I inadvertantly posted this over on the medium bore forum fist.

I've used almost exclusively RCBS rifle dies. Never really had a complaint.

However, the outfit I usually buy from has Forster 8x68S dies on hand. What are your opinions? Good, Bad, about the same?

I'm a fan of RCBS.....but if Forester was offered and more conveniently.....I'd go for it. No problem with Forester here!!

all of todays dies will work just fine i dont think thay make a bad wom

As the man said, if you stay with the main guys, no problems. I have a set of Forester's in 308, good stuff like RCBS, Hornady etc.

I take it you are looking for a FL sizing die, yes?? If that is the case, the Forster is a great choice. It has the expander way up in the die, and that supports the case a lot better when the expander is withdrawn through the case neck. Result: less chance of runout, an otherwise common occurrence with dies using an expander! On top of that, the expander seems to be fairly small and with an almost circular cross section. I don't know if this is what causes it, but I experience comparatively little resistance when I pull back the case over the expander, very smooth.

Btw, when you look into the mouth of a Forster FL die, you may wonder why I claim the expander is way up into the die, when it is clearly right there at the mouth of the die... That is actually not the expander you see, it is the retainer nut holding the decapping pin. You have to take the die apart to see the expander.

On top of the good FL die, the Forster seater with the sliding sleeve is about as good as they come. Some people claim Redding copied the Forster design (when patents expired) for their Competition Seater die. The Redding is made a little bit better, but the Forster works just as well for a fraction of the price. Sometimes, you have to polish Forster seating stems a bit, to stop them making a ring around your bullet, but you'll have to see how you go on that. It is no big deal to fix, or you can just leave it and not worry about it...

All in all, I would prefer Forster over RCBS, and in many cases even over Redding dies (excluding the competition and bushing dies).

- mike

I use the competition dies from forster, and they are great.

I rate the seater die as easier to use than even the redding. The dial is much easier to adjust and the indicator is easier to read.

I use Forster dies. They are very good.

quote:

Originally posted by z1r:
I inadvertantly posted this over on the medium bore forum fist.

I've used almost exclusively RCBS rifle dies. Never really had a complaint.

However, the outfit I usually buy from has Forster 8x68S dies on hand. What are your opinions? Good, Bad, about the same?

The Forster die sets I have are excellent, as good as Redding or RCBS any day!

I use Forster too, mainly because I have a Co-Ax press that requires the round locking ring, and because I like the expander set up they use. My second choice is the Redding. I like the easy way adjustments are made; without tools. I also have many RCBS dies, including their X-die.
All of them are good products, but I do try to buy them in the order listed for all of the reasons mentioned above.

Forster are very good dies,the price is not too expensive,seater great...

If you like RCBS, you'll love Forster, Forster will work smoother and are better worked than RCBS.

Fritz

I think Lee collet dies are a great value and they work well. If however you are doing allot of rounds you might want to consider Redding Type S bushing dies. They are excellent quality and are faster and easier to use than a collet arrangement.

I just got a set of Lyman dies and they work
as well as my RCBS.