In a contest vs. Redding TiC and Hornady TiN 9mm size dies:

[Seismic Sam]

The Hornady Titanium Nitride size die winds hands down as far as force required to size Federal 9mm brass. Had both dies, decided to do a head-to-head comparison, and it was no contest. The Hornady die clearly required less force, and since the 9mm is a TAPERED case, all of its surface area is getting resized at once instead of 40 or 45 brass, where just a narrow area is getting resized at any one time. As such, resizing 9mm brass is proportionally a lot harder than a lot of other cases. The Hornady die is also HALF the price of the Redding die ($34 vs $70) and only $12 more than the Lee carbide die.

[Rodentman]

And you get the nice Hornady lock ring which is superior to the Lee, IMHO.

[Seismic Sam]

Having been reloading for over 40 years, I have had (past tense) a vast variety of lock rings, and the most hated are the ones with the set screw in the side so you can bugger up the die threads if you really try. Had some extra thin ones that came in pairs, so you could lock them against each other, and they got thrown out. Had just hex 7/8-14 nuts that were single, so they couldn't be locked on the die, and they're long gone. The round split rings lock plenty good on the die, but getting them out of the press can sometimes be fun. I tolerate the Lee rings, as once you get them set and torqued down in the press, and IF you use a wrench to unscrew them, they stay pretty well tight on the die. Luckily, you can scoot over to most any FF and get SIX Hornady rings for a right around $20 in a bulk pack, so that has pretty much solved the problem...

[aht_six]

I'm surprised the Hornady Titanium Nitride die works so well for you. I bought one Hornady Titanium Nitride die about 30 years ago at Tecto, the force required to resize 9 mm cases was significantly more than it was with any carbide die I had ever used. I returned the dies and got an RCBS carbide set, problem solved.

Maybe there was something wrong with Hornady die I had.

[crbutler]

Well, sad to say, the old steel bonanza die was the "easiest" for me.

Of course that had something to do with lubing the cases...

I really got turned off Hornady dies when they had that goofy smooth spindle decapping pin, and have never bothered to look at their stuff since, I always had to almost give myself a hernia locking the decap pin down so it wouldn't move.

I am now using a EGW (Lee) undersized 9mm plain carbide die and while it requires a little more elbow grease to work, it saves me from having to break out the case pro for all that glock shot and 9mm major brass. Reduction in reloading time is a big deal for me, especially for handgun loads, and so far it works even on a 1050 at speed.

[Jackpine Savage]

I can't offer any comparisons, I've always used the Hornady dies with no complaints. I do give each batch of brass (200-300 cases) a couple of quick sprays of Hornady One Shot case lube, and then shake them up. Not as much effort to resize and just seems to make things go smoother on the progressive.

[Seismic Sam]

I can't offer any comparisons, I've always used the Hornady dies with no complaints. I do give each batch of brass (200-300 cases) a couple of quick sprays of Hornady One Shot case lube, and then shake them up. Not as much effort to resize and just seems to make things go smoother on the progressive.

So how do you remove the case lube downstream before you fire the bullets?? Leftover lube on loaded ammo is a significant concern, since it can cause the case to slip backwards under pressure, which could greatly increase the pressure on the breechface, and lead to all sorts of secondary fun, like wear on the locking lugs or possible premature opening of the action.

[Erud]

I can't offer any comparisons, I've always used the Hornady dies with no complaints. I do give each batch of brass (200-300 cases) a couple of quick sprays of Hornady One Shot case lube, and then shake them up. Not as much effort to resize and just seems to make things go smoother on the progressive.

So how do you remove the case lube downstream before you fire the bullets?? Leftover lube on loaded ammo is a significant concern, since it can cause the case to slip backwards under pressure, which could greatly increase the pressure on the breechface, and lead to all sorts of secondary fun, like wear on the locking lugs or possible premature opening of the action.

I'm not the guy you're asking, but I only use Hornady One Shot case lube, and I never remove it. I've had good results, and none of the problems you mention.

[Jackpine Savage]

I don't remove the lube. There isn't much there to start with, and by the time the cases are loaded, it is unnoticeable.

[67camaro]

I don't remove the lube. There isn't much there to start with, and by the time the cases are loaded, it is unnoticeable.

Same. If while loading them into ammo boxes I feel they have an excessive amount of lube they get a quick wipedown with a towel. Now on the other hand rifle cases get tumbled after sizing.

[Rodentman]

« Leftover lube on loaded ammo is a significant concern, since it can cause the case to slip backwards under pressure...»

Wait til you get to be MY age.

All seriousness aside, I like the Hornady sizing dies and never had an issue with the decapping pin.