How do you choose dies?

[wtfooptimax200]

How do you chose reloading dies? Specifically rifle dies. In this example, I'm looking for new 30-06 dies. I currently use Lee dies, but am looking for something else for no other reason than I bored and looking to step into a more premium die set. Do you feel that the micrometer dies are worth the price? I'm also thinking of buying a Lee Factory Crimp Die. I'll be reloading hunting loads and prefer a modest crimp, for the extra little bit of money I'm planning to try the die.

Branden

[Kevin Rohrer]

I used to use RCBS, but switched to Hornady (I like their bullet seating collar).

[462]

I don't have a rifle die set that consists of just one brand. For seating dies, I prefer an in-line seater, such as Lyman's Precision Alignment, or Hornady's New Dimension. I have Lyman M-dies for each caliber, with both factory and custom expander plugs. For full length sizing dies, I don't have a preference, other than I don't use Lee. Except for an initial sizing, I neck size only and use Lee's collet dies.

Not seeing that one would fit my needs, I've never owned nor used a micrometer die, but reckon they have their place.

I use a Lee rifle collet crimp die when loading for the Winchester Model 94 (tube magazine) but not when loading for a bolt action.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

I am not a Lee fan for most all of their products including dies.

The single bigest problem with the dies are their hoky lock nut set up.

I want my lock nuts to remain solid and in one place, period! If they need to be changed, I can do so but other then that, they better stay solidly in place.

For most people and most loading, the Lee Factory Crimp die is a total waste of money, doing nothing that good set of standard dies won't. AND YES, I have bought and used some of them.

I have used mostly, but not all, RCBS. Have used some Lee, and go clear back to the old and very low quality Herters.

Like the previous poster, my last new sets of dies have also been Hornady.

On bottle neck cartridges, always no matter what the manufactures instructions say, only size brass FIRED IN YOUR CHAMBER just enough to allow for that brass to again chamber IN YOUR CHAMBER.

To do as some of the manufactures instruct, will lead to extremely short brass life and inconsistancy in your reloads.

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[462]

For most people and most loading, the Lee Factory Crimp die is a total waste of money, doing nothing that good set of standard dies won't. AND YES, I have bought and used some of them.

An advantage of the Lee collet rifle crimp die, is that it will apply a crimp in an area that doesn't have a cannelure. Pretty cool if a boolit/bullet doesn't have a cannelure, or if the cannelure is in the wrong place, for your particular application.

[Fishman]

I will add to the appreciation for the Hornady seater die. That said, they aren't worlds better than Lee dies or anything.

CDOC usually has good info, but I am going to differ with him on the Lee lock nut. It is very solid and stays put when you screw the die and the lock nut out at the same time. In other words don't just put a wench on the lock nut and expect it to stay in place. In fact, don't use a wrench at all, just fingers on the nut and the die. I much prefer the lee lock nut setup. But different strokes you know. That's why there is more than one die maker.

[375RUGER]

Kinda depends on what you are after. I have a Dillon .308 set but use a redding competition seater instead of the dillon. Why? I load long range stuff where .002" runout is just practice ammo.

I have several sets of redding dies, one set of lyman and one set of rcbs. Only speaking of rifle.

i don't think the LFCD is designed to give a modest crimp. I think it is supposed to give a good solid crimp to the point of forming it's own cannelure on the bullet. For hunting loads I get all the crimp I need with a regular die.

You likely will be fine with a quality set from redding, rcbs, or hornady.

[r1kk1]

It depends on the cartridge for me. I like Lyman, RCBS, and Ch4D for obsolete and wildcat stuff. I swear by the Redding profile crimp die. I use Dillon dies for what pistol applications they make them for and CH4D for the others. I do have some older Hornady dies in 7 TCU, 30 & 357 Herrett as well as a few wildcats. My favorite micrometer dies are Wilson and Forster/Bonanza.

Crimping for me depends on:

Action type
Powder choice
Recoil

I have some heavy thumpers that need to be crimped into place mainly because of the recoil and how it affects other cartridges in the magazine.

Take care

r1kk1

[1hole]

I've been reloading a very long time and got over the 'favorite' brand thing decades ago; I buy for what I want to do and the accuracy I expect to obtain - not all rifles are target types and it's silly to buy high cost dies to obtain 1/4" groups out of a rig that can't be expected to do much better than 1". Anyone with an itch to try something new should do so but without great expectations that some miracale will occur. I own all current die brands. On average, they all do what they are made to do and do it quite well. The only premium dies 'worth' their price are Forster and Redding, all the rest are tied for second best.

I have no particular love or hate for Lee's lock rings. They are plenty secure for my work and since I often tweak sizers for particular lots of brass. The fact they are easy to change can be a plus. Anyway, adjusting a die isn't a really demanding or time consuming thing to most of us.

There is no magic in micrometer seater heads; they can make it easier to change seating/OAL a specific amount and that's it, how much that matters depends on the indifidual user. I bought mic heads on my first two Forster seaters but not the rest because I'm going to set my OAL with my Hornady cartridge comparitor anyway.

Lee's collet crimp (FCD) dies are the best rifle crimpers made simply because they are much less case length sensitive than a crimping ring in a seater die. The disadvantage is there's a moving part (the collet itself) and that seems to buffalo a lot of people who only know to jam things together as far as possible; that much crimping with any die can/will damage both cases and bullets but it's not the die's fault!

[Char-Gar]

I look for high quality and close tolerances. For me that is Redding and RCBS although I am certain there are others makes that are just as good.

I see no purpose in micrometer adjustments on dies. I have a good micrometer and calipers and I can make any precision adjustments I want with those tools which have a multitude of other uses on the reloading benches.

I don't pay much attention to bullet seating dies in a set as I very seldom use them. I use a Vickerman seater or Wilson chamber type hand seater for that purpose.

[UNIQUEDOT]

Do you feel that the micrometer dies are worth the price?

No, they do nothing a standard stem won't do. I sold mine and will never be fooled into wasting money on such nonsense again. As far as dies go... if you are considering Hornady dies you should just stick with the Lee dies. If your boredom absolutely requires you to purchase new dies then look to Redding, RCBS, or Lyman, but chances are your results wont differ unless you are having problems with specific bullets due to the upper chamber in a Lee rifle seating die.

[Walt]

For a "06" production hunting rifle I would recommend a Redding standard two die set with their carbide expander kit.

[PS Paul]

I actually like the LEE die lock ring setup becasuse I reload so many different types/weights/sizes of boolits, it is very easy for me to change the settings, provided I use the lock ring to tighten and not the die itself(!). I have actually changed out all of the seating dies on my RCBS and Lyman die sets to the LEE lock rings for my ease of use. I often reload 3 or 4 different sized boolits in a single session, so this has definitely made my life easier.

I agree with 1hole on the collet neck-sizer dies in 7x57 and 6.5x55. They work very well for me in both those calibers. I have not tried them in any other rifle calibers since I FL seat them for use in different rifles.
PS P.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Everyone has their opinions, beliefs and ideas on what dies are best for whatever reasons. So I will not attempt to tell anyone what to use or choose, but rather will just share what experience I have had on the subject and in the end you decide what you want to believe and choose what you think is best for you and what you need. Over many decades I have used Lyman, Redding, C&H, RCBS , Pacific & Lee. In loading 15-16 different calibers I have not found any difference in the appearance, dimensional measurements or performance that depended on the brand of the dies that I used in the instance where the same caliber was loaded with a different brand. Most important of the criteria previously mentioned is the word performance which is for my purposes synonymous with accuracy because its what shows up on the paper at 100 yards or more that tells the true story!!! You can believe the "hype" on the outside of the box if you choose to...every single manufacturer will assure you that theirs is the best, but to my knowledge no one has yet done a study and produced any proof---conclusive or not, that one brand of dies is superior to another. Not to horrify anyone, but I have loaded 30-06 with ordinary Lee RGB dies and RCBS dies and they looked, measured and shot very well/accurately- the same out of several different rifles. Certain brands may have (different) features that are not found on other brands and if that is of interest to you that's perfectly understandable and ok, but the bottom line is still and always what the group looks like on the target....it may depend on certain variables, but the brand of dies IMHO is not one of them. LLS

[Recluse]

I think brands of dies are like beer--everyone has their favorite brand that they swear by and likewise, will often cuss a different brand.

Odd thing is, I'll only drink Coors Light out of a longneck bottle (I hardly drink at all), but have lots of different brands and sets of dies.

Funny thing is, to date, the best group and most consistent accuracy I've gotten has been with my Lee 30-06 dies and a Savage 110B with an old Japanese Tasco scope.

Go figure.

I do like RCBS and Hornady dies as they are solid as can be, but I've had zero problems with Lee dies--and their collet dies are tops.

:coffee:

[MT Chambers]

If it's for a caliber used strictly for hunting, I like the Forster dies. For more serious accuracy, i like the Redding deluxe die set, and then add an in-line seater. The Redding die set includes both a neck sizer as well as a full length size die.

[375supermag]

Choosing die sets is really not that complicated.

RCBS. If I need a specialty die I buy whatever works by whomever if RCBS doesn't stock it.
I really like the Hornady Taper Crimp die for .45ACP.

Redding makes a fine .375SuperMag die set. Pricey!

I am not a fan of Lee and avoid their "products".

[r1kk1]

Redding makes a fine .375SuperMag die set. Pricey!

.

I have CH4D set for the 375 SM. they were less than 100.00 if I remember.

Take care

r1kk1

[dragon813gt]

This is simple for me. Buy a Lee set. I don't shoot competitively and have no need to produce ammo that will shoot one ragged hole at 2.83848595 miles ;)
I do have Lyman and RCBS dies but they are expanders that Lee does not make. I think people go way overboard with dies. But people want different features so I do understand.


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[Blammer]

How do I choose reloading dies?

simple I look for "RCBS" and choose that one.

[Walkalong]

For rifle, it is hard to beat Forster, although the Redding Competition die sets are excellent as well. When I do not feel like spending the money for them, or don't feel the application calls for it, I go with RCBS standard rifle dies.

[MtGun44]

If you are loading j-bullets, Hornady's new 'regular' dies have the same sliding sleeve to help
to seat the bullet perfectly straight into the case, Redding or Forster will charge you double
for theirs which are basically the same thing. There is some potential issue of a sticky and
oversized boolits in those beautifully made seater sleeves - might not fit.

I have been VERY pleased with Hornady die sets for my "for serious" cartridges. For just
plinking (milsurps, for example) I use Lee. They are fine.

Bill

[429421Cowboy]

I like to buy used RCBS dies, we have a local gunshop that is the only place around (besides getting lucky in a pawn shop) that sells used equipment, mixed brass, mil-surp ammo, and we try to support him if we can. I can get a die set from him, usually with shellholder, for $18-20, i buy RCBS simply because i know if i have problem at all; ie somebody mangled the lcok ring, turned down the expander ball or anything else i might not be able to tell right off the bat, they will send me a new part or make it right. Not that i have a huge preference, but i have had not one bad experence with RCBS, and reward their customer service with my business. I honestly believe that it is like alot of other "Ford vs Chevy" (FORD!!) arguments we can have, they all are good and as long as it's made in USA you can't go wrong to give them your business.

[EDG]

I have a couple of standards that I go by

The normal run of the mill application I like RCBS or Redding.
For a step up I like the Redding Competition or Forster Benchrest seaters. Eagle also made good dies but they are not common to find used. For less demanding applications I will use the Pacific or Hornady-Pacific dies.

The rest of the low price dies I do not care for. I suppose Hornady and Lee are better than Herter's but I try to avoid all 3.

[o6Patient]

I have many different makes of dies probably more rcbs than the others and I really can't complain
about any of them. I particularly like the redding ones.