I am going to purchase a new set of competition dies for my 22-250 and I wonder who makes the best set of dies?

L.E. Wilson probably do! But you can probably to as well with RCBS for a lot less money. Both give good service!

The Wilsons are about $70. ($35 each) and a K&M arbor press is $78. This is money well spent. This will give you the best, consistent, shot-to-shot accuracy that you can get.
The Reddings et. al. can make fine, accurate ammo. However, by their nature, no threaded die can give you the consistency that inline dies provide.
Also, I believe, the Wilsons are easier to use, quicker to set up and faster to use.

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RC

Can I open this out and hopefully learn something new?

I'm on my first sets of mass-produced dies; what's the difference in performance between these and the dies that you guys are talking about, and how does the difference come about?

Pete,

We have dies here from most manufacturer's, and there is no way I can tell you one of them loads better ammo than the others.

For a really accurate custom rifle, you can ask your gunsmith to cut you a set of dies specifically for it. That is what we do with ours.

I prefer RCBS - yep, you will all laugh at this - but I just hate those silly boxes Redding supplies their dies in. I like to keep everything for each caliber in one box. This is not possible with all those "shell holders" Redding have in their die boxes - I have no idea whether anyone uses them, but to be they just take up valuable space.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com

The Redding Competition die set is what I'd go for in a standard press. Hand (arbor press) dies, Wilson, no contest.

So what is the difference between the Redding and the RCBS? Is one set really better than the other?

Hicks,

The BEST competition dies are made by Neil Jones. He can be contacted at the following:

Neil Jones
Custom Products
17217 Brookhouser Road
Saegertown, PA 16422
(814) 763-2769

His dies are made to your brass, after you have fired it three times in your chamber. The sizer die does not reduce the body diameter. It only resizes the neck and touches the shoulder. The seater die is an inline piece that requires an arbor press.

Both pieces will run you $325+.

Good Hunting !

Hicks,

I will second what Pumba said about Neil Jones dies. I made me some dies for some of the wildcats we have here, and they absolutely superb.

Mind you, they are only worth it if you are after a set of dies which is not for off the shelf cartridge.

We have here about 195 standard and wildcat dies, 120 of them from RCBS and 75 from Redding. Again, there is not much difference between them in performance at all.

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saeed@ emirates.net.ae

www.accuratereloading.com