die preference

[270man]

Fellow reloaders: Have any of you made any actual comparisons of different brands of reloading dies -- for performance and/or featues? I own and use RCBS, Redding and Lyman dies and have never had any problems with any of them.

I'm not looking for opinions based on warm, fuzzy feelings based on using one brand of die for many years. I would like information you have on one brand actually being better than another one. Friend of mine recommends that I try Forster dies for my next set. He prefers Forster but can't tell me why.

270man

[Evan03]

id imagine youl get alot of i like these dies but with no reason why.

ive used just rcbs, strickly because its the first dies i got a hold of and they are sold localy at walmaRT

[Esox357]

For hunting/target practice I would use either LEE or RCBS dies. The LEE are inexpensive and yet are consistent and easy to adjust. RCBS is yet another die that gets consistent results.
For benchrest shooters I imagine redding or forester dies would rate among the best.
If you are getting satisfactory results with your current brands then I would stay with those. Esox357

[Catfish]

In the 40 years I`ve been reloading I`ve used about every brand of dies out there now and several that are no longer made. For loading hunting ammo for factory guns there is not much difference from 1 brand to another. The only dies I will not buy any more are Lee dies. I have had more trouble with Lee junk than all other brands put together. If your loading bench rest ammo you should go to an good inline press and dies like Forester, Wilson or Redding compition dies. You can load more accurate ammo with these dies, but you cannot tell it with factory guns.

[Mickey Rat]

I disagree with Catfish. I started out in 1976 with RCBS equipment, and it is good stuff. I have also used a Hornady press and dies. I now use Lee dies exclusively, I even replaced my RCBS and Hornady dies with Lee. I have Lee dies for: 22 Hornet, 223, 243, 25-20, 7.62 Nagant, 30-30, 308, 30-06, 32 ACP, 32-20, 8mm Mauser, 380, 9mm, 38, 44, 45 Colt, 45ACP, 43 Spanish and 45-70. The only problem I ever had was I cracked the 43 Spanish die (after breaking the handle on the old Hornady press) forming 348 Winchester cases. It turns out that Cartridges of the World was wrong, the solid base of the 348 is larger than the 43 Spanish. This was AFTER I had formed about 30 cases!

I just fired my first 223 handloads thru my new Savage, and got a 5 shot group smaller than a dime. I was pleased. The 43 Spanish die was 17.00 from Midway. RCBS was nearly 100.00. 43 Spanish cases are 33.00/20. Now you see why I was forming my own.

[Mickey Rat]

Here is the range results. I shot from bottom right counter clockwise.

[Hornet Man]

I have used every brand die out there. I have them right now in my loading box or have in the past had them. I haven’t had a problem with any. If I were starting out over again, I would get Lee dies because they are less expensive and you get a shell holder, powder dipper, and load instructions. They work just as well as all the others but for less money IMHO. That’s not putting down the other dies. They are just as good. They just cost more and don’t do a better job then Lee dies. The only exception to this would be for bench rest shooting. I would then go to Redding or Wilson hand dies.

PS.
Lee put the heat on the other die manufactures to lower the price of their dies with the advent of Lee carbide pistol die sets. We know this to be true if you are as old as I am and saw that happening in the reloading world. That’s what competition and innovation does.

Hornet Man

[Catfish]

Mickey,
I know that there are alot of people out there that disagree with me and what I think of Lee Products. I doubt that there are any out there that Like Lee that load as much ammo as I do though. Between rifle, handgun and shotgun I load 15 to 20,000 rounds a year and want the best ammo I can get for the lowest price and in the least amount of time. I load rifle and handgun ammo on a 550 Dillon press and most of my shotgun ammo on a Poness Warren press. The bodys on the Lee dies are to short to work properly on a Dillon, but I had toruble with them back when I was useing a single stage press.
If you have good luck with Lee, keep useing them, As Hornet man said, "They help keep the price of the rest of the dies down." I have a few sets of dies that cost around $ 100, but they are all for wildcats. Right know I am loading ammo for a .25-221 wildcat with .256 Win. mag. dies because I didn`t want to spend a $ 100 for dies and with the .256 dies I only shorten the case life by a few reloadings.

[Cal Sibley]

I generally prefer Redding dies for the calibers that are primarily used at the bench. Either that or Wilson knock out dies. They and the Redding bushing dies seem to give me my most concentric reloads. Of course other items than the dies can affect your concentricity. It can be the press itself or the shell holder. Sometime it's quite the task to determine the cause of your less than stellar results. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Mickey Rat]

Catfish,

Dude, you are a reloading fool (complement, not a cut). If I were loading at you rate, I would go with Dillion, too. I will eventually go with a Dillion for handgun.

My point with Leeis that they are "good enough" for most folks, and I absolutely believe that the combo they offer with a load book, C press, dies & powder scale is great.

Hornady Starter Kit: 249.99
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=749997

RCBS Starter Kit: 222.99 http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=133068

Lee Starter Kit: 78.99 http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=820810

The Lee kit is great for the beginner. It gives them a "good enough" loading kit to get started, and they can then progress to something better if they want to.

I especially like Lee dies because of their price. My FIRST carbide die was a Lee. The others were too expensive. I now routenely buy a set of dies and some cases for any caliber I start shooting. If you shoot some of the more expensive calibers, it is often nearly the cost of a box of ammo. My 43 Spanish dies were 18.00. RCBS were over 100.00.

No one has to be sorry for buying quality, but sometimes cheap and simple is OK, too.

[8X56MS]

I load everything I shoot with an old RCBS Rockchucker. I use only RCBS dies. No real reason, thats just what I have.

[Downwindtracker2]

I make my living working on industrial machines.All the dies have design faults. I would say Redding are the best,but one of their dies went back with a scratched case for polishing.Hornadys are a couple of steps away from being truly great dies. The last two sets of dies I bought were Lee,for a 303British, Lee Deluxe dies are the very best money can buy and for 338-06 they were much cheaper than RCBS .I have two F/L 30-06 dies,one RCBS,the other Lee,the Lee has better interior finish. I can get away with left over lube in the Lee,I can't with the RCBS.

[Cal Sibley]

For my accuracy rifles I use either Redding NS bushing dies or Wilson NS knock out dies. Both do an excellent job of maintaining concentricity. For normal hunting rifles I use RCBS dies. They're good but not the equal of the Reddings or Wilsons for miniizing case runout. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Ak_Red]

I have used RCBS, Dillon, Hornady, and Lee dies. RCBS were the first I used, because "they were there". I have never had a problem with them. I bought the Hornady dies because they were the only ones I could find for the .300 RUM when it first came out. I don't mind them, though they were the most expensive, and a little weird to get used to after the RCBS. I received a set of LEE carbide dies with a PRO 1000 press. And though I didn't like the O-Rings in the Lock rings, they never gave me cause for complaint over function. I replaced the lock rings with ones made by RCBS. The Dillon dies are just fine, though I will be swapping the lock rings out with ones from RCBS as well.

David

[Jack]

I've used about every brand out there- started with RCBS dies in 1964, I believe.
My preferences are for Redding or RCBS dies in a press mounted die. Reddings are beautifully finished and polished, in every set I've used, and I've never had a lick of trouble with them. Their Competition dies will produce really precise ammo- probably more precise than a factory rifle can utilize.
RCBS has good quality control, and outstanding warranty service.
Forster dies, with their sliding sleeve seater, produce good ammo, too.
Hornady dies seem to be well made, but my personal preference is for a screw in decapping pin, rather than the collet type.
Lee stuff seems hit or miss- their Auto Prime is a great tool, IMO, and their Universal decapper is great, too.So is their Factory Crimp Die. I've used several sets of Lee dies, and they work, but I always seem to have to take them apart and polish them, or otherwise 'tune' them, before they work right.
As far as how I judge how good a die is- I use a run out gauge periodically on the ammo from all my dies- checking to see that run out on my handloaded ammo is not excessive. May be irrelevant for your basic deer rifle ammo, but it will tell you how precisely a die is made.
If you want ammo with zero run out, I only know of 2 brands of dies that will give you zero run out: Wilson's knock out dies (not for use in a press- hand dies) and Redding Competition dies.

[Kragman71]

Hello,
I started reloading in 1948,and have used a LOT of different makes of dies.
Most of them have been very satisfactory.The dies that I use for my 30Carbine and 45/70 calibers are the same Herter's dies bought around 1960.I think about upgrading to RCBS,but keep putting it off.
My bad experiences are: my C & H dies would not size thin walled cases enough to hold a bullet in my 9MM pistol.I had to make a die to size the cases down farther. The Lee 45/70 seater die(to upgrade my old die)damaged the mouths of my cases.I threw it out.My old Herter's is much better. The Honady 30/30 dies had to be thrown out;they are an engineering fiasco.I complained that the expander plug was only connected by a slip fit connection,and would get stuck inside the case.They answered that that was the design.I complained about the bullet being deformed by the seater plug.They recommended that I polish the plug.Neither of these replies are consumer friendly.
I bought RCBS dies for the 30/30,and am completely satisfied.
In general: most of my dies are RCBS,and I recommend them.
Be wary of Lee;some are excellent(all the crimp dies that I buy are Lee)some may not be satisfactory.
Avoid Hornady,unless you enjoy tinkering while you are loading the ammunition.
I have never tried the more expensive line of dies.Except for the few afore mentioned instances,common priced dies work very well.
Frank
SORRY for the length;I seemed to have been carried away