standard dies how good can they get?

[rockybrashear]

i just got into reloading about a month ago and am wondering how far out my standard lee dies are going to take me. im not a competition shooter... yet, but id like to give myself every advantage so when it comes to those thousand yard shots with my .300 win mag (not in competition yet, just practice) are the rounds coming out of my standard dies gonna cut it for shooting something like a watermelon (i like shooting for effect vs paper targets) or am i fooling myself?

 

[Winchester 69]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

Sinclair's run-out gauge will tell you how good of a job your dies are doing.

 

[jrob300]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Winchester 69</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sinclair's run-out gauge will tell you how good of a job your dies are doing. </div></div>

A runout gauge will help you know in real time what you're doing to be sure. I didn't have one for a long time and was loading submoa ammo on the standard RCBS dies. When I did get a guage, it told me what I already knew in practical terms. My ammo was very consistent (<.002"). I've since changed to other dies, but not necessarily for accuracy reasons.

Will you need better dies in the future? Perhaps. Will you need upgrades to your rifle to tell the difference? Perhaps.

The biggest limitation on my accuracy for the longest time was me.

As your goals become more ambitious,your equipment may have to improve, but it's probably not just limited to dies.

Shooting golf balls at 800 yards is a lot different than hitting a 6" plate.

John

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

As long as the dies are seating the the same COAL measured on the ogive and have a low run-out, then they should be fine. Get the comparator or some way to check the COAL by the ogive and a bullet run-out gauge, and it will answer your question if the dies are working good for you. For the first year of competition, I loaded all my 300WM ammo on a standard set of Hornady dies. It worked fine. I later upgraded to the Redding Comp seater and neck sizer die.

 

[duckear]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

Believe your results on your range with your ammo and your rifle before finding out on the internet that your reloads are crap and couldn't hit a 4X8 sheet of plywood at 100 yds.

I have reloaded thousands of rounds of sub MOA ammo with plain ol RCBS dies.

 

[skeetlee]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

Buy wilson dies and dont look back. Dont buy twice. Probably nothing wrong with what you have but why question it. Wilson dies are as close to custom as they come. Wilson trimmers is the only way to trim brass as well. Forster trimmer would be a another good choice, but the wilson system is hands down better. Willson all the way. Redding for FLS dies wilson for everything else. Lee

 

[jr81452]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

i seem to do just fine with my lee dies in 308, 260, etc. i do use a RCBS comp seating die for most cals. that said, i had o few problems with several lee belted mag sizing dies. not the least of which was bulging just forward of the belt. i had to buy the lary willis collet belted mag sizing die to correct the problem. after i switched to redding sizer dies i sold the willis die as it was no longer needed. the mags still shot fine with the lee dies, but cases were limited to about 3 load cycles. neck sizing only extended that to 5. with the redding dies, i get several more load cycles before the brass is used up.

 

[rockybrashear]

Re: standard dies how good can they get?

well cool im gonna wait to upgrade my equipment then. im not into any real competitions yet (just whoopin up on my friends and some watermelons) so it doesnt seem real necessary yet.