Old vs New dies

[KnotRight]

With Mtgunn44 post about older dies got me thinking about the older dies. I am thinking about buying some older RCBS dies that seller claims to be in "good" condition. These dies are for rifle calibers that I do not shoot much and only reload may be 100 rounds a year.

My questions is, if the dies are in good conditions, is there much difference with the body of the dies. I change all my locking nuts to the split nut.

[dh2]

I am still loading .375H&H Mag. and 7mmx57mm Mauser with die sets marked 72 and 74 that I got used , I have no plane of looking for a newer set of eather

[AZ Pete]

I have dies that date back to the 1960's, they are still doing the job.... I prefer the split rings too, and RCBS has used them from time to time, so you might get them on some old rings

[troyboy]

Nothing wrong with used dies if the condition is acceptable.

[TNsailorman]

I sold a set of my uncles RCBS dies about a year or so ago that I know for a fact that he bought them in 1957. They still looked almost new and was loading good ammo when I last used them about 5 years ago. Well made dies are well made dies and the year does not matter or for that matter, manufacturer either. I have owned Lyman, Herter's, RCBS, Hollywood, Redding, Bair, Hornady, Pacific, Dillon, Bonanza, Forster, and Lee. Never had a bad set of dies that I can remember; but like most people I have makers that I like better than others, usually a personal thing with me and not the quality of the die. My experience anyway, james

[therealhitman]

Sometimes improvement or innovation speak up though. Then you have to choose. I still have "spare" dies from the 90's back in my single stage days. But what are loaded in my toolheads are better designs IMO. Dillon pistol dies are easy to clean and reassemble so they get the nod over my old RCBS sets. And all my crimp dies are Lee FCDs.

[Char-Gar]

It is very difficult to wear a set of dies out. In all of my years I have only known of one 25-20 FL sizing die that wore to the point it would not size the cases enough. I suspect that die was defective and not properly hardened.

Dies can be abused and neglected and it doesn't take years to do that.

The newest die I have, comes from the mid-80s. All others are older, with some back to the 40s, 50s and even some from before the war. They all work just fine. Older dies quite often need to be cleaned, which is easy and sometimes need to have a few scratches taken out, but that is not an onerous task either. Reloading dies should be considered to be a lifetime investment. I have no reluctance to buy used older dies.

[bedbugbilly]

I actually am finding myself buying more "vintage" die sets just because they can be found at bargain prices at times. I haven't been reloading too many years but I seem to have a "fetish" for 38 spl. dies and as I load on a Lee Classic Turret - I have different turret plates set up for different loadings - i.e. smokeless and BP - 38 Colt Short, Long, Spl and 357. I have Lachmiller, CH, Lee, RCBS and Lyman - many of them "vintage". If they are taken care of properly, they'll last several lifetimes unless you are loading terrific quantities I suppose. There are a lot of very nice "vintage" sets sitting around out there that got used very little and are in like new shape - just as there are a lot of "abused" ones as well.

I chuckle when I hear "vintage" or "old" die sets and the reference is in regards to those from the 70s and 80s - guess that makes me an "antique" as I sorta "pre-date" that by a few decades? LOL

[EDG]

I kind of prefer some older dies.

The sizing and seating dies bodies for RCBS rifle dies are fully the equal of current RCBS dies.
I have measured the internal dimensions and can find little different between the old and new dies.
There is one feature that I do not like on some later model RCBS dies.
I like to be able to unscrew the top bushing with the decapping rod so I can easily clean the die.
The silly dies with the no bushing top where the decapping rod is screwed directly into the die body from the bottom are sort of an abomination.
Older RCBS pistol dies had the decapping rod built into the expander. I don't like that either. With my 44 Mag sizer I installed a bushing with a separate decapping assy.

With RCBS there is little risk with older dies since they carry the same warranty as the day they were made.