Which Rifle Dies to buy RCBS or Lee

[copdills]

mostly for semi auto M1 grand & M14 , I have heard some use RCBS small base and some use the Lee pace setter 3 die set now I want to hear the pro & cons and what Rifle die sets do you use

Thanks copdills:coffee:

[AzShooter]

I use the RCBS because I've broken decapping pins on the Lee and they are more difficult to come by. I also like the seating die on the RCBS much better. I've never had a bullet stick in the RCBS seater but many times have had to take the Lee die off the press to get out a bullet that stuck in the seater.

Lee makes fine dies but RCBS work better for me.

[cajun shooter]

+1 on AZshooter post. I think the RCBS small base dies give the brass what is needed for shooting in semi-auto rifles.

[Lloyd Smale]

I love redding rifle dies. FOr handguns id go lee. But i agree on the sb idea and use only small base dies on semi autos that may be called on to defend your family. I dont know if redding makes a sb die. MY sb 308 and 223 sets are rcbs.

[Bret4207]

In an auto you pretty much need SB dies. Any of the major companies products are fine. I don't know if Lee makes SB dies.

[mto7464]

I use the RCBS because I've broken decapping pins on the Lee and they are more difficult to come by. I also like the seating die on the RCBS much better. I've never had a bullet stick in the RCBS seater but many times have had to take the Lee die off the press to get out a bullet that stuck in the seater.

Lee makes fine dies but RCBS work better for me.

The Lee should not break if you have it adjusted properly. The decapping pin should slide up when you come upon too much resistance.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I shoot M1A and Garands and Fal. I segreagate my brass to each rifle and have not had any problems related to the need of Small Base Dies. I neck size only withstandard dies and happily fire along.
If you are swaping brass among more than 1 rifle YES use the Small Base dies and Full Length resize.
Between Lee and RCBS dies... I have both in both 308 and 30-06. I cannot say I see any accuracy differences. I do not have a MATCH barrel on my rifles either.
As far as a projectile "Sticking" in the lee die.. Is the seater die clean or clogged up with lube ? The siding seating system of the Lee die is designed to align the projectile within close tolerances. There is little room for lube build up (cast) or oversized projectiles.
My Krag dies would not accept a boolit over .310 .. so a little work with emery cloth and a .312 boolit now works just fine.
Generally you will get what you pay for... I think Lee kicks in a little extra for free.
God Bless you !

[JW6108]

I use Lee dies for 7.62x39 (for SKS) and .223 (for AR's). Never had a problem.

I don't see how they can build such quality products for what they charge for them.

Not a SB die issue, but they also sell a universal decapping die. You can feel the resistance of the primer against this very plainly, so if you get a Berdan case in the batch you will immediately feel the difference. When decapping in a sizing die, you lose the sensitivity of the decapping pin against the primer because of the force being exerted to get the case into the sizing portion of the die. Another plus with the decapping die is that you can get the primer out of the way first thing, then tumble the cases and clean the primer pocket at the same time. Just be sure to check the flash hole afterwards; corn cob loves to hide in that little hole.

[AZ Pete]

I load for and shoot both M-1 and M-1a rifles (30-06 and 308 respectively). Though I have used Small Base Dies, I found them to be unnecessary for my rifles. And thus they would over work the brass, for these rifles. I changed to standard dies for the M-1 and M-1a.

That said, I have loaded for a Browning BAR, and it did require small base dies.

So, I would try standard dies to see how that works. I just can't see what is gained by over working your brass.

[Dan Cash]

I am using Redding dies for .223 (AR15), .308 (FAL) and -06 for M1. I only neck size for the M1 as I have a neck sizing die for -06. I use standard dies for the .308 and .223 with no problem. The AR is an Armalite Match gun.

[Lloyd Smale]

no doubt they all dont need sb dies but ive got enough ars and minis that some do and i dont want to grab ammo in a hurry that doesnt work in the gun i have. I figure there a self defense gun and the most important thing is that they function every time. Using a small base die will about insure this and i see no disadvantage to using them.

[atr]

I've used mostly RCBS and never had a problem with them. I do have some Lee dies and they work fine but I still think the RCBS is a better die.
Regarding the small base dies (SB), I only have one SB die for a .308 lever action which is really fussy about the brass it will chamber. I think if you have a fussy rifle, or if you "scrounge" range brass then you might want a SB die. I do alot of "scrounging" so the SB die is a must for my .308 needs. I also scrounge for .303, and 30-06 but these rifles will readily accept brass full length (FL) sized without the need for SB sizing.
After I've fired the brass in a particular rifle (with the exception of the .308 lever) then I switch to neck sizing only....

[copdills]

Thanks , I think I will be going with a RCBS SB thanks for all your input

[skeet1]

I use standard .30-06 RCBS dies and I think any regular size dies will work for the M1. Most of the chambers in military weapons are not cut as tight as some of the sporter semi-autos. If I was to purchase another set of dies for the 06 I would probably buy Lee although my RCBS have been good. As for breaking decaping pins in the Lee the only one I have broken was in an 8MM Mauser and it was my fault for getting a berdan case mixed in with my other brass. Lee had one to me in just a few days certainly not hard to come by.

Skeet1

[jimkim]

Three things I like about Lee dies.
1. Built in stuck case remover
2. Made in the USA
3. The factory crimp die

[Bret4207]

I based my opinion on Remington 740s and Ruger Carbines in 223. They worked better with small based dies.

[Firebricker]

If you would happen to decide on redding dies order the carbide expander makes it real smooth and redding gives you an extra decapping pin. even if you buy other than lee Iwould get a lee factory crimp die trim length isnt as critacle and it locks em in good.

[garandsrus]

I would probably order Hornady dies, which wasn't on your list. There are three reasons:
1) I like their in-line bullet seater.
2) Their price is competitive with everyone else
3) You get a box of 100 bullets for the price of postage. Assuming that the bullets are worth somewhere around $20, this brings their price to less than any of the other manufacturers.

I shoot a number of different 30-06 rifles (Garands, Springfields, Savage, etc) and have never needed small base dies. I do use a RCBS Case Micrometer to set the resizing die though.

John

[corvette8n]

About 90% of my dies are Lee cause of the price, but I do have a set of RCBS in 30-30 I bought used at a show. I broke a decapping pin, emailed RCBS they asked me for a date code off the die, once I responded they sent me 5 decapping pins free.
Same great service with an RCBS bullet trap I have, I shot off the clip and holder, emailed and they sent me a new clip and the part that holds it to the trap.

So if service is what you are after RCBS seem to be the way to go.

[bullshot]

I started with RCBS the better part of 50 years ago and never needed to change. Not saying others are not as good or better. I have a few sets of Redding and some Lee but most RCBS. As far as small base dies are concerned. My experience has been most standard chambers will take cases sized in standard die. I have a Springfield Armory Super Match M1A that uses standard dies, and built a
Garand with a Douglas match grade barrel that will chamber rounds from a standard sizing die but will rip the rim off during extraction. My small base die for the Garand only takes the case down .001 more than my standard die but the rifle functions flawlessly with it.