What's your favorite brand of reloading dies & why?

[TXCOONDOG]

I use Redding, Lee, RCBS and Hornady. I have more Hornady than anything mainly because they come with two seating stems (FN and RN) and because of the get loaded promotion.

I do mix and match such as I like Redding profile crimp dies for 38/357 but use Lee collet die for my rifles.

I also like Lee’s universal expanding and decapping dies.

[roysha]

I like Forster; I think they're the most under rated dies on the market.

Agreed. Unfortunately they are a bit pricey and the selection is not anywhere near as large as some of the brands.

[Wayne Smith]

Lee is the best way to go. a) widely available in many cartridges (unlike Dillon). b) you never break a decapping pin with Lee. c) the decapping/expanding plug is nicely tapered so you can expand case necks from something smaller (as in making 32 spcl out of 30/30's for example) without producing lopsided necks (unlike RCBS, Hornady, Redding). And d) if you stick a case in a Lee you just unscrew the plug that holds the expander rod, get a bite on the rim with your case holder, and use gentle down pressure along with gentle tapping of the expander rod to remove case. No need to ever send a Lee die back to the maker -- they never fail.

Not true, I've twice broken decapping pins in Lee dies. They did send replacements, but they are not unbreakable.

[Preacher Jim]

For my style of shooting I use for rifle
Redding
Wilson
Forrester
And rcbs for handguns

[15meter]

Highest number of dies I own in order:

RCBS
Redding
Dillon
Lee
Lyman
Herter/Forester--tied

In order of quality/wish they were all made by:
Redding
RCBS
Dillon
Forester

Wish I could afford more Redding, and I didn't own a Lee, I hate the O-ring lock nut. Only have them because of the very low volume for those particular cartridges. I can't justify a top of the line/custom die set for a rifle like the 8x56R. The dies would have cost more than I paid for the rifle. For 100 rounds a year? Cheap works and I'll put up with the cheesy O-ring.

[marlin39a]

RCBS is my go to brand of dies for the last 40 yrs. I do own one set of Lyman. They were free.

[GONRA]

GONRA'S newly purchased reloading die sets end up being RCBS, also Hornady, CH4D.
Get Hornady seat dies with the internal sliding sleeve for all possible calibers.
CH4D die sets for .50BMG, 14.5mm PTRS-41, 20mm Solothurn/Lahti.

Am sure there are all sorts of good dies out there.
Carefully measure resized case diameters with a MICROMETER to confirm sizing die dimensions.
By the way - sad to hear (from RCBS) they closed their custom caliber die department some months ago.

[country gent]

For me die maker selection depends on the cartridge and what I'm doing. For a match rifle and true competition redding bushing dies are first I also use some Wilson straight line bushing dies here. For my BPCR rounds and some others the RCBS cowboy dies are great and usually set up better for the cast bullets used. For hunting rifle rounds and plinkers RCBS or lee. Handguns rounds can be what is available, for handguns I have RCBS, lyman and lee. I also have a meacham bushing die for 45 cal BPCR rounds. With the right bushing it loads 45 cal 2.1"- 2.6" or 40 cals 2.1 and longer. Dies have slight differences in adjustments but are pretty similar also.
The bushing dies can be a big plus in rifle with a lot of consistant brass with the right bushing no expander ball is needed. You don't over work the brass as much. I also get more consistant sized cases from them. Its nice being able to easily adjust neck tension to see how it affects accuracy. Also on a tight necked gun or Paper Patched bore rider a standard die may not size enough.

[Drew P]

^^^ what he said. I mix n match too. Redding is great for rifle. However, for pistol I think Dillon has a few good gimmicks going for them. I like the Spring loaded decapper very much. Also the reversible seating plug, and the quick cleaning mode clip system is fantastic. Lastly the small gopher die rings. They are designed to be used in progressive press for high volume and high quality.

[Walt]

I use most manufactures dies for one type of cartridge or another.

For bottleneck rifle cartridges on a single stage

#1 Redding
#2 Forster
#3 RCBS
#4 Dillon

For straight wall pistol on a SS or turret

#1 RCBS
#2 Lyman
#3 Redding
#4 Hornady
#4 Lee

For straight wall pistol cartridges on a progressive

#1 Dillon
#2 Redding
#3 RCBS

For bottleneck cartridges on a progressive

#1 Dillon
#2 RCBS
#3 Redding
#4 Forster

[Pb Burner]

For me, RCBS. Just because I've always had good luck with the dies, and the company.

[alamogunr]

I've got 55 sets of dies that represent several different manufacturers. Without counting, in order of estimated number of each mfg.:

RCBS
Hornady
Lee
Redding
Dillon
Lyman
C-H
Forster
Pacific

I have several duplicate sets for given cartridges. Some were acquired in order to get a steel size die for revolver cartridges since I have a few custom revolvers and was told that the steel dies didn't work the brass as much. Other duplicates were bought to replace a Lee set. Obviously, several were bought used, mostly from members here. A couple of the duplicates were bought used when I forgot that I already had that set.

[Ranger 7]

Have used Hornady and RCBS for 25 years, no problems (9mm--45 ACP--38--357 and now 380.
No need to try other brands.

[derek45]

I have LEE, Hornady, Dillon, Redding, Lyman, and probably something else I'm forgetting.

I like the Dillon lock rings, since I'm usually loading on a 550B or XL650

.

[crashdummy]

I have a large number of die sets including RCBS. Lyman, Redding, Hornady and some older classics.
The only dealings I have had with customer service has been with Lyman and RCBS, both were positive experiences.
If I were forced to pick a favorite, it would be Redding for bottlenecks, Lyman for straight cases and RCBS for just about
everything.

[gwpercle]

CH4D
Redding
Bonanza
Pacific
Lyman All American ( the old ones from the 1960's)
Lee Carbide Sizing dies because I'm cheap and can afford them.

Gary

[renegade99]

I load over 100 calibers. Most of my dies are RCBS, they are very good all around dies. For ultimate accuracy I use Redding bushing dies and their comp. seaters with a few Forster's thrown in. I have a few Lyman, mostly m dies, no Hornady, they have shown me the most run out in any die and I had 2 that no matter how tight the stem was it still pulled out at least once or twice per session. The only Lee dies I have are several of their factory crimp dies. I also use Dillon dies in my 650 for every caliber they offer them in.

[Walks]

I have dies from every current manufacturer & a lot of defunct one's. RCBS has the BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE, PERIOD. I've a new set of HORNADY with the rifle sliding sleeve for bullet seating. LYMAN offered the same thing 40-50yrs ago, called it "P-A" seating die. Nothing new under the sun.
No one will ever convince me that LEE has any quality to their products, their warranty is non-existent. I've been using the same RCBS RockChucker & LYMAN spartan presses for 40 & 45yrs, respectively. I've LYMAN 310 dies I use for neck-sizing every bottleneck case I've dies for.
REDDING, C-H, RCBS, BONANZA/FORSTER, LYMAN, HORNADY.

[AK4570]

In rank order I would have to say...

1) Redding
2) RCBS
3) Lyman
4) Lee

Not really a huge fan of the one set of Hornady dies I run (.375 H&H) but they do work... This opinion is worth exactly what you paid for it!😁

Best,
John

[whelenshooter]

I have mostly Lee dies but have hornady and ch4d as well. They all have worked well.

David