I stuck one of my Lee dies so I had to get another set. in the stores around me the only thing I could find was Hornady Custom Grade Full Length Dies. I bought them. I have used them for 2 days so far and seem to love them. What is your all's opinion on these Hornady Dies?? thanks Whitey
My Hornady standard .223 seater gives less runout than my RCBS competition seater. My Hornady standard 7TCU seater never exceeds 0.001" of runout (and that's with cast bullets). Go figure.
I've had great luck with Hornady. There are alot of hornady bashers out there. I'm surprised they haven't "chimed" in yet. If you like their dies get their "die wrench"--just a flat piece of steel with different sized holes to match the lock ring, die flat, and top nut. They're really cheap (about $3-5) and helps you to get enough tnesion on things like the sizing spindle to keep it from slipping. (This is an item people pick on but if they would get it tight enough it will not slip) . Another tip to get less runnout. When tightening down the expander spindle raise a case mouth up into the die to hold it in the middle of the die when tightening. I've reset all mine this way and they make FANTASTIC low runnout numbers. The expander is the best on the market. ANYTIME I'm prepping new brass no matter what the caliber all I do is grab a "matching size" hornady die, lube the inside of the case mouth,and slip it over the hornady expander. Clean out the lube, chamfer and load--it's all you need to do to make great shooting ammo.
They ARE SIMPLY THE BEST OF THE NON PREMIUM DIES. And better than some of my premiums!!
Posts: 2002 | Location: central wi | Registered: 13 September 2002
I have mixed results. My pistol dies have great seaters, less than stellar sizers. The insert is a nitride coating, and seems to be wearing out after about 3000 rounds. No big deal, but carbide dies are no more expensive for common calibers and don't seem to have this problem in my experience.
My .30 cal neck sizer gave terrible runout, much worse than my RCBS FL sizing die, but I am far from sure it was the dies fault.
I have had excellent results with their customer service. My dealer sent me the wrong NS die for my short mag. Hornady replaced it directly, new for new, no hesitation.
Posts: 1780 | Location: South Texas, U. S. A. | Registered: 22 January 2004
Mine load consistant reliable good shooting amunition.
Whenever I've had a problem they have sent me replacement parts ASAP and no charge, even when it was my fault.
I think their seater die is close to being the best on the market (if not the best), but at a reasonable price. I own 8 sets of their dies, plus seaters in another 4 calibers.
Roi
Posts: 626 | Location: The soggy side of Washington State | Registered: 13 July 2003
