PTX expander options

[Kaldor]

Im looking at adding a bullet feeder to my LnL at some point this summer. For 223, I have an open station, so no changes there.

For 9mm its another story.
Right now I am currently using:
#1 Hornady sizing
#2 Lyman M-die
#3 Hornady powder drop
#4 Hornady seater
#5 Lee FCD

I would like to maintain separate seating and crimping. Its just simpler and has worked well for years. So the only option really is to add a PTX in my powder station and that is the question. I really like the M-die for case flaring, far superior to the Hornady expander. I shoot alot of HiTek coated bullets, so the M-die is much better for setting that up.

Is the RCBS expander compatible with the Hornady powder drop? It has pretty much the same profile as the M-die. I have a spare Hornady drop, so I would just need a few extra pieces to get it together and leave this drop setup full time for 9mm reloading is a possibility, a albeit slightly expensive one. The other down side is I lose my bench mounted powder drop.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/826556/rcbs-case-activated-linkage-kit-pistol-powder-expander-9mm

Another option Ive thought about is buying a Lee Auto Drum and setting that up full time for 9mm. However from the pics Ive seen the expander portion of the Lee setup, its very blunt just like the Hornady one. Does anyone make a replacement for the Lee PTX that is similar to the M-die or is not an issue? The upside to using the Lee is that its less money, and I keep my spare Hornady drop for use on the bench
https://leeprecision.com/pm-exp-plug-9mm.html

Thanks!

 

[D Rock]

My experience is with the Lee powder thru die and Auto Drum (earlier the Auto Disk). The Lee die is very adjustable to your tastes. All I load on it currently is 9 mm. I've done over 20K rounds on 9 mm over the past two years with Berrys Plated, X-Treme Plated, RMR Plated and The Blue Bullets coated with no issues at all. I put a minimal flare on the case and have the Lee FCD adjusted to just remove the flare.

Dave

 

[Tilos]

Many use the expander plug from a 38 S$W Lee PTX die as it is a drop-in fit into the Lee 9mm die.
It expands the case an additional .001/.002" or so...
https://leeprecision.com/pm-expan-plg-38-s-w.html

It makes loading coated bullets easier as they are typically oversize.
As is mostly standard OP for Lee when you order parts directly from Lee, you only pay for shipping (happened to me many times).

 

[9mmepiphany]

I have a spare Hornady drop, so I would just need a few extra pieces to get it together and leave this drop setup full time for 9mm reloading is a possibility, a albeit slightly expensive one. The other down side is I lose my bench mounted powder drop.

You don't need to lose your bench mounted powder measure (I think that is what you are referring to as your powder drop)

What you need is the Hornady Quick Change Powder die (#050074) and Case Activated Powder Drop {linkage} (#392703) which you'd set up for your 9mm case length...with the RCBS powder through expander. When you want to change over from rifle to pistol, just loosen one screw on the linkage, unhook the return spring, and lift of the powder measure. Insert the powder measure into the 9mm Quick Change Powder die, hook the linkage back up, change powder insert/drum, and you're ready to go.

 

[Blue68f100]

You can get the powder die as a kit that comes with the linkage. I have this setup for all the pistol calibers I load. The key to making it a true quick change is to adj the base and NEVER TOUCH the Stop adjustment. As soon as you adj the stop you impacted all of the powder die settings. Adj the base as you should all you need to do is switch the powder dispenser over and your set. Just adj your powder drop or have separate stems or micrometer stem to make it quick.

I use the PTX for all pistol. I load lead with them for 45acp and 357mag. The newer ones are very similar to the Lyman M die, 2 step. For your 9mm use the 38/357 PTX for a slightly larger expand. I never had a problem using it with my 357. The Std one for the 45 acp works for me. The one for the 45 colt is quite a bit longer.

 

[donut1953]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/231522/hornady-quick-change-powder-die
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/959962/hornady-quick-change-powder-through-expander-linkage

I have one of each for every cartridge I load. Now all I do to change caliber is take the powder measure off one power die and on to the next caliber powder die. If you are using a bullet feeder I feel the ptx bell option is better than a typical flare die. With the ptx the bullet seems to lock in place.

 

[Texas10mm]

http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1580

Give one of these a try.

 

[9mmepiphany]

http://www.uniquetek.com/product/T1580

Give one of these a try.

A good option, but a bit spendy at almost 4X the price of the RCBS version
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0063IDI9...olid=3D9K8TXJWTQP8&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Kaldor]

Thanks for the info gents. Much appreciated. I think Im going to go with just using my extra Hornady powder drop with the RCBS PTX and add a couple of parts.

@Texas10mm Uniquetek makes pretty good stuff, but thats alot of $$ for a pretty simple part

@9mmepiphany I agree with you. Im assuming the RCBS PTX fits with no slop in the Hornady drop tube?

@donut1953 @Blue68f100 I have the expander linkage as it came with my LnL, but would need a Case activated powder drop (Hornady #: 050073)(https://www.midwayusa.com/product/591344/hornady-case-activated-powder-drop). That should include the powder die as well. However, I would be missing the drop tube (Hornady # 392705) which I cant seem to locate online. Im assuming call Hornady for this part? This would build a complete second measure that I would just leave entirely setup for 9mm only. I may load 45 at some point and at that point I would just add the expander linkage and a powder die for a few bucks.