Well guy's I am new to the boards here , and need little help. I am not new to loading but,
I am new to loading rifle rounds. So here go's
what do all of you think would be a good set of
dies to use for 300 mag , and 7mag ? I want to
load the most accurate round I can. I know the
dies are only as good as the one useing them ,
But let me know what you think.

Redding or RCBS I like, I also have two sets of ch4 for more obsolete chamberings due to the fact they where very well priced and do the job.

I agree---Though I swear by RCBS, I would expect the Redding to be very good too. But sorry I've never warmed up to Lee.
Also
Since your reloading for Belted Magnums--There is a die, I can't remember who makes it, that helps resize the sides of the Belted Magnum cases. I hope I get this right since I don't reload for any belted magnums but I've heard case life is shortened by the sides of the cases expanding to a point where they will no longer chamber. I'm sure someone else will be able to fill in the blanks on this issue.
Good Luck

I prefer RCBS and use Lee,Lyman and C@H.
And I DETEST the Hornady.

I've used the RCBS most my life.....I recently bought a set of Lee dies and was very well satisfied.

I agree with Hornady dies

I like Redding dies very well. I no longer use RCBS. I have some Lee classic reloader dies that I use for field work that do almost as good as my Redding dies.

If I remember right it is a Redding die , but I can't see it on their web site.

Johnch

Thanks for your input. I too like RCBS , but have been looking at the redding dies. Oh yes
some of the guys around here say get a three
piece set or match set . Like I said looking
now for dies ,but it seems alot easier to load
for my 45acp.

I will never buy another set of Redding dies. I have two sets, and one was part of a deal on a rifle. The other, was a set of 308 Norma Mag dies I bought off eBay a year of so back, and the decapping assembly was bent. I called and ordered one, and they sent one for a 350 Remington Mag. When I called back, they were rude. I sent the assembly back, and when it was returned, the charge, with shipping, would have bought a brand new set of RCBS dies. (And RCBS would have replaced the bent assembly with no questions asked. You folks can have Redding. I love the Good Ol' Boys...)

I have mostly RCBS dies, but more and more I am buying Redding. I like their tolerance & finish. They are also one of the few places to get wildcat & custom stuff. Nothing wrong w/ Lyman, Hornady I'm put off on as well as most of Lee's stuff, but I do have a set of neck dies for my .260ai that I like. You can load good ammo w/ any of the major brands.

RCBS and Hornady have given me good service, Lee not bad for the price.

RCBS's service and technical help has been the been great, just my experience.

Technique and attention to detail are the keys to accurate rounds, all the above dies will deliver.

Graf Reloading or Midway good sources.

I'll admit it, I'm partial to Redding dies. I like they way adjustments are made -by hand and without tools. I will say RCBS is good too, and probably offers the best bang for the buck. As for the others I own: Bonanza (now Forester), Lyman, Hornady's durachrome, and some old Herters. With the exception of Forester's micrometer die, I like Redding the best followed by RCBS.

A good setup for a (still) reasonable price is: Lee Collet Die, for neck sizing with very little runout. Redding Body Die, for if and when you need to bump your case shoulder, and a Forster Benchrest seater, which is about as good as the Redding Competition seater but at considerably lower cost. Yes it will be easier and cheaper to simply buy a set of dies of brand X, but the above setup is about as good a combination you can get for the price.

If you can't be bothered combining dies, consider a Forster die set, at least that will give you the Forster seater, and I like the arrangement of the (otherwise problematic) expander plug on the Forster FL sizing die.
- mike

My first choice would be Redding. I don't think RCBS is quite as good, but they have a customer service departmet, should you need it, that's second to none. Really you won't go wrong with either. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Over the past 40 years of reloading I have brought dies from most manufactures. I buy Lee dies now for most every thing I can.

quote:

Since your reloading for Belted Magnums--There is a die, I can't remember who makes it, that helps resize the sides of the Belted Magnum cases. I hope I get this right since I don't reload for any belted magnums but I've heard case life is shortened by the sides of the cases expanding to a point where they will no longer chamber. I'm sure someone else will be able to fill in the blanks on this issue.
Good Luck

You do not need this die. I just happened to ask somebody at Redding about it when it came out and they said they have never encountered anybody who could not size the case down to the belt without any problems with standard dies.

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
A good setup for a (still) reasonable price is: Lee Collet Die, for neck sizing with very little runout. Redding Body Die, for if and when you need to bump your case shoulder, and a Forster Benchrest seater, which is about as good as the Redding Competition seater but at considerably lower cost. Yes it will be easier and cheaper to simply buy a set of dies of brand X, but the above setup is about as good a combination you can get for the price.

If you can't be bothered combining dies, consider a Forster die set, at least that will give you the Forster seater, and I like the arrangement of the (otherwise problematic) expander plug on the Forster FL sizing die.
- mike

Ditto on the Lee Collet Neck Sizer and Redding Body Die, don't know about the Forster Seater.

The Lee Collet Neck Sizer means you don't have to lube the inside of the neck which I really like, but the biggest advantage is that you don't have that expander button pushing and pulling on your neck, which is friggin huge. The Redding Body Die only has to be used when the case gets hard to chamber after 4 -5 firings or when you use max loads.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=434932

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=420044

I now have this combination in every caliber, just wish I had started that way since I spent a lot of money on regular dies before I progressed to this point.


Without guns we are subjects, with guns we are citizens

After using RCBS dies for 40 years I got caught up in the fashionable Redding dies and have a half dozen sets of them in both thier coventional types and the "S" type bushing dies as well.

Now I have started to replace the Redding dies with new RCBS dies due to the fact that Redding FL dies do not have vent holes and they dent cases more than dies with vent holes. Also all of the Redding dies that I have were very rough inside. I polished these but they also have deep digs in the finish.

Here is a picture of air dents on the bodies of 270 WSM brass caused by a Redding FL die. The cases do not dent with the new RCBS dies.


I have talked to Redding only twice and on one call I got a rude overbearing know it all. Trust me in that I can handle myself verbally on the phone or face to face. This fool thought he rolled me over.

For your first dies I would go with RCBS. They are good people and make a good product.

After you get the dies check back with us on how to set the FL dies for your rifles what with those being belted rounds.

Good luck.

I have used most die manufacturers over the years. Bulk of my dies are either Redding or RCBS. I just bought a new set of RCBS and I am unhappy with the change to the decapping pin, not interchangable with all my other dies and it broke right away. I will order the right parts but is a an annoyance. A few months before I had bought a high end set of Redding's for loading match 308's. This wasn't a real fair comparision to the RCBS as I could have bought 4 sets of RCBS for what I have invested in the Redding set.

I still like Redding though, my first choice if available. For all the nay sayers on the Hornady dies I have a set that I use one of the dies in the set quite often. The sizing die I use when I have old or funky brass and I don't want to run it through my higher end dies, I rough size and deprime with these, then do a extra step and run them through for a final sizing operation. For that purpose these have worked very well, bonus was the seating die is the one I fiddle with when I am experimenting, so I don't adjust my Redding die that is all tweaked in for a certain load and bullet, which is my 100% hunting load. Would I buy a Hornady set as my only dies on a caliber...frankly no but the price and and utility make them handy as a second set of dies in your real popular calibers.

Forester also makes good dies. The one set I have I have no complaints with.

One last bitch about the new RCBS dies is the locking rings, buy a set of Forester cross bolt die locking rings and throw the RCBS ring in your spare parts bin. That and the decapper are the weakest point on the RCBS dies, but even with the extra parts and new locking rings your dollars go a long way with RCBS.

what is the problem with the Hornadys?

quote:

what is the problem with the Hornadys?

The full length die only has a collar lock that I have a hard time keeping tight.You need 2 wrenches to retighten it.It also has a floating sleeve to seat the bullet,in my dies it feels like it binds often.It also protrudes below the bottom of the die making long cartridges harder to load because you have to lift it out of the way when you try to insert
a bullet to seat it.When I use a different brand
like RCBS when I seat a bullet and it feels rough I know some thing is not lined up right.
I like Hornady products but I just have had
some bad luck with the 2 sets of dies that I have.Their bullets are excellent.

well here we go again with a subject that everyone has a couple cents to throw in. Dies are like a lot of things, many like this and many like that. But there are some problems with some as we have seen. My self I like the lee dies and have neveer had a problem with them I have found that the tapered mouth expander in the lee to work better than a round or ball type. If there is a weak or thinner place on the neck the ball will pull to that side but the taper centers it better. I use RCBS die for some calibers and they work well also. But, for me anyway, I like the lee dies and you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for them. Kinda like cars, A Chevolet will do fine but some prefer a Cadie.

I like RCBS.

I like RCBS and Redding Dies, Redding may be the better, but not by enough to make much diffeence IMO...

I have on several occasions bought or inherited used RCBS dies that scratched the cases in the sizer. I called theit customer service, they said to send them in and they would see if they could fix them. A week or so later I recieved a brand new die complete. Cant beat their service.
Need decapping pins or the little brass set screws for the lock rings? Just give them a call on their 800 number and they will send you some. As far as decapping pins, I have never broken one. the very first thing I do with a batch of fired cases is run them thru my Lee universal decapping die mounted in a dedicated little lee press, then to the tumbler for cleaning before sizing then back to the tumbler to remove the lube.
Lyle