The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading Hornady Custom-Gradeâ„¢ New Dimensionâ„¢ DiesGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Hornady Custom-Gradeâ„¢ New Dimensionâ„¢ Dies | Login/Join |
one of us |
I live far away from the USA, in Argentina - a place where these dies are still completely unknown ... Can anyone tell me if these dies are compatible with any shellholder (specifically RCBS) or do they have to be used with Hornady's own? Since Hornady suggest only their own to be used (why would they do otherwise ?  ) but mainly due to the seater special design, I am not so sure about the possibility of been able to use other brand shellholderI need quite urgently a new FL die for 308 Win and I am buying one through the great world wide web  - where I have been offered these ones, out of which I don't know much, always been an RCBS man .... What's your general opinion about these Custom Grade New Dimension dies? Regards ------------------------------------------  Μολὼν λάβε Duc, sequere, aut de via decede. | ||
|
| one of us |
Shellholders from RCBS, Redding, Lee etc will all work. The shellholders have to fit your press, not your dies. Hornady dies are serviceable. They are a bit on the low end of the price scale, but offer some good features like their tapered expanders. The Hornadys also have the best die lock ring of any die (minor advantage). I *dislike* the way the Hornady decapping stem is held in the die (just swore over one today). If $$$ is not a problem, Forster would have been my choice #1 - primarily on account of the excellent seater, and I also like the Forster FL die better (expander placed higher in the die - potentially causing less runout). - mike ********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart | |||
|
| one of us |
Thanks for your reply, mho... it's quite useful !  I have an RCBS hand priming tool, which I find quite fabulous at its designed task - just that it simple won't work with any other shellholder but RCBS... With this in my mind, I wanted to be sure these dies won't have any brand name preference  concerning the needed shellholder...------------------------------------------ Μολὼν λάβε Duc, sequere, aut de via decede. | |||
|
| one of us |
That could well be. The Lee priming tool requires special shell holders. I *thought* the RCBS priming tool used generic SHs, but maybe I was wrong? I hated my RCBS tool so much I never used it much - only when I happen not to have the right SH for my Lee tool... - mike ********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart | |||
|
One of Us |
I like these Hornady New Dimension dies. I have been replacing all of my POS Lee dies with them while they have the "Free Bullets" program on. I've got a nice stock of 240 grain 44's building. dxr Happiness is a tight group | |||
|
One of Us |
If I was you, I would stick with RCBS. They have GREAT customer service, in case anything ever goes wrong with your die or any of its parts. My experiences with Hornady customer service and quality control have now convinced me to never buy ANY tools from them again. (I do like their bullets and gas checks, though.) | |||
|
| One of Us |
Dear Afrikaander: I have used any convenient shell holder with my Hornady 416 Taylor dies, not always Hornady's shell holder, which I think came with the dies. The Hornady dies seem servicable, but I much prefer my RCBS and particularly my Redding dies. I hate Lee dies. Sincerely, Chris Bemis | |||
|
| One of Us |
Afrik, our Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufactors Institue (SAMMI) sets the dimensional criteria of many things, including dies and shell holders so they will be safe to use and compatable with each other IF they are made to those standards. They pretty well are. Full Length sizer dies are made to work with shell holders that have a .125" cavity for the case head. All normal shell holders easily hold to that dimension, plus or minus a couple of thousanths. Thus, it's no problem to mix makers of dies and shell holders. Note that those who "hate" this or that brand rarely give any logical reason for that hatred. It cannot be because ammo made with those tools will not shoot well or is dangerous, so it's purely a matter of taste. Often it's no more than a love of "pretty", sometimes it's over some design function. For instance, both Lee and Hornady secure the decapping rod in a collet. That holds the rod much more centrally than the conventional design AND it almost precludes breaking or even bending the stem during use. But, some folks simply can't bring themselves to tighten the stem holding collet nut sufficently to stop it from sliding under normal pressure so they "hate" it, but others like that design pretty well. Neither are "right" or "wrong", it's just a matter of taste, not die quality. You will do well with your mixed brand set up. | |||
|
| One of Us |
Jim -- you are correct. I like the collet set-up on the sizing die. Hornady's zip-type spindle is much easier to work with. I also like the in-line bullet seating bushing in the Hornady bullet seater. Excuse me for being vague about Hornady's superiority over LEE. And it is a preference, for I have loaded many rounds with LEE dies. Just no more. dxr Happiness is a tight group | |||
|
| One of Us |
I'm like you in regards to local unavailabilty of a good range of dies so I buy mail order too. I have a couple of dozen Hornady die sets and I like them so don't be put off by others comments. I have never had a single problem with the expander stem slipping and my dies precede the new collet style. The Hornady lock ring is the best and I like the dies finish inside and out. The floating seater is excellent for short cases, not so good for long cases where the die body barely screws into the press.The one time I needed Hornady customer service to get a new seating stem, they were very good. Lee dies are serviceable, Redding/Forster make the best seater dies. I have some very old RCBS dies I am very happy with but a new set I purchased recently had such a bad external finish with roughly cut threads etc that I gave them away. I had bought them out of loyalty to RCBS because of their great service in replacing a LockOut die that had seized. Unfortunately I won't be buying RCBS dies again. In regards to shellholders, any brand will work with the dies. Where you need to sometimes use only a particular brand is with their accessories. Where shellholders mainly differ is in the size of the primer hole. This does matter with some priming tools as well as some trimmers. | |||
|
| one of us |
Indeed these are some very reasonable facts !! I have just bought these Hornady Custom Grade dies for my 308 Win... after some "googling" around, nearly all the opinions I read could be summarized just in the very same line of thoughts you stated: a matter of taste, mainly based on how easy that "special" design was learned to be correctly applied... And having my own RCBS FL die badly scratched after resizing some lapua brass (my own fault there, since I was resizing some three hundred cases and somewhere in the middle I started to lube them in a less than needed way  , ending with a stuck case that also damaged the die), I realized that perhaps my taste might need to experience some new designs and brands - new to me, since all my reloading equipment is either RCBS or Redding... and some Lee Factory Crimp dies These dies are on their way to my hands, will see if they are upon my expectations Thank you all for your helpful advices ! ------------------------------------------ Μολὼν λάβε Duc, sequere, aut de via decede. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading Hornady Custom-Gradeâ„¢ New Dimensionâ„¢ Dies
Visit our on-line store for AR Memorabilia