Reloading dies

[BudT]

What are the best "bang for the buck" quality reloading dies? and why do you think they are the best.:banana100:

BudT

[mikld]

I use Lee, a lot, Lyman and Redding. All make quality ammo if I do my part. Lee is lowest price, but not necessarily lowest quality, and I have been using them quite successfully for nearly 30 years. Lyman is mebbe middle of the road (Lyman, Hornady) with many folks liking RCBS. My Redding dies are very high quality, good finish and just like the others produce good ammo when the user does his part. There are more expensive bench rest quality dies around but for normal reloading just about any dies will give you good ammo...

[WarPig1976]

I use RCBS. It's very easy to get replacement parts for RCBS dies, you WILL need replacement parts eventually.

[joem]

I use RCBS, Dillon,Lee and Hornady dies. They will all make good loads. All the manufacutres will send you replacement parts at no charge except Lee. But Lee's parts are reasonable anyway.

[Litt'le Lee]

RCBS will replace anything free+and so with Dillon

[DRAGONFLYDF]

I use Lee, I load for about 15 different calibers, from 9mm to 45/70 and have no problem with any of them.

[Major Tom]

Lee dies here too. Also their 4-hole turret press. RCBS dies are too expensive for me.

[Oyaji]

I've used Lee dies and presses in the past with good results however, I use RCBS equipment exclusively now days. In my opinion RCBS has the best customer and warranty service of any of the manufacturers.

[DaveL]

For the best quality dies, go to Redding. For the cheapest dies go to Lee. For quality and a good price go to Lyman. RCBS are on a par with Lyman and their customer service is great. I prefer Lyman myself.

[Sunray]

"...RCBS dies are too expensive for me..." Pays for the warrantee. RCBS' covers the kit, forever, regardless of who bought it new or who caused the damage. Including used kit. Nobody else does that.
However, the brand of die doesn't make much difference. Don't particularly like Lee stuff though. You get what you pay for. One year limited warrantee, they usually want you to return the damaged kit to them and you must be the original buyer.

[Parashooter]

. . . RCBS' covers the kit, forever, regardless of who bought it new or who caused the damage. Including used kit. Nobody else does that.


Not any more, it appears. Text copied from RCBS website -

Limited Lifetime Warranty

Reloading Press, Die, Manual Case Trimmer or Bullet Mould

Your reloading press, reloading die, manual case trimmer or bullet mould is warranted to be free from defects in material or workmanship for as long as the original owner owns it. This warranty is extended only to the original consumer purchaser. This warranty excludes any electrical components or products. All RCBS products are intended for non-commercial use by hobbyists. Any other use of these products will void the warranty. Should you believe that your reloading press, die, manual case trimmer or bullet mould is defective in material or workmanship, you must return the reloading press, reloading die, manual case trimmer or bullet mould to Ammunition Accessories Inc. through its Oroville operation (hereinafter "Oroville Operations") postage paid for evaluation. If defective, the product will be repaired or replaced at Oroville Operations' option, at no charge.

Send a dated proof of purchase to Oroville Operations along with the product information and reason for return to:

Ammunition Accessories Inc., Oroville Operations
605 Oro Dam Blvd
Oroville, California 95965

Warranty services cannot be provided without meeting the above requirements.

[BudT]

Thanks very much to those that contributed. I bought a like new set of used RCBS dies from my local dealer for the massive sum of 20 dollars, these are .300 RUM dies. The dies and the box look unused.

[Ken in Iowa]

For the best quality dies, go to Redding. For the cheapest dies go to Lee. For quality and a good price go to Lyman. RCBS are on a par with Lyman and their customer service is great. I prefer Lyman myself.

+1

[Tuna]

So what will happen if my press which I bought new in 1973 for which I have no receipt breaks or the dies I got at the same time let go? Will RCBS cover these or are we out of luck now? I wonder if this is because of all the Chinese junk for steel they have been importing?

[BudT]

No doubt about it RCBS got a bunch of Chinese castings that broke I don't know which press it was but it doesn't change the fact that they were junk. Did they make good? your guess is as good as mine, i'm hoping they did. I just mailed a old 7X57 Mauser size die that has always scratched the neck of the case along with the 5 dollars they requested in the email. The person who typed the email didn't say anything about proof of purchase, I couldn't produce it anyway I bought the dies back in the 70's. I have lots of RCBS stuff and one of the items is a old JR O press stamped 73 on top. It will probably out last me.

[Matt Anthony]

What are the best "bang for the buck" quality reloading dies? and why do you think they are the best.:banana100:

BudT
For the average reloader, the standard Lyman, RCBS, Forrester, Redding and Lee are all good choices for reloading. They all do the same job and all have about the same warranty.
However, if you really want precision dies that really work, then in my opinion, Wilson dies have it all over the rest. I started changing to all Wilson when I was having trouble with RCBS. I bought a straight line seater die to start with and after I saw how precise the fit was, that sold me and I have replaced all my die sets with Wilson. Costly yes, but the precision outweighs the cost. With Wilson dies you will need an arbor press and it's a slow go, but like I said you get results you won't get with other die sets. Wilson is not high production it's high precision!
Another addition would be Lyman M dies if you shoot cast bullets. This die opens the mouth of the case up perfectly so the bullet sits straight. So when you seat it, it seats the bullet straight. And last, buy yourself a Hornady concentricy tool, it's worth every penny!
Matt

[NuJudge]

What caliber are you loading, and what type of bullets are you loading? What use are you making of this ammo? Generally, all of them will get it done, but some calibers benefit from dies made by particular makers.

For pistol calibers, my impression is that Lee makes makes dies that size cases smaller, and they make U-Dies for one vender which are even smaller (smaller means they grip the bullet tighter, reducing the chance of bullet set-back on feeding). If you are loading pistol calibers with Lead bullets, Dillon seating dies allow you to disassemble to clean out accumulated bullet lubricant, without losing adjustment, particularly important with progressive presses.

If you are loading rifle ammunition for long range shooting, there are several makers that have dies that give you close control of every dimension. I really like Redding bench rest dies for my 600 yard AR loads, both for their sizer and micrometer seater. RCBS makes X-Dies in many rifle calibers which they claim eliminate all case length trimming after the first trimming (no experience yet). Lee has a collet neck sizer which is neat if all you want to do is neck size.

[BudT]

What caliber are you loading, and what type of bullets are you loading? What use are you making of this ammo? Generally, all of them will get it done, but some calibers benefit from dies made by particular makers.

For pistol calibers, my impression is that Lee makes makes dies that size cases smaller, and they make U-Dies for one vender which are even smaller (smaller means they grip the bullet tighter, reducing the chance of bullet set-back on feeding). If you are loading pistol calibers with Lead bullets, Dillon seating dies allow you to disassemble to clean out accumulated bullet lubricant, without losing adjustment, particularly important with progressive presses.

If you are loading rifle ammunition for long range shooting, there are several makers that have dies that give you close control of every dimension. I really like Redding bench rest dies for my 600 yard AR loads, both for their sizer and micrometer seater. RCBS makes X-Dies in many rifle calibers which they claim eliminate all case length trimming after the first trimming (no experience yet). Lee has a collet neck sizer which is neat if all you want to do is neck size.

.300 RUM, jacketed slugs but cast also. I already have a RCBS 2 die set and a Lee neck expander die and they will take care of the bulk of it. What I will be looking for in this rifle is 1/2 inch group ammo rifle combination at the 100 yard mark. I am not a long range shooter and will always try to get as close as possible to my game before taking a shot. If it has to be taken at long range I will take it but it is not my preferred shot. Yes I already understand that I will be doing some work on this rifle to make it shoot this well, but maybe it will come out of the box and shoot that well without much more than a muzzle break, it will get one of those to help with the recoil of full power hunting loads. The bulk of the shooting will be with reduced loads to save my old body from being battered. Thanks for your input.