Rifle Die recommendation please

[LaOtto222]

I like the Forster and Redding dies for seating bullets in bottle necked cases. Not the regular run of the mill dies; the micro adjustable dies. They are not cheap running from $50 up to over $100 depending on where you buy them and the case you are buying for. RCBS makes a pretty decent seating die - their Competition seating die. Again not cheap, but I like the side window where you drop the bullet in the sliding sleeve instead of balancing it on top of the case as you run it in. I have used the 222 Remington Competition seating die for 221 Fireball and for 223 cases as well - just a simple adjustment. For full length sizing dies, it really does not make a whole lot of difference, but I do like to get carbide expander buttons when I can. For neck sizing I like the type of die that takes sizing collets (dies). I can buy just the right size to fit my chamber and get consistent hold on my bullets. I feel they do a pretty decent job keeping the necks concentric with the case body. I also like the Lee neck collet sizing dies. I feel they also do a decent job of keeping the neck concentric. I have had a mixed bag as far as neck tension is concerned. On my 22 Hornet cases, the collet shaft did not give me enough neck tension on the bullet. It is just my preference, so I turned down the shaft a little to make squeeze the neck down just a little more. On my 222 Rem and 223 Rem dies, they were just right. I reload for mostly small capacity .224 caliber cases. I am looking for top accuracy; so I have gotten fussy about my dies. For the bigger cases, I usually buy Lee or RCBS dies. I really do not think it makes a whole lot of difference if you are just going to load 'em and shoot 'em.

Atlaw - be careful about a run out gauge. I have the RCBS gauge and when I found out how much run out I was getting, I started looking for ways of tightening it up. That is why I have so many specialty dies. see above:(

It is sort of like a chronograph - I was loading and shooting fat dumb and happy, after I got the chronograph I found out things that I did not know. I had some thing new to worry about fixing. Some of it is good - I found out my pet 223 load was way too hot...But some of it just made me worry about things; like why was my SD so high and getting good groups - Should I change some thing to get my SD down further so it will shoot even better? On and on.

[AtlLaw]

Atlaw - be careful about a run out gauge. I have the RCBS gauge and when I found out how much run out I was getting, I started looking for ways of tightening it up. That is why I have so many specialty dies. see above:(

I know, I know...    This whole thing was Bill's way of messin wif me!     He knew I couldn't resist that thing if he waived it at me!      

I will try to practice restraint.  Hi-ebber, an day always be a hi-ebber, I can see myself measuring and comparing every possible combination of case differences to generate a few hypothesises and firing hundreds of rounds to test said hypo's and come up with a few generalities that will probably be invalid to anyone but me!       I shoulda took up knitting... 

[gypsyman]

Redding-If the shooter that holds one of the 1000yd BR records uses them, that's good enough for me. gypsyman

[LaOtto222]

Gypsyman - I have a set of the Redding Competition dies for the 221 Fireball - pricey, but they do a very good job of getting a consistent and concentric load. For the Fireball, they were over $200 + bushings. I think they are the best you can get. You can buy at least four sets of regular dies for the price of this one set. Consequently, I do not have a set for every thing I shoot. I do not think the regular Redding dies are a whole lot better than the Forster or RCBS however. The regular full length sizer does not have an air hole and will dent the cases at the shoulder every time if the flash hole is plugged. I full length re-size with out a decapping pin, just a floating carbide sizing button. On the other hand a full length sizer in a Lee kit will have a small "dot" on the shoulder, if the case needs the shoulder pushed back. The vent hole will put the little "dot" on the shoulder.

[Sweetwater]

50 years ago we bought the first sets of dies. They were mostly Herter's. One was a C-H set and one was a Pacific Set. Since then, most have been RCBS, one was a Lyman and two were Redding. One Herter sizing die was oversized and got replaced with an RCBS sizing die. One Redding die was returned and replaced - no charge. Redding also hand-polished a seating stem for each set, as they were leaving a ring around my cast bullets, also no charge. The others might, Redding did; I will buy Redding in the future. Their techs return your emails timely and, I believe, they go the extra mile for your satisfaction. That is worth a lot to me. Definitely not cheap, but for me they are worth every penny.

Regards,
Sweetwater

[Savage_99]

I do not think the regular Redding dies are a whole lot better than the Forster or RCBS however. The regular full length sizer does not have an air hole and will dent the cases at the shoulder every time if the flash hole is plugged.

I told you (all) so!

[Explorer1]

For general uses by most folks, ANY of the name brands will work OK.  If you want better than OK, you need to define what features you are looking for.  I'd lean towards Redding unless I want the extreme in accuracy, then Wilson is the ONLY way to go (other than pure custom made stuff).
The fit and finish of a Redding is fantastic IMHO, not that most of the others are bad.  It really is a Ford or Chevy issue, you make your choice and pay the bills.
Wilson is an in-line bench rest series without any real competition of you want to go to the exteme and  use an arbor press (not a threaded press).

[gypsyman]

Since I switched over to using just the Imperial Sizing die wax, instead of the thick oils/grease, I usually don't get any dents in the case. Was told many years ago that the dents are caused by too thick of lube, or to much. I use to get them quite often when I was using RCBS lube. Never had a stuck case, but dents in the shoulder. gypsyman

[Sweetwater]

I was always told the dents were caused by lube building up in the shoulder and neck area of the sizing die. As long as I was carefull to keep lube in that area of the case to a minimum, dents were few. I just might try some Imperial sizing wax. This is the third time I've heard of it solving a sizing problem.

I agree with the Ford-Chevy analogy, in theory. Guess I probably believe it wouldn't make a real difference in the results most of us are seeking (meat in the freezer), except on a once in a while basis. Occasionally a bad die gets in a set. If we were seeking 'bench-rest' accuracy, we would have a bunch of experience behind us already and would be trading in our Fords and Chevys on the Cadillacs of the industry. Most of us don't start racing with Maseratis and Lamborghinis.

Regards,
Sweetwater