Preferred die maker?

[PBSmith]

Searched this briefly and couldn't find answers.

Have any members here found one particular brand of 7/8x14 dies to give more accurate ammo than others when loading cast bullets?

If your game is tin cans at the town dump or ringing gongs, it might not make much difference.

If, on the other hand, you're looking to load ammo with minimum runout, maybe the choice of sizing and seating dies will make a difference. I know with jacketed I was having very good luck with Hornady New Dimension, and I believe it had to do with design and quality of the sizing and seating dies.

I can't afford the best benchrest dies made, so let's keep this in the blue-collar range.

Look forward to your thoughts. Thanks.







.

[jimkim]

For general purpose dies, I like Lee. As far as premium dies go, Redding or Forster are top shelf.

Sent from my VS880 using Tapatalk

[sigep1764]

I prefer Redding and Dillon, but I do have a couple Lee sets.

[country gent]

I use dies from most makers all can be very good. For high use calibers I like the bushing dies so I can size to what's needed and not over size brass. Some straight line dies can load very accurate ammo but require a arbor press to use and are slower than the press mounted dies.

[bruce drake]

ANY die set except Hornady has performed perfectly well for me. I own Lee, Pacific, Herters, CH4d, Redding and RCBS. I've tossed out a 6.5 Creedmoor Hornady die set and replaced it with a LEE. No more crumpled shoulders or misaligned bullets now.

[380AUTO]

Price is not an issue for me when it comes to purchasing does yet I still prefer Lee dies above all. I get ragged holes using my .308 Lee ultimate die set.

[lightman]

Everyone has their favorites but there probably is not a wrong answer. There are some advantages to having the same brand. For example, say you are sizing brass and bend the depriming rod in a 30-30 die. If you have all the same brands you can grab the stem out of your 30-06, 308 or 300 Winchester set and keep working. Also, some manufactures have better customer service than others. RCBS and Dillon are fantastic. Redding is said to be as good. You hear mixed satisfaction with Hornady and Lee and Lyman. Having said all of that, I have mostly RCBS followed by Redding and then Dillon.

[Binky]

I like Redding (but don't like the price). I use a lot of RCBS, Lyman, some Lee and a few other odds and ends (Old Pacific, C&H, Bair, and a few others that nobody ever heard of.) If they do the job I will use them. If not, they go away.

[Walks]

I've got dies from most makers going back 60+years. Most have worked well for me, some of the older dies work a lot better then the new made ones.
For instance I have or used to have for .44-40 : an Old LYMAN 1960's set, 3 RCBS, from 1978, 1987 & a Cowboy set from 1999. An old Pacific set, a HORNADY set from 2005, and a REDDING set.

And a die set I no longer have, THE ONLY DIE SET I'VE EVER ACTUALLY THROWN INTO THE TRASHCAN ;
A Lee. Pieces of junk put in a plastic box & actually sold.

I use the old LYMAN rather then any of the others.
I've sold of the Pacific, the RCBS Cowboy, the Redding and another of the RCBS.

And if dillon makes them, I wouldn't take one for free.

Most dies from reputable manufacturers work well.
I have no particular favorite these days, but if I can afford them, Redding.

[crankycalico]

each die is different on the outside, essentially the same on the inside.

Most would say that any 6" digital micrometer can measure a 0-6" long piece of plastic regardless if it cost you 20$ at home depot, or 150$ from a company that sells measuring equipment to aerospace companies.

But only honest, knowledgable salesmen would remind you that the industry standard holds that only the first 4" would be considered "accurate" to the 4 decimal place read out.

[rcslotcar]

I prefer RCBS, that said all the prep and care is what makes great ammo.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Lee first: Their machining and interior finish is better than most and their prices are hard to beat. when I see other outfits wanting 5x more for the similar dies I just laugh.

Being a machinist helps me sort thru Die BS real quick, and when I see better quality in the cheapest die sets out there, and dies others don't even offer, it makes me wonder how the really expensive outfits stay in business.

My .02

Randy

[M-Tecs]

I load for a lot of different rifles in the same caliber bottleneck cases mostly for long range competition. I prefer the Redding or Forster micrometer and neck bushing dies. For 223 and 308 I run Dillon carbide sizing dies. For handgun it is mostly feature based. Some work better than other for some applications like cast bullets. I have only had issues with one die maker but I want to stay out of the ford chev type stuff.

[GregLaROCHE]

I just got a used Lyman M die from EBay yesterday. Holding it in my hand, I thought to myself, this is really well made. It was a marked difference from the Lee universal neck flaring die I had recently been working with. I wondered why in this age of CNC, there was so much of a difference. I have mostly RCBS die sets and a few Lyman. Now a couple of Lee’s.

I have had mixed results from Lee products. Some work well and some are ****. From what I’ve heard from others, when you buy from Lee it’s often hit or miss. Sure they seem to be good about replacing defective items, but who wants that hassle. For something like a die set for high accuracy, as you say you want, I think one of the higher priced brands would be a better bet.

[Shawlerbrook]

Redding Bench Rest Dies. Also many precision shooters use arbor presses. That said, most dies will suffice for 95% of us shooters.

[Budzilla 19]

RCBS,Pacific, Hornady, one set of Lee, 99% RCBS. They just work for me. Everybody has their own preference so I don’t bash anybody’s choices. My .02

[ioon44]

Hornady New Dimension is working good for me, Redding & RCBS are always good, I have been moving away from Dillon and don't even consider Lyman or Lee.

[EDG]

I have used almost every brand of die during the last 50 years.
I began reloading before Lee made anything but the whack a mole loaders.
There are 3 considerations for buying dies.
1. Affordability
Most dies are affordable. If your feelings are hurt to spend an extra few dollars for a set of dies that will last a life time your priorities need to be changed.
2. Quality
You only want trouble free dies to load the best ammo.
RCBS, Forster and Redding dies are all excellent. RCBS has the best warranty and customer service proven for many decades.

3. Availability
RCBS have been on the market for more than 60 years and have been manufactured in the widest selection of calibers.

I generally shop for excellent condition used die sets and buy the top 3 when I can can find them at prices better than the cheapo dies..
I may buy other brands if they are the only thing available or if they will see limited use.

[one-eyed fat man]

I have dies, some going back to the early Sixties, from C-H, Lyman, Redding, RCBS and Lee. They all work OK, but I will say I really like old Lymans and Redding. For some tasks, there are dies which I find useful. Lyman M dies not only good for cast bullets. With bottle neck cartridges NOT using that ball on the decapping rod to expand the neck eliminates a lot of case stretch. (Someone here often mentions how much they hate case trimming) Lyman M dies bodies are easily adapted as compression dies for black powder cartridge reloding. Lee factory crimp dies are most useful when modified to crimp heeled bullets in .32, 38 and 41 Colt cartridges or .310 Cadet.

[toallmy]

As far as dies I use a little of everything , depending on what I want to do with the loaded ammunition . I even mix and match die sets ,+ modify some of them to reach my end goal .
But I have at times used a screwdriver as a big nail when needed .

[country gent]

Another thing to consider herewith the 7/8 14 dies sets is the press alignment between ram and die mount. the frames strength and flex. THe best set of dies in a weak press with a ram off center wont load the very best ammo. A good solid press with accurate alignment is required. Something Ive been thinking about is a visual check for this. Loke the bars with 2 points to check scope ring alignment. A 7/8 14 bar with 60* point and a 7/8 rod with the shell holder base machined on it and a 60* point. install these in the press and carefully raise ram to almost touching, any mis aloghnment should be readily visible.
That's one of the benefits of the straight line dies and arbor press. The case and dies float freely to center and align. This is also a plus of the coax press the die floats in and out the shell holder side to side.
Niel Jones, Redding , warner will if you send 3-5 fired cases bore a die just for your rifle and chamber. These dies size right to what you need and little more. Expensive but again a custom fit and hand work. Its an option that's available

[Tom W.]

My handgun dies are RCBS carbide, my 30-06 and 30/30 A.I are Hornady, my 30/30 is Herters, my 30-06 A.I is Redding, and it loads some very accurate rounds. I never had a whole lot of satisfaction with Lee dies, altho I do have quite a few Lee products that I use.
My oldest son has a really nice Redding turret press and I do believe all of his dies are Lee.
I really can't complain about the quality of any dies that I have owned, just some didn't suit me.

[Blindshooter]

Mostly RCBS, Redding for the precision stuff and Dillon mixed with modified Lee on progressives.

[John Boy]

Have any members here found one particular brand of 7/8x14 dies to give more accurate ammo than others when loading cast bullets? Nope ... I have 61 die sets for every caliber I shoot and believe from every manufacture. They all generate perfect reloads including those in the red plastic boxes - Lee Precision and the blue box Dillons. The most expensive ones are CH4D for my unique calibers ... 22 LR and metrics
The only part of the die sets I have to modify sometimes is the bullet seating plugs. All plugs come as a standard round nose or a round nose flat point. So for perfect bullets for some of the bullet calibers, I have to fill the plug cavity with hot glue to conform to the bullet nose I'm reloading

[novalty]

For rifle dies, Forster is my favorite.

[Greg S]

I started out with RCBS and one set of Lyman. RCBS have some great die sets, pretty consistant product, the Lyman were pretty rough. I ended up with some Redding 445 SM dies because they were the only one with that perticular cartridge at the time and was impressed. I have one set of Foster benchrest dies that load excellent ammo. I moved to the Redding collet style dies for small stuff and experimented but real results on paper hasn't proven their worth. I recently picket up a set of 32 H&R dies from Lee. Nice but they are real 'grabby/chatter', might need a polishing or use the burnish the working surfaces for smoother operation. Since getting into lever guns, the RCBS Cowboy dies are nice with large expenders for boolits. I'm getting ready to mod a 358 cowboy expander for my RCBS carbide 9x19/21/23. Contemplating on a 6.5 cartridge. My next experiment will be a lee collet die with a foster seater.

[Lloyd Smale]

redding have allways been my first choice. but I use them all.

[PBSmith]

Another thing to consider herewith the 7/8 14 dies sets is the press alignment between ram and die mount. the frames strength and flex. THe best set of dies in a weak press with a ram off center wont load the very best ammo. A good solid press with accurate alignment is required. Something Ive been thinking about is a visual check for this. Loke the bars with 2 points to check scope ring alignment. A 7/8 14 bar with 60* point and a 7/8 rod with the shell holder base machined on it and a 60* point. install these in the press and carefully raise ram to almost touching, any mis aloghnment should be readily visible.
That's one of the benefits of the straight line dies and arbor press. The case and dies float freely to center and align. This is also a plus of the coax press the die floats in and out the shell holder side to side.
Niel Jones, Redding , warner will if you send 3-5 fired cases bore a die just for your rifle and chamber. These dies size right to what you need and little more. Expensive but again a custom fit and hand work. Its an option that's available

Good point and nifty idea on press alignment. I'm not in a position to manufacture what you suggest but will see what I can rig along similar lines. Thanks.

[KenT7021]

I use various makes of dies.Mostly they all work fine.I have Herter's,CH.Lyman,RCBS,Hornady,Pacific,and Lee.Some have features that I don't care for but I just deal with it.I replace the lock rings on the Lee dies with setscrew lockable rings.I preferred the Pacific Durachrome dies over the current Hornady product.Mostly now I buy RCBS or Lyman dies unless I find something at a good price on EBay.

[44magLeo]

I think the brand isn't as important as the skill of the operator.
A good press and die set used well makes good ammo.
A good press and die set used poorly makes poor ammo.
Leo

[MT Chambers]

Redding, Forster.

[ukrifleman]

I use Hornady, Lyman and Lee dies and they all produce good ammunition.
ukrifleman

[1hole]

I think the brand isn't as important as the skill of the operator.
A good press and die set used well makes good ammo.
A good press and die set used poorly makes poor ammo.
Leo

Amen.

All of our commercial die makers stick to SAAMI size die specifications and that's a range, NOT a specific point; if everything's within that tolerance range that's as good as they can get.

I once had a collection of nine .30-06 die sets by various makers, including two by RCBS. One of the Green sizers was at the tight edge of the specs, the other at the loose edge - the rest were in between. Which one was best? Actually, the loosest die made better shooting ammo because the cases fit my factory chamber better! And all of the seaters were much less than perfect according to my concentricity gage.

I've been doing this looong time and have known a lot of other serious loaders. Most of us graduated from the "my favorite tool maker is best" club a long time ago. The ONLY way to know if any given two sets of dies, even from the same brand, is better is to load quality and shoot your best ammo from them.

Skilled reloaders with good rigs and well developed loads and well chosen components can make good ammo from most any brand of tools but people hoping to find quick answers to all that by choosing certain color boxes and price points simply doesn't work.

On average, I've found Lee's dies work as well as any others of the threaded 7/8" types, especially their collet neck sizers. Well, all others except Redding and Forster Competition and BR seaters.

Case preparation, not dies, is probably the weakest link in most people's bottle neck loading system. No one can load good ammo in cases with bent/tilted necks - a Redding body bump die used along with Lee's unique collet neck sizer is about as good as it gets for sizing, neck or FL. Then finish with a full body guided Forster or Redding seater.

Get a concentricity gage and check your loads for bullet run-out. If your results are less than good consider light neck turning to clear up the worst of the neck variations. For factory (SAAMI) chambers, that's really about the best we can do. Then take the time and do the measurements to learn how to use those tools properly because simply pushing cases into and out of the dies, ANY brand of dies, simply won't get it done.

[troyboy]

Quality brass is the most important factor in concentricity. Die brand is more of a feature driven proposition. I use Redding body sides, Lee collet neck sizer and Forster seaters for accuracy driven calibers. For normal loading, dies with the features I like or can afford. One most know how to use the tools...........

[lefty o]

my preferred is redding, though rcbs will get er done in a pinch.

[Harter66]

I have and use CH , CH4D , Lyman , Herters , Lee , Pacific , Redding and RCBS . I can honestly say I can see , feel and touch the difference between Lee and RCBS . It's worth the $15-20 per set for the touch and feel . I don't have a Lyman set less than 40 yr old in fact I think I only have maybe 10% of my gear that was made in this century .
I don't believe there is a $40 difference , at least not in 45-70 and 32 Rem , in Redding and CH4D .

I have 3 really great presses . I can only think of a couple of rifle cartridges that I haven't cut groups by half from base line ammo . A 222 that shoots under an inch with every loading I've had available . A 45-70 that is likely to never be less than a 2 MOA full power rifle , and a wild cat that there isn't a base line for that I didn't load with standard dies relieved to suit . I've never had a visible runout issue that wasn't corrected with chamfer , lapping or another adjustment of the seating stem .

Buy your dies as available , as much as you need .
Spend the best money on a press with a rigid frame and ram and a shell holder that does move enough to seek perfect alignment with the dies . Buy good shell holders that are square with the ram and die axis .

[Taterhead]

Used all the handgun dies, except Dillon, and prefer RCBS. In many calibers, the expander die can be retrofitted with "Cowboy" M style expander plugs. Greater diameter for cast bullets. In rifle I like Redding, Forster seaters, and RCBS dies. I do think that the Lee Universal Expander outfitted with NOE M expander plugs has a strong role to play. Otherwise, I own zero Lee rifle dies because I prefer others.

[Clark]

I have 309 dies listed in my spreadsheet. I can see I still need to add the 280AI dies purchased in September 2018.

My flow chart is:
A) Rifle cartridges:
1) Get the Forster full length die with the neck honed out on Forster's Sunnen hone to my specification. Usually 0.003" smaller than a loaded neck.
2) Get the Forster sliding sleeve seater die, and de burr the deburring cut Forster made on the seating stem. Use a microscope or jewelers triplet.
3) Get the Lee collet neck die. If needed have Lee reduce the mandrel, but leave some of the mandrel diameter in tact where it centers in the collet.

B) Pistol dies
1) Get the Lee carbide die
2) Get any seater die and adjust so not seating and crimping in one step.
3) Get the Lee factory crimp die

If Forster does not make dies in that cartridge or something close, use a different brand.
If no one makes a die, use 7/8-14 threaded rod and make my own dies.

I still can't upload pics. Giving money does not help. Complaining does not help.

[Anonym]

I admittedly have not used Redding dies but hear they are nice. My rifle favorite is Forster (have a couple Bonanza, same thing) although I do have RCBS, CH4, and Hornady. If I couldn’t have Forster, I would probably prefer RCBS sizers and Hornady seaters. The Forster/Bonanza Bench Rest seating die is top notch and what Redding and (sort of) Hornady base their seating dies off of after their patent expired.

I did not care for Lee and thought Dillon was over priced and overrated. Sold my Dillons at a premium and bought 2-3 times more RCBS/Hornady/Bonanza/CH4.

For pistol, I have and use RCBS, Hornady, Lyman, and CH4. I tend to gravitate toward RCBS and Hornady.

I have tried and do not care for Lee, but would use them if needed. That said, I LOVE Lyman M-dies and use them for rifle and pistol. I have replaced all brand pistol die expanders with them.

I honestly have not bought into the micrometer seating die fad. They would be extremely useful for playing with seating depths on initial load development or if you swapped projectiles often and had repeatable references to bounce between them for consistent seating depth of each bullet type, but I don’t do this often enough to justify the extra cost.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I have used Lee, RCBS, Hornady and Redding dies.
I tend to gravitate towards RCBS when buying new dies , but have recently been purchasing Hornady dies to use in my LnL presses.
I have some specialty dies from Redding that I bought for loading .375SuperMag and a bulge buster for .40S&W brass. I also have some Redding die sets that I bought at auction that I don't even have firearms for, so they may be sold.
I have had a bad experience with Lee dies(don't like the o-ring) and presses, so I generally don't consider them, although I do have some of there quick trim tools(although I haven't used them yet). I am most probably going to rely on RCBS trim dies, so the Lee may be sold as well.
I use RCBS and Hornady presses, but my next progressive will be a Dillon just because I want to try one.

[lightman]

The only Lee die I have is a universal decapping die but I do use their trimmers some. You should try them before selling them, they work ok. I only use trim dies when I'm forming cases and have a lot of material to remove. My bench is inside and using the trim die in the press is kind of messy.

[PBSmith]

Thanks, all, for taking time to share your opinions and experience.

Have a nice cast.
PBSmith

[fatnhappy]

Redding and RCBS grace most of the boxes on my desk. I like Hornady dies with a caveat, they can be a pain with cast. The seating sleeve is perfect for jacketed but often requires honing our for fatter boolits. If you hone it out, you’ve defeated the advantage the sleeves bring for jacketed.

I like Lyman dies. I have 1/2 dozen sets.

They all work.


Ymmv

[PBSmith]

Redding and RCBS grace most of the boxes on my desk. I like Hornady dies with a caveat, they can be a pain with cast. The seating sleeve is perfect for jacketed but often requires honing our for fatter boolits. If you hone it out, you’ve defeated the advantage the sleeves bring for jacketed.

I like Lyman dies. I have 1/2 dozen sets.

They all work.


Ymmv

fatnhappy, I was wondering about that seating sleeve. Thanks for your note.

[dragon813gt]

This question is simple for me. Buy Lee dies, if they don’t work buy another brand. I’ve had to do this only on a few rare occasions. There are advantages to certain features that brands use exclusively. But I’ve found I can load accurate ammo w/ Lee dies. If I was truly concerned about squeezing every bit of accuracy out of a cartridge I would start down the benchrest route which doesn’t involve a reloading press.

[Ranger 7]

For me, HORNADY is the best choice by far. Have the Dimension dies in: .380ACP/9MM/45ACP/.38/357.
They stand up 100% on their products, provide accurate & friendly advice.
Great manufacture!

[EDG]

Loading little pistol rounds is not very demanding nor is making pistol dies very difficult.


For me, HORNADY is the best choice by far. Have the Dimension dies in: .380ACP/9MM/45ACP/.38/357.
They stand up 100% on their products, provide accurate & friendly advice.
Great manufacture!

[Walks]

Yesterday I just went to use a set of Lee dies for .32 Smith & Wesson that I bought last summer. The shell holder won't fit in my 40yr old Rockchucker. The Yellow dipper is a 4.0 CC, way too big. Big enough to fill a .45acp case to the mouth.
The seat/crimp die is different from the instructions & I can't seem to get it to seat & crimp right. Called Lee today to ask about it. They blew me off.
Since I can't find the receipt, I have to pay to send back the die set & pay for a replacement seating die & then pay to have it sent back to me.

"Great" customer service.

[15meter]

Redding and RCBS grace most of the boxes on my desk. I like Hornady dies with a caveat, they can be a pain with cast. The seating sleeve is perfect for jacketed but often requires honing our for fatter boolits. If you hone it out, you’ve defeated the advantage the sleeves bring for jacketed.

I like Lyman dies. I have 1/2 dozen sets.

They all work.


Ymmv

Had the same seating sleeve dia. problem with 30-06. Went back to RCBS, problem solved.

On dies, 40+ are RCBS, next is Redding, Dillon then Lee. Last is CH4D with one die set and a bunch of expanders. Dislike the Lee based on the o-ring "lock" ring but have several odd ball, low volume cartridges in Lee simply because of price. Can't justify paying the asking price for the odd ones from RCBS/Redding/CH4D.

Forgot the half dozen Lyman m-dies, they work great for the standard calibers.

[DonMountain]

Computer Error

[DonMountain]

Computer Error

[DonMountain]

Of my 30+ sets of dies I prefer the design and quality of engineering and machine work of the Hornady die sets with the sliding bullet seating dies. These sliding inserts are much more gentle when seating soft cast lead bullets, orienting them straight to the case before insertion. Also the shapes of their tapered expander work far better than other makes, especially when reshaping brass to another caliber. Other die sets I have and are good quality are RCBS and Redding. Unfortunately the couple of Lee die sets I have purchased have been poorly designed and their machine work is not very good. Their rubber O-ring lock rings don't lock anything and I replaced them with Hornady's that I can tighten up. And their expander buttons are so rough they need polishing before using, and their tapered angle is too abrupt to use when reforming cases. So I have replaced most of my Lee die sets.

[Rich/WIS]

Have dies by RCBS, Lyman, Hornady, Lee and Eagle. Only sets used as a set are the RCBS for 243 and .223 and Hornady for 30/06 for jacketed loads. My cast sets for 30/06, 30/40 AI and 243 are a mix of neck sizers, Lyman M dies and the old Lyman precision alignment (PA) dies for seating. Older members will remember the Lyman PA dies, were dropped years ago by Lyman but I have found them to be the best (for me at least) for seating cast bullets. Lee's are the universal decapper and expander. For 45 ACP use Hornady and their taper crimp. Have a mix of Lyman and RCBS for 38/357 and 44 Mag on the shelf as I no longer load these at this time. Have a set of CH dies for the 30/40AI if I need to FL size but haven't needed to use them yet.

[Big Wes]

I have one 9mm Lee size die, and all the rest of my dies are Dillon

[engineer401]

My dies are RCBS and CH. I’ve used Hornady in the past and they work well. I’ve tried Lee and don’t really care for them.

[Static line]

RCBS or Redding for me. I tried the others.

[red67]

In my opinion, For the average pistol reloader on a single stage or Lee Classic Turret, Hornady seem like the best bang for the buck. The seating sleeve in the Hornady dies is a nice feature that is only found on more expensive die sets.

Lee's are a great value for what you get. The lock rings with the O rings are a little underwhelming

RCBS dies to me, are no better made than the Lee, but have much better customer service than Lee if you have a problem.

If you are running a progressive press, then it's hard to beat the Dillon dies, as they seem to let the press work smoother than the others.