How much of an affect does dies have on your reloads and what does it affect. I’m running a Lee turret press with the indexing bar removed so I have to manually rotate the stations. I’m fixing to start reloading my 6.5 creedmoor if this factory Berger ammo doesn’t work out.
Differences in dies
- Thread starter 4dds
- Start date
Sorry, was just messing with ya. I’m just learning to reload, but so far I’ve learnt that both a good single stage press and a good competition die set can help you reload for consistency & accuracy and chasing accuracy seems to be a way of life that touches most all aspects of your equipment and bank accounts...
It can be a very slippery slope...
Dies are a huge factor.
I still used my trusty Lee classic turret and with good dies I consistently two thousands or less runout.
My die choices are a bit unorthodox but I’m a big fan of the Lee collet, Redding or Forster body die and Forster micrometer bullet seater.
If your new to reloading definitely read the sticky’d Threads at The top.
There’s some real gold info there
I still used my trusty Lee classic turret and with good dies I consistently two thousands or less runout.
My die choices are a bit unorthodox but I’m a big fan of the Lee collet, Redding or Forster body die and Forster micrometer bullet seater.
If your new to reloading definitely read the sticky’d Threads at The top.
There’s some real gold info there
Two biggest factors in dies are...
- Whether the dimensions of your die size the case in all the right places to the right amount (not too much, not too little). You don't control this, the die is either a good match for your chamber or it isn't.
- Whether you adjust the die to the right place to set headspace to match you chamber.
The rest is either nuances of which die manufacturer you like, or options in what type of die you want to use (full length, bushing, expander ball vs no ball, etc).
I have a Lee Classic Turret and Classic Cast. I used to load exclusively, including my "precision" 308 and 6.5 on the Turret press up until the last 2 months of so.
Now, I use the Classic Cast press for my priming and bullet seating for my precision stuff. When I do pistol and 223/556 I put the indexing bar back into my Turret and go to work.
I use Lee dies for everything and my groups are sufficient for me... below are a couple pics of my recent lod development with the 147 ELDm and Nosler 130 RDF at 100 yds.
147
130 RDF
Some people I talk to at assorted range outings talk of their fancy dies and all that jazz and their groups are roughly equivalent to mine +/- a c-hair or so. I just stay quiet and shoot.
Last edited:
They make a difference. Stick with Forster and buy once cry once. Stay with full length resize die and micrometer seating die.
