Who uses Hornady custum grade new dimension dies?
What caliber do you use them for and how do they perform for you?

Thanks in advance

I bought a set in 308 to reload for a friends rifle.I like them well enough,especially the expander ball.For the money($17 off ebay),they aren't any worse than lee.FWIW,i use redding dies for my own stuff.Just a personal preference.

44, 45, 6mmRem., 300WM, 308, they work very well for me, J

300 RUM 375 RUM 264 WM and a plethora of others. My favorite dies!

I use them in .458 lott,

there alright they load ammo and it goes bang

they would not be my first choice but they where $25 US versus $200 US for RCBS if I recall correctly and $90 US for CH4. I mean where do RCBS get off charging that much for lott dies

I do, 338WM, 300WM, 375H&H, 6mm rem, 308, 7mm Mag
44 mag, 38-357, 40SW, 480 ruger and I like em

Tsturm- What is it that you like..? Is it because they are cheap, or is it because they are the best, or...?

I usually use Forster's myself, but they dont make them in 416Rigby, so Im on the lookout for new ways to go.

I have a set in 243Win & while the sizing die sucks, I like the seating die just fine.
Rick

I have a set of .338 Win Mag dies. Already sent them back once. Hornady "fixed" them. They look "fixed" (scrached). They will load ammo. but the sizing die is rough, the decapping pin and expander plug are not accurately centered in the sizing die and I have more invested in them (including the cost of sending them back) than other brands of dies. I like RCBS - in the green box not the die sets in the "Bubble Pack" (great customer service), Lee (low price and good customer service), Lyman (good dies but poor customer service). Just my opinion. Hope this helps someone.

When Hornady goes back to the threaded spindle in their resizing die I'll use them. For now the practice of using a pipe wrench and a box-end wrench to tighten the spindle collet will not sit with me.

300 win, 308, 30-06, 708, 222, several others...

interestingly enough, NOT 376 steyr, as the REDDING where 1/2 the cost

jeffe

I have lots of hornady--they make as good of loaded ammo as my forester bench rest but they certainly don't have the forester quality "feel". But then again they don't cost that much. Get a hornady die wrench--they are cheap and can be used with many other dies. Also-a deep well socket will tightend that spindle tight enough to use it easily as a "neck up" die. The expander ball is the best in the business.

It does suck having to tighten them so tight to prevent the expander from popping out, but once this is done I really like the die sets.

Thanks for the replies everyone.. I considered the Hornady's Custom grade new dimension dies, because of the seater. It looks like it has a sleeve, like my Forsters, and it is made to make a crimp too, if necessary, which it is when loading hunting ammo for the 416Rigby.
I like the sleeve thing, 'cause it is easier to make concentric ammo with it.

Does the seater have a sleeve and does it crimp properly.

I like the Forster sizing dies for the raised x-panderball, but that feature is not available in any other die and not in 416Rigby, as far as I know. I understand from your replies that the xpander in the Hornadys is not very good. BUT is it better or worse than RCBS, which would be my second choise.

I have a few and they are not my favorite. I'm always having to mess with the bullet seating die and in the 340 Weatherby, I think the expander is not quite up to tolerances in that when it comes to seating the bullets, it takes an inordinate amount of pressure to get them in. Personally, I like RCBS and good ol' Lee Dies over the Hornadys. jorge

I got them in 7mm-08 and 300 Win Mag. BUT, I also have other die sets in for those cartridges because the Hornady's are a royal pain in the arse.

I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.

The expander ball likes to pull out of the die because of the afore-mentioned design flaw. The thing that drops down to align bullets will fall out if the tiny retaining ring (bent wire) comes out and gets lost under your reloading bench. My set in 444 Marlin seems okay, but straight wall case reloading is different (which you all know. )

Can't believe Hornady is still selling these crappy dies...

I had one set and got very tired of the spindle slipping in the collet.I now use only rcbs dies.

40 S&W, 357 Mag, .308 neck sizing

Add me to the "decapping/expanding shaft design stinks" group. Luckily, once set it doesn't need to change.

The inserts on straight walled cartridges are nitride coated, not carbide. Mine foul with brass buildup pretty bad.

The sliding bullet alignment sleeve is nice and has always worked well for me.

YMMV.

Like I said above--get the hornady universal wrench--nothing more than a flat piece of steel with the right size holes in it to grab the die on the lock ring, spindlenut, and the die body--it works with most other brands--i think they are about $3.00--cheap and make things work right! When properly torqued the spindle WILL NOT SLIP--I used 2 hornday dies to make .308 out of .243--first step up was a 7mm hornady neck die--then stepped those up to .308--wound up with perfect ammo and NO SLIP!!

I have a set in 30-06. I like the bullet seater. I did have the problem with the sliding stem, but then I tightened it, and haven't had a problem since.

Steve

I like the spindle collet clamping dies,they center better, by design.But they must not have a molecule of oil on the collet.

As far as I know there is no Spindle collet clamping dies for 416Rigby. Unfortunatly so.

416Rigby is made by: Redding (about 130$), Hornady (about 50$) and RCBS (about 50$)

I have a pair of RCBS I use for 9.3x74R but the seater seats the bullets so that the brass has a bulge, which is why I don't like it and why I would prefer a sleeve type seater.
Hornady is the only company that makes a sleeve type seater for 416Rigby.
Please correct me if I am wrong on any of the above.
I want the best, but not necessarily the most expensive, unless it really is the best.

i like the bullet seating die. can't stand the resizing die. 30-06 sizer sticks every other case. clean or not clean. the 7mm-08 die has worked fine. can't beat redding and rcbs. never a problem with these in 15 years of reloading.

I only use them when something better within 3 times the price isn't available. My 458 lott set came with what apparently is a pistol expander. 1&1/2 threads into to top of the rcbs press and they made cases look like a 50cal blunderbuss, If I didn't have a redding 45-90 die I wouldn't have been able to load ammo with them.
I find reddings to be the most consistant best.
I don't think I've ever had a bad RCBS die.
I bought an expensive set of Forster Bench Rest dies in 375H&H and using a Co-Ax press they wouldn't size empty cases with less that 10-12 thousands runnout! I can't recommend them either.

The Redding dies I have are the nicest looking dies I have.They solve the centering problem by using a laterally loose spindle.It self-centers.



I use Hornady dies in 264WM and 338WM.