New to Reloading; Talk to me about dies.

[Ronin Tech]

i kept coming back around to the set i originally posted just due to cost, the redding micro adjust seating die is $109 by itself and the package was only $130, the way i looked at it was i was getting two extra dies for $20 more than just the seating die alone...seemed like a good value even if i would never use the necking die....

that said, after doing a bit more reading last night and checking some of the suggestions you guys made, i think i'm just going to go ala carte here and piece together my own kit.

i ordered the foster micro seating die last night and am still shopping around for the rest of it...once i saw the side by side comparison of the redding and the forster die i was sold on the forster, the size difference alone was enough to make the sale for me...

i think I'll snag a FL sizing die and see what is needed from there, if i end up needing a SB die then I'll pick one up at that point, I'm really hoping i don't need to go that route.

I'm thinking I'm going to order the redding .223 FL type S die unless someone has something better for the money or if it's overkill?

i'm most likely am never going to own a bolt gun in this caliber....

 

[mjbskwim]

I went thru this a couple years ago. I said that I wouldn't buy RCBS for nothing. Some said they had been using them for 20-30 years.
Yeah they made them better and not in china.At least over seas. A guy at a shop in town said the quality wasn't as good any more since they went off shore
I switched to Redding and they were perfect. I did have some Lee dies also.Never tried Dillon but wouldn't hesitate as their machines are the best
Most these guys have way more experience than me so YMMV and have fun with it

Oh yeah,don't try to do any more than you can concentrate on. If the wife dog kids will distract you,then try to do a few. If you're like me without those type distractions,then you can do as many as you want. But when new,make sure nobody bothers you.
No double charges

 

[mjbskwim]

and the package was only $130,

Just spent $180 on their extra cool micro adjust set for my 7mm.
Can't wait to see ,um, if I can figure them out

 

[Gonzales]

I have a few Redding S dies. Very nice, expensive dies. Use them for bolt action, not semi auto. If you use them on semi-auto, you will be disappointed. Those silly bushings don't size the neck all the way down to the shoulder. This is just how it is. So who cares? Well.... You will!!

Brass Prep is no fun. So I bought one of those WFT type trimmers you put on a drill to make trimming go faster. I hooked it up and tried to trim my first case. Sh&T!!! Lesson learned: cases sized with bushing dies can't be trimmed in those types of trimmers!

oh man!

Just go with a good quality FL die. Note: Forester will custom grind / hone the neck of their dies for a nominal fee. For folks who want to play with neck tension.