Best Dies for Accuracy

20 September 2002, 12:29

<GSXR7/11>

I'm getting a nice new long range rifle in .300 Winchester Mag. nice barrel, nice stock, should be a great long range gun.

I need dies - which is why i'm here

I've reloaded in the past, so I know what I'm doing, but I've been out of the sport for a while. There are a lot of different dies to pick from, and I can't seem to get good info on what the differences between them are.

I'm mainly looking for accuracy. Speed isn't that big of a deal to me. I'll probably be doing all the benchrest tricks to them - such as turning the case necks (maybe not all the way down, but at least getting rid of most of the run out)

What about Redding and Wilson dies? Wilson looks like it has benchrest style dies (ie, no press, just use a hammer or mallet to work them). That might not be bad. I can't seem to find much info on them though. Do they make a nice set of dies in this caliber? Do they make a set for this caliber with a micrometer bullet seater?

Are the redding dies (std 7/8-14 press style) better? More accurate? Or just faster and a little easier to work?

Thanks!

20 September 2002, 12:38

Bigdaddytacp

quote:
Originally posted by GSXR7/11:
I'm getting a nice new long range rifle in .300 Winchester Mag. nice barrel, nice stock, should be a great long range gun.

I need dies - which is why i'm here

I've reloaded in the past, so I know what I'm doing, but I've been out of the sport for a while. There are a lot of different dies to pick from, and I can't seem to get good info on what the differences between them are.

I'm mainly looking for accuracy. Speed isn't that big of a deal to me. I'll probably be doing all the benchrest tricks to them - such as turning the case necks (maybe not all the way down, but at least getting rid of most of the run out)

What about Redding and Wilson dies? Wilson looks like it has benchrest style dies (ie, no press, just use a hammer or mallet to work them). That might not be bad. I can't seem to find much info on them though. Do they make a nice set of dies in this caliber? Do they make a set for this caliber with a micrometer bullet seater?

Are the redding dies (std 7/8-14 press style) better? More accurate? Or just faster and a little easier to work?

Thanks!

The hand dies by wilson are great but a arbor press is the best way to use them instead of a mallet and with that mag cartridge they might need a lot of force...the Redding bushing dies,the comp and the full length bushing set in a good straight press will be faster and easier to work with for most uses....the Forster ultra Micrometer seater is nice and is very repeatable......the best of both worlds would be the die/press for full length resizing and the wilson hand die for just neck sizing and either type for bullet seating.....I have had good luck with either for straight bullets...you might want to think about a concentricity gauge for measuring the straightness of your loads and thus the dies for serious long range shooting....there are bad dies with great names and it is hard to find without a good gauge/tools.....enjoy the process ...good luck and good shooting!!!

20 September 2002, 12:50

<GSXR7/11>

Thanks for the info [Smile]

Just found the website for Wilson -
www.lewilson.com

Here's my problem now - they talk about their dies, but when you go to the application chart, they don't show any .30 calibers! Well OK, they do show the 7.62 russian, but... thats the only thing over 7mm they show.

.308 Winchester isn't even listed. That just looks wrong to me.... Looks like their website is all jacked up

20 September 2002, 13:05

milanuk

Wilson dies are 'hand' dies, most everything else are for 7/8"x14 threaded presses.

You *can* do Wilson dies w/ a mallet, but I'd probably say go and spend the $$$ for a Sinclair or Hart arbor press. They don't have a buttload of mechanical advantage, but then, they aren't really designed for stuff other than decapping, neck-sizing, and bullet seating. Full-length sizing is usually recommended for a bench-mounted threaded press, like a Rockchucker (RCBS) or Boss (Redding).

I haven't personally used an arbor press for production, nor have I reloaded .300 Win Mag. But I'd hazard the opinion that you'd be better off w/ a threaded press like a Rockchucker, a Forster Co-Ax or a Redding Boss/Big Boss/UltraMag(pick one).

As far as dies, a lot of people have good luck w/ the standard dies from RCBS, Redding, Forster, etc. That being said, I'm partial the Redding Competition Die sets. The sliding chamber design helps a lot IMHO, and if you are going to be neck-turning, the interchangeable neck bushings are awesome. Plus, they have Titanium Nitride coated ones, which need little to no case lube (bonus!), as well as being longer wearing. Also, they are dimensionally interchangeable w/ the Wilson neck bushings for the Wilson hand dies. The Forster Ultra seater dies are supposed to be on a par w/ the Reddings, according to those who have used them (not I), though the Redding Competition Seater is taller, and may interfere w/ some presses, like a Co-Ax or some progressives.

The Reddings are spendy, but they work, and work well, just about all of the time (I've got a Type 'S' that doesn't work so well, but I've pretty much decided that its more a function of a crappy factory chamber being more than it can handle and maintain desired accuracy). The Forsters have a lot of loyal fans, and I don't doubt they would get the job done well. At the other end of the spectrum, Lee makes a Collet sizing die, that is dirt cheap ($20), but damn, it works awfully well.

Overall, being a Redding fan, I'd say get a Redding Boss or a Big Boss or even an UltraMag, if you plan on loading for more magnums down the road, perhaps, and outfitting it w/ a Redding Competition Die set consisting of a Competition Seater, a Competition Neck Sizer, and a Body Die (F/L sizes but doesn't touch the neck, for bumping back the shoulder periodically). Mike the neck of a few loaded rounds, subtract a few thousandths (3-4), and then order several of the gold TiNi bushings, one the size you came up w/ (neck dia. - 3 or 4 thou), and one or two on either side of that, so you can play w/ neck tension a bit.

Oh, and if you like to read, and want to dig around a bit on your own, I'd recommend the Sinclair Reloading & Shooting Handbook, 10th Ed.
or the Precision Shooting Reloading Manual
or the excellent Handloading For Competition: Making the Target Bigger. And one good place to find Wilson dies is at Sinclairs.

Monte

21 September 2002, 01:45

<OTTO>

I have been using Forster Bonanza Ultra Die sets. They have a micrometer seating die that works.

21 September 2002, 02:00

Jungli Bains

For my .300 Win.Mag. I use a Wilson neck die and seat the bullets with a Forster Ultra Seater. The Wilson die is used with a Sinclair arbor press. The bullet runout is from 0.000 to 0.003", mostly less than 0.002."I got the dies from Sinclair's.

21 September 2002, 03:11

Dutch

Redding body die, Lee collet die, and any of the competition seaters. JMO, Dutch.

21 September 2002, 04:07

<green 788>

The Lee Collet dies, if properly used, will make ammunition better than the rifle will be able to take advantage of. Put another way, the Lee Collets will turn out ammo with runout of .002" or less if you have decent brass. My 270 win. Lee Collet dies make ammo with .0005" to .0015" consistently. (And some bullets aren't even that straight!)

You can bet that .002" or better runout will have the ammunition well beyond being the "weakest link." [Wink]

As mentioned above, the Lee's cost around 20 to 25 dollars for the Collet models. Other dies mentioned here are in the one hundred dollar and up range.

If you honestly believe that Snap-On makes better box-end wrenches than Craftsman does, get the big buck dies, the fondle factor may be worth it to you.

But if you ain't that kind of feller, get the Lee Collets and get to shootin'! [Smile]

Dan Newberry
green 788