Reloading dies.... rcbs vs hornady

[silverado]

So for now I have an apples to oranges comparison. My 44 dies are rcbs. I appreciate the washer that converts 44 spl to 44 mag. Also I have a set of 223 hornady dies. I really like that the bullet seater die has the sleeve that helps with seating the rifle boolits. Can anyone sway me towards either company for 357? I will say that my rcbs 44 set seater die is a pain because the lock ring don't work as good as it should for adjusting the seater

[Bayou52]

So for now I have an apples to oranges comparison. My 44 dies are rcbs. I appreciate the washer that converts 44 spl to 44 mag. Also I have a set of 223 hornady dies. I really like that the bullet seater die has the sleeve that helps with seating the rifle boolits. Can anyone sway me towards either company for 357? I will say that my rcbs 44 set seater die is a pain because the lock ring don't work as good as it should for adjusting the seater

I've been using RCBS carbide dies for .357 with no issues. Their customer service is second to none, and I go out of my way to purchase their products for that reason......

[enfieldphile]

Redding dies, IMHO, are the best.

I agree though, Hornady seated dies w/ the sliding sleeve are extremely reliable.

Redding sells a ring set to quick change 38 to 357 or 44 Special to 44 Mag

[Skunk1]

Rcbs 357 sets have the ring also for 38. I've used mine for quite some time with no issues. I've also used there customer service and they are second to none. I did have a problem with a redding product just a month ago and it was like pulling teeth. It ended by me giving up and buying something else. I personally won't buy anymore of their products after that. That is also just my experience but others may have had a better one.

[357maximum]

I really really really like the sliding seater feature on the Hornady dies, but where Hornady dies truly shine is for calibers that are commonly "necked up and/or formed" from another....35Whelen/358Win/7TCU/8MM and such where the headstamp do not match the gun.....that loong tapered expander is just plain nirvana imho. I have 5 brands of dies on my shelf and they all work....


Lee dies suck for necking down to another caliber as they put the vent/bleed off hole in the totally wrong spot and it shaves brass from the neck/shoulder.


In 357/38....I do not see it matters much. I have 4 sets of 357 dies from 3 different companies...they all do the deed.

[birdadly]

The little experience I have has lead me to like Hornady dies. I really only have experience in 9mm, 40 and 45cal. From the get-go the 9 dies were Hornady and the other 2 were RCBS. The Hornady simply has always been a more smooth experience. I don't know why, and of course any issues I've had very well could have been on me.

I've recently replaced the 40 cal with my 2nd set of Hornady dies, and before I load up more 45s, I'll probably do the same for it, as I already like the experience with the 40 dies now too.

Only my 2 cents. -Brad

[silverado]

My only gripe with the lee dies is I will often scrape the side of my brass. Pretty sure it's just off center and I'm not sure if another brand will be any better. I was thinking at one point to put a recessed circle in the middle of my shell holder the diameter of the case I'm loading in it. I have not yet had the scraping problem with my 44 rcbs dies.

[clodhopper]

I'm liking the Hornady's, the expander ball is very nicely shaped, hard and smooth. The seating die is great.
Couple weeks ago I called up Hornady because I needed a new decaping stem. No store near me stocked them,
The nice lady from Grand Island sent one, Free and Fast.
I also own and use dies from RCBS, Redding, Lee, and Lyman. The last four sets purchased have been Hornady.

[rodsvet]

I had Hornady dies in 357 sig and they scratched the brass terribly. I bought redding and they are better. I have replaced most die sets in 650 with Lees. Dillon dies coke bottle 9mm and 45acp so the finished rounds look funny. The function fine in the firearm though. RCBS seems to break a lot of decapping pins. Every die maker make good ones and bad ones. Most will replace them if the don't function as they should when new. Dillon told me that his dies are supposed to coke bottle the rounds so no replacement was done. This was 25 years ago, maybe they stopped making them that way. I haven't bought any from them since. Rod

[canyon-ghost]

I use Redding and RCBS. It isn't that I don't have a set or two of Hornady dies, it's that the guys have trouble with them squeezing the boolit down in size. I take it that it's a revolver throat issue or something. Maybe oversize cast boolits, don't know. I love RCBS because they are pretty much made for the reloader with cast. Thought I'd better throw that idea out there, it's what I've heard but not experienced.

[357maximum]

I have had to lap the sliding seater insert on a few Hornady die sets to use FAT CAST....no biggie...takes but a few minutes....Hornady Dies are worth the effort. I LIKE HORNADY DIES, Mike

[trapper9260]

If you are to load nickle cases you will need to get a carbide die I found out the hard way of scratch up my lyman die I had for years and got a RCBS that is carbide and took care of the problem.

[Swede44mag]

I had Hornady dies in 357 sig and they scratched the brass terribly. I bought redding and they are better. I have replaced most die sets in 650 with Lees. Dillon dies coke bottle 9mm and 45acp so the finished rounds look funny. The function fine in the firearm though. RCBS seems to break a lot of decapping pins. Every die maker make good ones and bad ones. Most will replace them if the don't function as they should when new. Dillon told me that his dies are supposed to coke bottle the rounds so no replacement was done. This was 25 years ago, maybe they stopped making them that way. I haven't bought any from them since. Rod

I had the same problem with my 9mm Dillon dies and the same answer from them.
I did purchase a 357 set of Dillon dies that severely undersized the brass.
I called the company and after getting them to understand that I wasn’t a dumb *** they agreed to grind me a special carbide die to match what the Hornady book said when I got the set back they worked perfectly. Too much hassle I will buy Redding next time.

[pastor]

i load 9mm and 45acp and cast my own boolets, the only dies i have ever used is RCBS and i really like them and have never had any issues, i did break a decapping pin (my fault completly) i called customer service and told them i broke it and told them i wanted to order 2 replacements, they wouldnt accept any payment and sent me 5 replacement pins and a new stem free shipping and free parts and i did tell them it was my fault the pin broke

with customer service like that and the high quality dies that RCBS makes why would i ever buy any other brand

[silverado]

It seems like die quality is a wash for the most part... my lgs has rcbs dies for 357 but I guess considering that I don't think they are much better I will stick with lee. I do like the Hornady dies from what I can tell on my 223 set.... but to be honest I don't get to shoot my 223 very much so I get a LOT more use out of my LEE 38 dies.

[engineer401]

The older style steel RCBS sets I used some time ago worked perfectly. I just didn't want to lube the cases anymore. I purchased carbide RCBS 357 Magnum dies and wasn't happy with them. The sizer squeezed the brass to 0.372" and the flaring die was for 9mm and 357 Magnum. The flaring die didn't flare the case enough to easily get a jacketed bullet into the case. Cast bullets simply wouldn't seat.

I have a set of Hornady dies that size to 0.374" and two carbide CH dies that size to 0.375". The CH dies are larger than what is normally sold by CH. I asked for them specifically. Bryan looked through a box rejects and found the one I need. The other came from EBay.

Full disclosure, I never contacted RCBS to correct anything.

Between RCBS and Hornady, I'd buy the Hornady set.

[silverado]

The older style steel RCBS sets I used some time ago worked perfectly. I just didn't want to lube the cases anymore. I purchased carbide RCBS 357 Magnum dies and wasn't happy with them. The sizer squeezed the brass to 0.372" and the flaring die was for 9mm and 357 Magnum. The flaring die didn't flare the case enough to easily get a jacketed bullet into the case. Cast bullets simply wouldn't seat.

I have a set of Hornady dies that size to 0.374" and two carbide CH dies that size to 0.375". The CH dies are larger than what is normally sold by CH. I asked for them specifically. Bryan looked through a box rejects and found the one I need. The other came from EBay.

Full disclosure, I never contacted RCBS to correct anything.

Between RCBS and Hornady, I'd buy the Hornady set.

I think that is odd... my 44 rcbs dies flare a bit more than i would like... it's like the end of a trombone on my brass, my lee 357 dies have more taper so I guess I should just stick with those untill I decide for a separate 357 die from 38 spl

[engineer401]

I think that is odd... my 44 rcbs dies flare a bit more than i would like... it's like the end of a trombone on my brass, my lee 357 dies have more taper so I guess I should just stick with those untill I decide for a separate 357 die from 38 spl

I should've been more clear. The case expander of the carbide RCBS set was too small. I didn't flare the cases much with the steel RCBS dies but the expanding and sizing dies both sized the brass properly.

You are making sense. Using Lee dies works for you. It's not broken, so why fix it?

[10mmShooter]

lately most of my new die sets have been Redding...fit and finish is the best, I have many rcbs die sets too, but the new Hornady dies are nice I have a new 10mm and .32 set that are first class.

My opinion Redding nicest highest cost, then Hornady and then RCBS ....I just don't like Lyman dies finishing of the their dies its always rough and the worst of the four.

[ROGER4314]

I have mostly RCBS dies and some of them are still in use after 30+ years! I also have Hornady and Lee dies. I have NO complaints with any of them. I tend to stay with RCBS more because I keep a lot of spare parts on hand for RCBS dies.

Flash

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

So for now I have an apples to oranges comparison. My 44 dies are rcbs. I appreciate the washer that converts 44 spl to 44 mag. Also I have a set of 223 hornady dies. I really like that the bullet seater die has the sleeve that helps with seating the rifle boolits. Can anyone sway me towards either company for 357? I will say that my rcbs 44 set seater die is a pain because the lock ring don't work as good as it should for adjusting the seater

I don't buy dies by brand, but buy dies by feature as well as what press, what cartridge and what bullet/boolit. Then I don't just buy a particular brand, but often mix and match dies/brands to get the end product (cartridge) I want.

In this case, you're looking at a die set that can possibly reload both .357 and .38 special. In this case, Hornady's sliding sleeve that I really like in a rifle bullet seater doesn't help me as much. But other things come into play such as:

1. Mouth expansion for cast boolits is likely to be important.
2. Powder through expansion
3. Interior smoothness of the die for more pleasant operation on a progressive press.
4. Die mouth taper for smooth feeding of brass on a progressive press.
5. Length of die for mounting on a progressive press.
6. Expanding die's capability to perhaps accept a powder measure or alternative to expanding die.
7. A bullet feeder die to speed operation/increase production/ease manual labor.
8. Bullet seating die that bullets/boolits can be smoothly loaded into by hand or that won't knock over a bullet fed by a feed in the station before. A bullet seating die that can do an appropriate crimp for the firearm I'm using the cartridges in without resizing lead boolits.
9. Depending on room, a crimp die that gives a quality crimp, is easily setup and doesn't resize lead boolits. As I prefer to separate the seat/crimp operation. I prefer one of these.

This is the requirements I have for a pistol cartridge. I don't know the press you are using, but I believe factoring in this sort of thinking can improve your reloading experience as well as improve the quality of the cartridge produced. It certainly has for me in recent years.

As far as brands, I'll use any brand that meets my criteria for a specific operation. This has meant mixing brands of dies and other equipment such as powder measures.

I hope this helps.

[6bg6ga]

I realize the thread says RCBS vs Hornady dies. Unfortunately all the answers haven't mentioned RCBS or Hornady so I will feel free to say my dies are RCBS and Dillon dies. In my humble opinion Hornady can keep their dies. You simply cannot beat RCBS customer service either and that is something to think about when purchasing ANY reloading piece.

[Pistol Pete]

Hello...I load 9mm and 40 S&W both lead and jacketed. I use the Hornady and RCBS dies and they work nicely. I bought 2 sets of Redding dies and had nothing but but problems. Redding tried to help but their solutions just didn't work. No problems with Hornady and RCBS. And I bought the RCBS set used!
Hope that helps...
Pistol Pete

[rleue]

I love the feel of Hornady dies, but RCBS customer support is WAYYY BEYOND GOOD. They are the #1 customer support I have come across. Hornady on the other hand is...acceptable (especially in this day and age). I would buy the RCBS without hesitation.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm going to go way back to post #3 and concur that Redding dies are top notch.

RCBS dies are very good and their customer service is outstanding.

I own a bunch of dies but Redding and RCBS are my top choices.

That being said, a die isn't a terribly complex thing. As long as it's made of decent material and with the proper dimensions and quality control - it will likely out live you.

I like to support RCBS with my money, so if I don't need a special Redding die, RCBS generally gets my business.

[ole 5 hole group]

Everyone has their reloading die experiences, both good and better. Myself, I've got and have used dies from Bonanza, Hornady, Lyman, RCBS, Redding, Wilson and a couple from different custom die makers.

For case reforming dies, I will go with either RCBS or custom dies, for precision shooting I will stick with either Wilson, Redding or custom dies, as I'm comfortable with those choices.

Sometimes you won't find dies for some calibers from the usual die makers, but either Hornady or RCBS will make them and they are always top drawer. I know for my 500 Linebaugh Maximum (1.6") only RCBS made the forming dies but when I talked to the Hornady guys, they advised I could adapt their 500 Linebaugh dies (1.4") for use with cut-down 50 Alaskan brass and that advise alone saved me about $300.

I somehow managed to break an almost unbreakable decaping pin on a 35 year old custom Neil Jones hand die a couple months ago. The pin is part of the rod and back then, it wasn't made to have a replaceable pin. Thought I just ruined an excellent die, as without that pin, that particular die is useless. NOPE, called Neil and he still makes what he once sold, so I ordered 3 new ones, just in case ole man Murphy is still hiding somewhere in my reloading area.

[Elkins45]

The new zip spindle on current Hornady dies has given me nothing but trouble. I liked the earlier version much better.

[DonMountain]

Going back 30 years. I have 20 sets of Hornady dies. 3 sets of RCBS dies. One set of Redding dies. And 3 sets of Lee dies. Quality and design of the Hornady, RCBS and Redding dies are all pretty equal and will all do a good job for you. The Lee dies are much less then equal both design wise and quality and machining wise. But they are by far the cheapest. Design wise I prefer the Hornady's because of the much superior boolet seating dies. If choosing a new set of dies, I always look at Hornady's first, then RCBS and Redding. And last, Lee.

[lightload]

Are you loading lead bullets? Try RCBS cowboy dies. Nothing wrong with their regular one either.

[mold maker]

21sets of RCBS, 1 Hornady, 2 sets Reding. Over 50 years loading with only two problems, both my fault.
Reding said sorry.
RCBS said "NO Problem", and free replacement.
What do ya think I'll get next time?

[renegade99]

In 60 years of reloading I have had very little problems with any brand of dies. I do not like the new style Hornady's and have gotten rid of any of them that I have tried. I prefer Redding and Bonanza for rifle with RCBS a very close second. For handgun I use RCBS or Dillon depending on whether it will be used in a progressive or single stage press. I even have a couple of Lee collet dies to solve a problem with a couple of different cases, they are the only Lee dies I own, although Lee's are the only die I have ever worn out and it didn't take a lot to do. Incidentally I have over 300 dies on the shelf right now.

[HangFireW8]

Four pages of discussion and no one has compared runout or how much case necks are over sized and under expanded. Standard Hornady and RCBS FL and Neck dies are barely suitable for jacketed and even less so for cast.

[DonMountain]

Four pages of discussion and no one has compared runout or how much case necks are over sized and under expanded. Standard Hornady and RCBS FL and Neck dies are barely suitable for jacketed and even less so for cast.

When I read this I couldn't stop laughing for several minutes. It is obvious that there are "normal" quality dies that "normal" people use for "normal" type target shooting and hunting. And then there are the "extreme" people who shoot 1200 yard targets with records of 4" groups. And obviously different dies, reloading presses, brass, powders, dies, alignment precision gauges and rifles will be required. With buckets of money needed to get there. Hornady, RCBS and several other dies fit very well in the casual shooting group for $50 or $75. And I get a few deer every year using Hornady and RCBS dies at a hundred yards or so. I find the boolet seating die of the Hornady's more convenient. But if the Hornady dies were not available I would be happy with the RCBS dies. And my rifles can shoot 1.5 inch groups with either die when I work the loads up properly. And I think most of us are in this category.

[lightman]

Truthfully there is probably no wrong answer here. Both brands should work fine and give a lifetime of service. Between the two I would choose RCBS because of their legendary customer service. Thats just my opinion.

Both Hangfire and Don, the above posters, make good points. When you start using custom barrels with tight chambers, truing actions or using custom actions and shooting long range you might want more in a die set. But the OP did not ask about that. In a factory rifle for informal target shooting and hunting, off the shelf dies are fine.

[Beebee]

I asked myself this question a little over a month ago. I wanted to try a rcbs X-die but like the hornady seating die for rifles. I bought both to get what I wanted. Both brands are high quality and I've called both companies due to my own errors, neither company has let me buy the parts I've broken. I don't think you will go wrong with either one.

[dogmower]

both are good, but i'd lean toward the Hornady dies. in my experience, their customer service is tops. I've had a set of hornady .357 dies since 1990, and would bet I've put close to a quarter million brass through them. still work great with no appreciable wear.

[TNsailorman]

I have used Lyman, RCBS, Redding, C-H, Hollywood, Bonanza, Pacific, Herter's, and Forster dies in the past. I have more RCBS and Redding than the others right now, but I can honestly say that I have never had a bad set of dies. I have had a few problems in the years past(most of them my fault) but after 55+ years of reloading, I have got my system down as to what I want. As far as customer service, the only problems I have had was a slight disagreement with Lee which we later worked out, and a stone wall by Lyman when I tried to get a replacement part from them. RCBS, Redding and C-H have always gave me top notch customer service. These days I tailor my buying to the job at hand more than just a brand. That's just my way though, , james

[EDG]

I have more than 100 die sets of almost every brand and I have measured most of the necks with pin gauges. Some of the dies were made in the late 1950s or early 1960s and none of the FL dies are correct for cast bullets so you can consider that requirement a fantasy. Some are ok for jacketed bullets.
I have also measured the expanders and some are better than others but I consider NONE of them fit for cast bullets as I use them. I wind up having to make dies or modify expanders.
I have found that some trim dies are .010 larger than the FL dies in the neck and work well for FL sizing cases to be used with oversize cast bullets.

Back on subject. I have a number of Hornady-Pacific Durachrome dies that I bought used that have defective internal dimensions for location of the shoulder. These dies push the shoulder back .030 or more too far. They can be used with careful set up but I consider them junk and refuse to buy any more dies with the Hornady name on them.



Four pages of discussion and no one has compared runout or how much case necks are over sized and under expanded. Standard Hornady and RCBS FL and Neck dies are barely suitable for jacketed and even less so for cast.

[HangFireW8]

I have had bad dies. A set of Lee 222 with a FL die that bent case necks .004-5" w/o the sizing stem.

A set of RCBS .233 Reloader Special dies (copies of the Lee with an unthreaded stem and wrench flats) that bent case bodies almost as much as the Lee .222.

A Hornady 444 expander that didn't expand enough to accept a Hornady bullet. They replaced that one.

By and large most of my dies are OK... if you remove the expander balls that pull necks off center. Most only .003" which you won't notice rolling it on a table. Just enough to make groups larger.

[osteodoc08]

I had an oversized 45 ACP Hornady sizing die. I had to send it to them on my dime and they sent me a new one back.

I have a LnL press and the base plate quit kicking out the brass with the ezject feature. I was told I reloaded too much and wore it out. I had to buy a replacement. I don't feel it was excessive and certainly shouldn't have been worn out. A new one did fix the problem.

Had ad lots of small part issues with my LnL press causing down time.

RCBS have sent me parts for free, no questions asked, even a power cable that was my fault.

I have changed over to Dillon presses and RCBS/Redding dies.

[troyboy]

After using the Hornandy and RCBS dies, I would choose RCBS. I feel they make a better product based on my experience. I am another that loads with different brands to get what my perceived needs are but that is off topic.

[casac47]

I like the Hornady seating die for the sleeve which drops down to hold the bullet. The sizer is a toss up with RCBS. Both are good.