- Thread starter karux408
- Start date
i've always been a RCBS or Redding guy for my part.... what i liked on the reddings was the 3 die set.. that came with the neck sizer...
i like Redding and RSBS aswell, the best die on the market IMO is sending 3 fired casings to Harrell precision, they will make you a custom full length bushing die for like 70 bucks. crazy good deal and fits you chamber perfect.
rcbs carbide for pistol, redding for rifle... no reason to stray
Redding Titanium Carbide for handgun (9mm & .45acp), Redding Type "S" and Match for rifle. I'm not a competitive shooter by any means so I probably won't use the higher end Redding rifle dies to their full potential for a bit of time, I just didn't want to upgrade late on. I use them with the Hornady lock rings in a Hornady press and it's nice and easy to swap out dies.
I tried lee dies and they weren't good for me. I bought the hornady dies and absolutely love them. I reload 168 gr. Sierra Matchkings and they are long and the hornady dies have a deep seating die and the matchkings never bottomed out or messed up the tips. Excellent dies.
RCBS here.
I prefer Forster.
John
John
Redding all the way. In the unlikely event you have an issue, thier CS is freaking awesome.
I agree but on my 6.5x47 redding dies didn't size the brass properly because there are a few different reamers for that caliber. I has no choice but to get custom dies made. First time in my life Ive had to do that.
I use Foster's for my long-range rifles and redding for my pistol dies.
Hornady dies for all my pistols, RCBS dies for my rifles although I do have a redding seating die with dial caliper. I tried hornady dies for my rifle but the resizing die tends to stick, RCBS don't stick at all. Can't go wrong with RCBS, they're affordable and reliable.
Used RCBS for years with no problems. Now I'm into the Redding Type S.
Redding ... American made using American steel.
I run both Redding and RCBS, For the seating dies, I prefer the RCBS Comp seaters.
I've got just about every die maker represented on my bench. Lee, Hornady, RCBS, Redding, Forster. Every time I thought one wasn't doing the job, I tried a different brand and in many cases found that the issue wasn't in the die but the brass itself. Hard to make straight ammo from inconsistent or "banana brass".
For the value it's hard to beat Lee Dies. Good sizing dies although not as well polished as the more expensive. The Collet Die is great but be prepared for some vertical marking on the neck (that doesn't harm a thing). For absolute accuracy, without going to Wilson Dies, I find Forster to be the ticket. Excellent quality and no "Bend Over" pricing.
As for which die for which caliber? Only buy the high end dies for the calibers where "dead nuts" accuracy on finished ammo is required. For "Shooting Ammo", the Lee's work just fine and leave a lot of shekels left over for essential stuff.
For the value it's hard to beat Lee Dies. Good sizing dies although not as well polished as the more expensive. The Collet Die is great but be prepared for some vertical marking on the neck (that doesn't harm a thing). For absolute accuracy, without going to Wilson Dies, I find Forster to be the ticket. Excellent quality and no "Bend Over" pricing.
As for which die for which caliber? Only buy the high end dies for the calibers where "dead nuts" accuracy on finished ammo is required. For "Shooting Ammo", the Lee's work just fine and leave a lot of shekels left over for essential stuff.
I've used RCBS for years, and have had good service from them. Lately I've been buying Redding, mostly because they offer a set with both a full length and neck die. Any brand can and will produce ammo better than factory, and better than a factory rifle will shoot. The key is learning how to use them. I personally do not recommend bushing dies for beginners, or even for those who do not neck turn. Just my opinion! This is ask very often here, a quick search should get you a lot more info. I would just pick my favorite color, and be confident in them. Lightman
Lee for universal decapping die, Dillon carbide for pistol, Redding Type S bushing FL sizing dies for rifle, and Forster Ultra micrometer seaters for rifle.
Redding #1, Forester #2
1. Redding,
2. Forster
3. Lee
Lee is not a high quality brand, but because of its price, you can't go wrong with Lee decapping and crimpe.
From my own experience with lee, they have some very percise die but also some very poor quality die. But LEE customer service is very good, I have no experience with any others, since they don't need to.
2. Forster
3. Lee
Lee is not a high quality brand, but because of its price, you can't go wrong with Lee decapping and crimpe.
From my own experience with lee, they have some very percise die but also some very poor quality die. But LEE customer service is very good, I have no experience with any others, since they don't need to.
RCBS carbide pistol dies, Redding "S" series rifle dies, some Forster Competition Seater dies and a few Lee Precision die sets when I want to get by on the "cheap."
I got the redding comp series for the 338 lm. They are very high quality and very reliable. I cant afford them on all my calibers but I wish I could.
Die brands are just like anything else. There are many brands at different price points that are a great value. Then there are many brands that are the best of the best, which are much more expensive but really only give marginal advantages. From my research I have found that for the serious shooter, that doesn't want to to spend a crazy amount of money or time researching , redding is the goto brand. They aren't always the best value, but no matter what you buy of theirs, you can rest easy knowing that you bought something that will most likely have the ability to produce ammunition that exceeds your accuracy purpose.
There might be specific tools in specific areas that might be a better value, but overall you can never go wrong with redding. If you shoot in any kind of volume, the price difference between the cheap stuff and redding is really a non-issue, so there's no reason to not get redding.
There might be specific tools in specific areas that might be a better value, but overall you can never go wrong with redding. If you shoot in any kind of volume, the price difference between the cheap stuff and redding is really a non-issue, so there's no reason to not get redding.
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