizing Wax.

The pump spray version of One-Shot actually is distilled devil, I think.  No amount of shaking, spraying, drying or anything else will get it distributed on the case well enough or give it any desirable case lubrication properties.  After sticking 2 of the first 3 cases I tried sizing with it, it got pitched and I went in search of another can of the aerosol.

If I don't have One-Shot or I'm only sizing a couple of cases or FL sizing large cases, I use Imperial Sizing Wax.  Just set the tin next to the press, swipe the index and middle finger every 3-5 cases and run your fingers around the the case neck, shoulder and down about an inch on the case body.  Slick as snot. 

Both One-Shot and ISW are water soluble and can either be wiped off with a moist rag or cleaned off in a case tumbler.  In the case of the One-Shot you really don't have to remove it since it isn't sticky and won't pick up dirt once it's dry.  I clean it off just the same in the tumbler.

[SHOOTALL]

Dillon might have dies for the 308 and 223 now that may not need lube .

[helotaxi]

Nope.  The Dillon carbide dies still need lube.  The carbide is to prolong die life during commercial production level operations.  Totally unnecessary for the normal reloader and provides no added benefit.

[.22-5-40]

Hello, slickest..for cast handgun.. I like the RCBS Cowboy die sets..they are dimensioned for cast bullets & expander plugs are slightly larger.