Need to order die for either Star or Lyman - Which one is better for my use?

[gefiltephish]

For the Mihec 22 Nato 75gr (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?188868-MiHec-22-Nato-Heavy-%2875-gr-version%29-brass-four-amp-six-cavity-solid).

I have both Star and Lyman 450 lubesizers. I MUCH prefer using the Star, but I cast and shoot mostly handgun. I dislike the Lyman immensely. I've read that many folks prefer the Lyman/RCBS for some rifle bullets, has something to do with bending the noses as I recall.

Opinions please.

[bobthenailer]

I use the star to lube all my cast boolets pistol & rifle, all of my guns are just as accurate with cast boolets as they are with jacketed , except on 2 occasions with contender pistols in 32/20 & 7mm tcu they refused to shoot cast good enough to be used in a match but shot jacketed excellent,

[bosterr]

I stepped up from a Lyman to a Star years ago and will never look back. Nose first sizing is the way to go IMHO. Lathesmith on here gets all my die and punch business. First class product and very short lead time.

[blikseme300]

I switched to Star's a few years ago and often think of the time I wasted in the past using the 2-stroke units. The only other sizer I use is the Lee push through for crimping GC's onto RD boolits prior to lubing with 45-45-10.

When doing spire pointed boolits through a Star I have an aluminum rod to push out the boolit prior to doing the next one as this prevents the possibility of damage to the boolit. Yes it is slower but works.

The 22 cal boolit that you need to do will be fine through a Star. I use both the RCBS 22-055-SP and the HM2 225 GC seating and lubing through a Star with no distortion.

[gefiltephish]

I stepped up from a Lyman to a Star years ago and will never look back. Nose first sizing is the way to go IMHO. Lathesmith on here gets all my die and punch business. First class product and very short lead time.

Other than the one 357 die that came with my star, all the rest are from Lathesmith.

[gefiltephish]

I switched to Star's a few years ago and often think of the time I wasted in the past using the 2-stroke units. The only other sizer I use is the Lee push through for crimping GC's onto RD boolits prior to lubing with 45-45-10.

When doing spire pointed boolits through a Star I have an aluminum rod to push out the boolit prior to doing the next one as this prevents the possibility of damage to the boolit. Yes it is slower but works.

The 22 cal boolit that you need to do will be fine through a Star. I use both the RCBS 22-055-SP and the HM2 225 GC seating and lubing through a Star with no distortion.

One of the things I've notice about gc'd bullets in the star is that the meplat of the next bullet will make an impression on the gc, sometimes quite pronounced. I think an aluminum rod that just easily fits through the die (diameter wise) sounds like a good idea to eliminate that. Thanks for the suggestion. Ok, I'm stickin' with the star, just have to determine diameter. Although I'll probably wind up with .225, .226 and .227, I may just as well order them all and be done with it. First things first, I'll slug the bore over the weekend.

Thanks everyone.

[GLL]

As has been mentioned use the Star and talk to Lathesmith about a new die !

Jerry

[K-Rod]

I'd say a mucked up nose on a rifle bullet being sized on a Lyman or RCBS lube sizer would be because the wrong top punch was used. Regardless, you won't get that if you use the Star the way it's intended to be (Nose first) & the rod method as already described. The other thing I see that might be an issue with sizing rifle bullets with a Star is if you buy a used Magma/Star die, the spacing between the holes may not allow you to lube all the bullets lube grooves with one pass. You may have to set the punch for one set of grooves, re-adjust & send them through again for the other grooves( I didnt look at the link, maybe this bullet only has one set of lube grooves). It's also my understanding that a "Dished" top punch for the Star will seat the GC better then a "Flat" one.

I'm not trying to talk down the Star here. What it boils down to is which sizer you prefer to use. With the proper top punch, either sizer will do what you need it to do in about the same amount of time. Its going to take just as long using the "Rod" method described to save the bullet noses on a Star as it would pulling the handle down & then pushing it up with a Lyman or RCBS lube sizer. The Lyman or RCBS will size, lube all the grooves( If theres more then one) & crimp a GC in the two step operation. The Star will do the same thing if you order the proper die & top punch from Chris. Measure the grooves & tell him when ordering & he'll space the holes accordingly.

Another thing to think about is have you tried finding a .224 or .225 Lyman or RCBS sizing die lately??? Most places I've looked at has them on backorder. Chris had my dies & top punches to me in two weeks. Chris is a Master of his craft & his dies/top punches are works of art. He's highly recomended for a reason.

Just my $.02. Take it for what its worth.

[cbrick]

I MUCH prefer using the Star, but I cast and shoot mostly handgun. I dislike the Lyman immensely. I've read that many folks prefer the Lyman/RCBS for some rifle bullets, has something to do with bending the noses as I recall.

That's nothing but an old wives tale. Where and or how it got started is beyond me but the Star is equally good at both rifle and handgun and it will size your boolits more concentrically than an in & out sizer.

Another old wives tale is that you cannot size gas checked boolits on a Star. Again, pure nonsense.

Rick

[MtGun44]

Star is wonderful, have several, but they are fussy to set up with multiple lube
groove boolits, and also to switch over if you need to use the same diam die
for different # of lube grooves. If you dedicate one die to each boolit (which would
take a BUNCH of expensive dies for me) you can save time.

Lyman or RCBS are far easier to set up, makes no diff how many grooves.

Lots of Star folks seem to be unwilling to admit to the real shortcomings of
a generally great design. IMO it is for LARGE batches of the same boolit, unequalled
in that application, no question. For many different types and small batches,
the Lyman/RCBS seem to make far more sense to me. I have Lyman, RCBS
and multiple Stars mounted on my bench, so know what each can do and also
not do.

Bill

[Echo]

I generally use my Star for PB boolits, and my Lachmiller's (RCBS predecessor) for GC boolits. I have seen no bent boolits from my Lachmillers (one set up for NRA loob, one for hard loob w/heater). And I hate to size pistol boolits nose first - seems like I always get tail fins...