Question regarding dies

[Heatseeker]

I recently picked up a Lee PRO 100. it is set up with .38/.357 dies. I want to pick up the necessary items to load some other calibers, namely 9MM, .40, .45 ACP and .223. I understand that I'll need a few shell plates to make the switches between calibers. Is it worth buying the shell plates with the carriers, or is it not too tough to just swap out the shell plate?

I will need the appropriate dies. I have RCBS die sets for all but .223 already, but the Lee press uses the powder through dies for the charge station. Looking at the Lee die catalog, they show a couple of choices. Their Pacesetter sets include a separate crimping die. I have done some reloading previously(handgun rounds only) and didn't use a separate crimping die. Is it incorporated in the seating die on a RCBS set? Could I just buy the powder through dies and utilize my RCBS dies with satisfactory results?

Help! All comments and/or advice are welcome and appreciated. I want to spend my money wisely.

[Fjold]

Yes, all the RCBS dies have a crimp built into the seating die. Read the instructions for the dies carefully to get them adjusted correctly.

[ar15barrels]

If your press has an extra station where you can install a separate crimp die, it would be an advantage to use one die just to seat and another just to crimp.

[grymster]

Could I just buy the powder through dies and utilize my RCBS dies with satisfactory results?

Yup, I have that set-up with most calibers I load. Just have a few unused RCBS expander dies laying around.

Maybe Midway should just sell them that way. RCBS decap/size, Lee powder-through/expander, then an RCBS seat/crimp.