General Advice Requested On OEMs Of Reloading Dies

[Bon Sauvage]

Great! So it is not an issue as it was for many reloaders of 45-70 ammunition. Excellent.

 

[P7M13]

I have Lee, Lyman, Hornady, RCBS, Redding, & Forster dies. All of them work well.
Comments about each:
LEE: con: uses a single piece decapping pin which clamps to the die using a collet. I've had the pin slip and also need to have extra ones on hand in case you get stupid and break one.
HORNADY:

PRO: Love their "get loaded" rebates. Basically get a box of bullets for $6 if you buy a die.
Their split nut locking ring is very good, IMO, and because of wrench flats, better than Forster's.
CON: They don't stamp the caliber on their dies. For some of the wildcats I make, this can be a problem.​

Lyman, RCBS: No complaints. Work well and hold up well. I LOVE the RCBS Match seater dies - they are the best with their bullet insertion window.
REDDING / FORSTER: I like these the most because they're so well made. The Forster sizing die breather hole seem to be the most sensitive to too much lube, resulting in dented shoulders (talking ultra-mag cases).
Forster also has a split locking ring, which works the best.
General comment on decapping pins:
RCBS and Lyman decappers/throaters are threaded right into the top of the sizing die and are very unforgiving if you get a stuck case and the decapping pin is wedged too. I had to destroy a throater/decapper on a RCBS to extract a stuck case. Fortunately, RCBS parts have the greatest availability in stores.
I have Lee and Lyman universal decappers. Prefer to decap my primers, then clean cases, then load. The Lyman is the best - it fits EVERY case Ioad. The Lee won't fit the 416 Rigby or 338 Lapua. Haven't even tried it on 300 RUM.

HTH

 

[bigblue]

I have Lee, Lyman, Hornady, RCBS, Redding, & Forster dies. All of them work well.
Comments about each:
LEE: con: uses a single piece decapping pin which clamps to the die using a collet. I've had the pin slip and also need to have extra ones on hand in case you get stupid and break one.
HORNADY:

PRO: Love their "get loaded" rebates. Basically get a box of bullets for $6 if you buy a die.
Their split nut locking ring is very good, IMO, and because of wrench flats, better than Forster's.
CON: They don't stamp the caliber on their dies. For some of the wildcats I make, this can be a problem.​

Lyman, RCBS: No complaints. Work well and hold up well. I LOVE the RCBS Match seater dies - they are the best with their bullet insertion window.
REDDING / FORSTER: I like these the most because they're so well made. The Forster sizing die breather hole seem to be the most sensitive to too much lube, resulting in dented shoulders (talking ultra-mag cases).
Forster also has a split locking ring, which works the best.
General comment on decapping pins:
RCBS and Lyman decappers/throaters are threaded right into the top of the sizing die and are very unforgiving if you get a stuck case and the decapping pin is wedged too. I had to destroy a throater/decapper on a RCBS to extract a stuck case. Fortunately, RCBS parts have the greatest availability in stores.
I have Lee and Lyman universal decappers. Prefer to decap my primers, then clean cases, then load. The Lyman is the best - it fits EVERY case Ioad. The Lee won't fit the 416 Rigby or 338 Lapua. Haven't even tried it on 300 RUM.

HTH

Good stuff and what I was looking for. Thanks.

 

[noylj]

>Question: There are a bunch of vendors who make dies .... Dillon, RCBS, Redding, Lee, Hornady, etc. They all market their die sets as the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have no clue as to which is "best" and why.

None of them are the best. Lee makes great dies. Redding makes great dies. The cost difference means that I tend to stick with Lee.
I only have a little experience with current dies:

Lee: does everything you need a die to do, but you have to read the instructions and suggestions and follow them. Lee and Hornady sizing dies go down further than other sizing dies I have tried, except for my RCBS dies from the late '70s--among the first carbide sizing dies and they did not put more than a very, very slight chamfer. These RCBS dies can be a pain to get the case to enter on every stroke, but they do go down to the shell holder. With the Lee, you can get a full-length sizing die and a collet neck-sizing die for bottleneck cases, I think in the same set.

Hornady: the sizing die is TiN coated (I don't think it is solid TiN). They size a bit easier than other sizing dies (Redding may be as easy, but I haven't tried their TiC sizing dies. The seating die has a slip tube that helps to keep the bullet aligned. They still sell the traditional single-stage die set for pistols of: sizing die, expander die, and seater/crimp die.

Dillon: they really don't size down the case far enough. The seater and crimp dies work well, and have a pin you can pull that removes the guts for cleaning. You can do the same with the Hornady seating die, just not any where near as easily. This is only pertinent to folks that seat lead bullets with a mess of lube on them that will get into the die.