Reloading Die Brand?

[tranders]

I use Hornady,RCBS,and Lee. They all work fine,but my preferred brand is RCBS.
I have heard Redding makes very good dies also.

 

[Mattroth54]

I’m not a fan of the Hornady titanium nitride dies for pistol. They stick real bad. I wound up spraying some lube in the cases which helped. I cannot tell the difference between lee and Dillon on my 650. They’re both very smooth and trouble free. Dollar for dollar, I’d stick with Lee. I wouldn’t take another Hornady die if it was free.

 

[tranders]

I have the Hornady dies for 9mm and always use Dillon spray lube so haven't had any problems with stuck cases.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

We have Hornady, Lee, Redding, RCBS and Forster micrometer seating dies for rifles. Don't use the Hornady much. Use mostly Lee and Redding then Forster micrometer for seating. Use home-brew case lube of lanolin and alcohol. YMMV.

I agree with the others... they all have their quirks.

 

[bigedp51]

The biggest cause of neck rounout happens if the expander is locked down off center and induces neck runout.

Below is the Forster full length bench rest die with their high mounted floating expander. The case neck is held and centered in the neck of the die when the expander enters the case neck. Meaning the expander can not pull the case neck off center and induce neck runout.

Below I replaced all my expanders on my RCBS dies with Forster expander and spindle assemblies. The RCBS expander on the left is raised as high as it will move and the Forster is on the right.

Below a Redding .243 die fitted with a Forster expander and spindle assembly that greatly reduced neck runout.

Below a Lee full length die and the expander is held and centered better than RCBS, Redding dies. It does not reduce neck runout as much as Forster dies but in my opinion it comes in 2nd place and is the cheapest die.

If you have a off the shelf factory rifle the average hunter will be well served with the cheaper Lee dies. If you have a custom made rifle with a tight neck chamber you will use more expensive dies.

NOTE, the military considers match grade ammunition to have .003 or less neck runout. And if the expander is not centered in your die you will have far more than .003 runout.

 

[Mark 1911]

When I started reloading in 1989 I started with Lee equipment, press, dies, etc. I eventually replaced my Lee press with an RCBS (still have the Lee in a box), and as I added additional dies I purchased RCBS. I have an RCBS 4x4 that I still use for pistol reloads, and I also purchased an Redding Turret press that I use for all my rifle cartridges now - a fantastic piece of equipment. I like the Redding dies, hard to beat for keeping all the variables consistent. But I still have my Lee dies, and I still think the Lee factory crimp dies are fantastic. Even for the cartridges I load with my Redding dies, I still finish them off with a Lee factory crimp.

 

[1stLast&Always]

Welcome! I've been doing reloading a little over a year myself. Lots of pros in here to help. I'm using two single stage RCBS presses with RCBS (.308), Hornady (.300 Black Out) Lee (9mm) and a MEC 650 progressive for shotgun. Adding .45 and .223 soon. My reloading mentor swears by Redding if you can afford it.

I really like my RCBS products (dies, hand primer and powder funnel) and trust my Hornady dies and manual scale- a must have. I also use a Lyman case trimmer with an electric drill shaft mod hooked up. Lots of odds and ends made by them.

Lee is the lowest cost brand (not that it makes it bad) and I only use it for the 9 right now. It works fine given that currently I don't compete and have still managed keyholes with my 9 loads. More than likely I'll stick with RCBS for the long run. Many have shared Hornady makes great products and I have appreciated their customers service first hand. You can get good deals on their presses sometimes too.

Others advise buying a few different manuals, each one is different and makes for some fun reading. Be safe, check, double check and then check again. Have fun!

 

[natdscott]

Expert reloaders tell me my hornady dies suck. I’ve never loaded a rifle round over 2/1,000th runout with them. Outstanding to me.

Respectfully, I kind of doubt that.

ANY die will occasionally get fed a component combination that spits out as an outlier. If you have 2s, then I'd bet money there have been 4s.


On topic, I prefer Forster and Redding. Whidden makes a super nice FL die, but I don't care for the seater.

Not a fan of RCBS. Internal finish sucks, dies crack,..I like green die boxes, but not that color green.

Pretty okay with the Hornady dies. Nothing special, but very functional, and the .357 carbide ring die I use is quite nice.

If I were progressively loading semi-precision rile stuff, there is no question that I'd use a Dillon sizer, but I'd still seat with a Forster or Redding.

Actually...for press mounted rifle seating dies, I will ONLY use those two.

 

[SSE]

I have been reloading for 50 years. As stated above runout ruins accuracy. I have used all brands and what I would buy for any caliber would be Lee.

 

[Jim McKalip]

I started out using RCBS dies but switched to the Redding titanium sizing dies when they first came out about 50 years ago. I started using their micrometer seating dies when they came out some years later. My only exception to all this happiness is the Lee factory crimp die for the .357 Sig. It solves a world of problems. I don't do rifle,
so I don't know from nuthin on that subject. I have no doubt there are other fine dies, but I'm too old to change now.