Marshall,

I took your advice an tried to get a .416" "M" die for my 416 Taylor.  I didn't see any in my collection of shooting catalogs, so I e-mailed Lyman about getting one.

I received a one line reply stating they don't make "M" dies in that caliber.  Not really very helpful on their part.  I had mentioned Lee's willingness to make Factory Crimp dies, if the reloader supplies the brass first.  But apparently Lyman has no interest in doing the same sort of thing.

I do have a question, as I'm not that familiar with these dies.  Are they cartridge specific?  Or, are they just based on caliber?

Thank you for your advice!  It's certainly not your fault that Lyman has overlooked this caliber for now.  I sure hope to be able to follow it in the future.

Take Care!

Brian,

The die is caliber-specific but not cartridge-specific.  That is if you come up with a .416 it should do any .416 cal. cartridge.

What I would suggest is getting the next size up... looks like they are available for .458.  Then study, take some measurements, and find a machinist who can either duplicate the design for .416 or make a new plug.  They are quite hard so modifying one might be a pain.

They are just a straight-sided expander that steps up from just under bullet diameter to just over.  Say the small part would then be something like .412" for your .416" and the large diameter just over bullet diameter, like .418-.420."  If you get your hands on one you'll get the idea.

* "M" Dies, near as I know, come in two lengths with about
21 interchangable expander plugs. Lyman's website isn't up to date. Not too smart in this day & age. Check out this one for a list.

http://missoula.bigsky.net/western/mdies.html

* I suppose someone could make one on a lathe or turn down a .44 plug. I like mine. I had a few soft bullets start crooked in cases expanded with a conventional plug. By the time the seater straightens them, they're "sized" down and loose. Then the bullet sets back on the 1911's feed ramp and they jam. Now I start the bullet by hand and wiggle it untill it's straight. You can't do that if you expand with a conventional plug.

* Keep your convention plug for use with jacketed bullets.

Bye
Jack

Thanks for the heads-up! *I didn't check to see if Lyman had them available.

Two suggestions:

Go back to Lyman, ask to speak to Karen Griffin (their customer service manager) and tell her what you want... they are still generally very accomodating and if you talk with her I bet you'll get what you want made up.

Lyman Products

If not, go to Redding Reloading, they'll make about any kind of die you can imagine, and do it in a timely fashion. *I've always been partial to the superb quality of Redding dies. * Once you try them, you'll wonder why you own anything else! *The neck expander die for your .416 will be a custom job, but they are fairly reasonable, and their craftsmanship when it comes to dies is second to none!

Here's a link to them:

Redding Reloading

Let us know if these ideas help!

God Bless,

Marshall

You also may want to contact

CH/4D * * * * *http://www.ch4d.com

and

Sinclair International * www.sinclairintl.com


I know that Sinclair has expander die bodies with interchangable mandrels.

FWIW *

(Edited by Contender at 12:35 pm on Jan. 11, 2001)

Marshall & Gang,

I must be a little slow!  But are you guys saying a regualr set of Redding Dies would do the same thing as a Lyman "M" die?  I didn't notice any special expanding die on their website.  The only mention on expanding dies was part of a regualr die set.

I do have a set of Redding dies in .270Win, and I'd agree they sure are nice!  I recall e-mailing Redding when searching for 416Taylor dies.  They had some on hand, for somewhere slightly over &#36100.  I bought RCBS dies from Midway (BTW, they don't ship for free to Alaska) for around &#3670.  Guess I should have bought the Reddings!

I noticed a LOT of .416 topics down below in the "Wildcat" section, I can't be the only one confused.  Can I?

Thanks Gents!

BW,

No, Redding doesn't list them as a stocked item, but they will make up an "M" type of die on a custom basis, and they are very precise and fairly prompt in their sevice.  Some of the other suggestions are very good as well, turning down a .44 plug would work quite nicely I'm sure.

Let us know what you find!

God Bless,

Marshall

I use an RCBS expander die for my .416 Rigby.  I don't think it is much different than the Lyman M die and it works just fine.  Price is about &#3615 if memory is correct.  still, I wish Lyman would make all the needed dies if they are going to make a set in a given caliber.  They don't even make a .416 trim pilot but the one for the .41 magnum works good enough.