Favorite reloading dies

[joken]

Redding

 

[thorborg]

I've never had issues with Hornaday, represents most of my lot, now, nor Lee for that mater though they only represent maybe 10% of the dies I have, but when you decide you are in to reloading for the long haul, spring for the carbide. I know of no one who is not glad they they did.

I started with and used Lee for several decades when I had no press and only a scoop and a home made wooden mallet. A die set was under twenty bucks. I produced a ton of cartridges in 45 colt 45-70, 30-06, 300 savage, I am grateful to Lee for the option when I had little space and more time than money. I may have made as many on the spot in the woods sitting near the camp fire* under a coleman gas lamp as I did at at home. I still believe it is a good way for many to get a start.
* for you young folks, Back in the day you could actually have camp fires in the forest. Never burnt down anything, I miss those days. Its been years since I had a fire while hunting, just not the same.

 

[Mikej]

coleman gas lamp

I though they used tallow back that long ago?

 

[ageingstudent]

I've never had issues with Hornaday, represents most of my lot, now, nor Lee for that mater though they only represent maybe 10% of the dies I have, but when you decide you are in to reloading for the long haul, spring for the carbide. I know of no one who is not glad they they did.

I started with and used Lee for several decades when I had no press and only a scoop and a home made wooden mallet. A die set was under twenty bucks. I produced a ton of cartridges in 45 colt 45-70, 30-06, 300 savage, I am grateful to Lee for the option when I had little space and more time than money. I may have made as many on the spot in the woods sitting near the camp fire* under a coleman gas lamp as I did at at home. I still believe it is a good way for many to get a start.
* for you young folks, Back in the day you could actually have camp fires in the forest. Never burnt down anything, I miss those days. Its been years since I had a fire while hunting, just not the same.

After growing up that way, I'm not going to lie, I like taking my little travel trailer and hooking up the generator and having radio and TV and climate controlled reloading with a nice soft bed.



I do miss the campfire though.

 

[ageingstudent]

After growing up that way, I'm not going to lie, I like taking my little travel trailer and hooking up the generator and having radio and TV and climate controlled reloading with a nice soft bed.



I do miss the campfire though.

So embarrassing to admit

 

[2ndtimer]

Hate to admit to being an "old timer", but I have been doing this for awhile. Haven't used any of the "boutique" dies, but have had Redding, RCBS, Hornady, Dillon, Lyman and Lee. Only had one set of Redding, a three die set for 30-30 Winchester which included a neck sizing die for back in IHMSA Contender days. They were excellent, but not sure if they are THAT much better than RCBS. Most of my dies are RCBS, and I have never hand a problem with any of them. Still using my original .357 Magnum carbide dies from 1982 and they still work great. Have had issues with Hornady and Lee dies, probably won buy those again. The Lyman dies work fine, picked up a couple sets on close out from Cabelas years ago for $14.95 per 2 die set. And the Dillon die set I have set up in my RL-550B work great for my bulk loading of 9mm ammo.
The problems I have had with Hornady dies is that they quickly started scratching cases during sizing. I replaced them shortly after with RCBS and Lyman and eventually returned them to Hornady, who polishe,d the offending sizing dies and returned them promptly, but still not sure I trust them.
My Lee .45 ACP dies were either not sizing the cases enough or the taper crimp was insufficient, causing bullet setback. I was fortunate to catch a set of RCBS carbide dies for under $45 on close out and haven't had any problems since.

 

[Hashh]

I sense a slight bias in favor of Redding.....
Its probably what I should buy, im used to them so I will be more consistent setup time between calibers.

Haha, well, I may have a soft spot for Redding, but hey, it's like sticking with your favorite burger joint. You know what to expect, and you can't go wrong with a classic. So, go ahead and grab those Redding dies, and let your consistency shine through. Happy reloading and may your bullets always hit the bullseye, my friend

 

[Mikej]

Haha, well, I may have a soft spot for Redding, but hey, it's like sticking with your favorite burger joint.

This is a great way to put it! I just know, if I try another dive bar for a burger and a beer, I'm likely to be disappointed! That's the kind of guy I am.

 

[Hashh]

This is a great way to put it! I just know, if I try another dive bar for a burger and a beer, I'm likely to be disappointed! That's the kind of guy I am.

haha

 

[gmerkt]

I've got a rainbow of die brands. There are enough quirks and variations from one brand to another than I've never been able to settle on any single one. In fact, there have been times when I owned three different branded sets in the same cartridge. My least favorite, Lyman. I've owned three sets of Redding plus a couple of specialty dies of theirs. A couple of dies had to go back to Redding for remedial work. I like Hornady sets. RCBS is an industry standard which incorporates the most features and least irritants of any brand. Lee is good enough for most applications. I've got one old clunker set of Herters so-called "professional" which work just fine.

 

[2506]

I own dies for
38 spcl
44 mag
45 Colt
45 acp
22-250
244 Remington
257 Weatherby
25-06
7mm mag
7mm STW
308
30-30
30-06
300 win mag
300 ultra
338 win mag

I have all manner of dies from full-length resizers, neck sizers, micrometer seaters, et al: Classic Lee Loaders Hornady, Forster, Reddington, RCBS. They all work great. The only issue I've ever had was with the Forster 338 resizing die (kept busting off the deprimer pin, free parts kept being sent after every phone call, once I finally got a case de-primed via a full stroke of my Rock Chucker the resizing collet was stuck to the point of having to cut it out—turns out that particular die was "mislabeled" 338. They sent me back a brand new correct die, extra parts, and a set of Allen wrenches).

I really enjoy the Classics, both for reloading and accuracy. All other dies in my experience appear equal and have the same results regardless of which press I use.