I can never understand why someone will take a working design, and ruin it.

Just got a set of Hornady CUSTOM GRADE dies for the 338 Lapua Magnum.

After sizing a few cases, the expander button got stuck in the case, and the whole threaded stem pulls out of the die.

Some idiot had the great idea of stripping most of the threads of that rod, just to make it look nice.

Why would anyone even think of this is unbelievable.

I spoke to a friend in the US about this, and he said he had exactly the same problem with his too.

It really defies comprehension whydo they do this.

Their sizing dies suck, but I like the seating die.

I have a set of FL Hornady New Dimension dies for 22/250Rem that stuck a case every time I used them. I finally bought a set of RCBS dies for that cartridge from a friend and haven't stuck a case since. I used to read all the bitching about Hornady dies and thought they were being too picky until I bought that set and now I am one of the bitchers!

You have to tighten the hell out of the expander rod collet.They won't pull out then. Why not full threads? Ostensibly for ease of adjustment so you don't have to actually unscrew it. Better? I have no problem with them, but I do tighten them, hard.

I suppose gone are the days when reloaders are making these.

Now they are left to salesmen who have no idea what practical is.

Sadly, I see it in all sorts of things nowadays.

Form over function.

I've had that problem with almost all brands of dies over the years.. (and not very often)

Now when I get new dies, once I get em set-up the way i want, I degrease and locktite em in place.

Saeed, they actually market that feature. They call it their "zip spindle" and it's designed to be able to move up and down without any pesky turning of screw threads. I didn't say it was a good design, just done that way on purpose.

Personally, I haven't had a problem with the sets I have, but like others have said, I torqued the spindle collet very tightly. I like Hornady dies over most, but this does seem like addressing a problem that doesn't really exist for the sake of marketing.

quote:

I torqued the spindle collet very tightly

And then some.

The shallow-threaded stem is actually a big improvement over their original design, which had a smooth stem that would always work itself loose in the collet.

Of course, simple regular threads like on RCBS dies would be even better, but would not give their marketing folks anything to work with...

Of the double sets of dies I own, the first set was Hornady.

Bean counters always fix things that ain't broke, Hornady had great dies, they now suck..but hey I still like their bullets, but give the bean counters time, they will get bored and redesign the bullets too.

In my opinion Lee dies at half the price are twice as good.

I have used all the dies made.
I have had success with all of them.
I do like a challenge, and enjoy using different dies to see what I can milk out of them.
But this is to you Saeed,
You have a lot invested in firearms, and everything that goes with it.
If I had your money(not judging).
I would never go away from Redding.
They simply make the job easier on every front.

Check German Triebel dies. Beautiful executed and available in a variety of calibers. Perfect for German calibers. I am slowly replacing my collection. Worst for me have been Bonanza. I like Redding too.

As for the decapping pin, I prefer the old Lyman design. For new dies my preference is Redding.

I quit buying die sets over ten years ago, unless wildcat ctg or other circumstance.

I found that Redding Type S FL dies were most versatile and would often deliver great results with other ctgs with minor variation in neck size. I use a .308win S FL die for .260rem and also for 7mm-08. I reamed a Redding S FL sizer in .243win AI to get my .308win AI size die. Had to remove the heat treat to enable machine work on the neck. Worked great once opened-up.

I chose Forster die body seaters, initially favoring the micrometer type, but later preferring the one-piece head benchrest type. Forster will sell you die bodies and seating stems which enables lots of customization and no need to pay $80 for a complete seater. Redding will not sell parts. Forster is great to work with.

I also do not buy a seater for every specific cartridge. I found a 6.4/284 Forster seater will be fine with my .260rem. My .300win Type S FL die works fine for .338/300win. Brass is simply necked up from 30cal to .338cal. The bushing relief area of the die allows a .365" neck to transit without bushing. I tend to use a smaller bushing diameter.

Redding says FL S dies will serve dual-duty as body dies. For neck only sizing, I use spacers to raise the die off the case shoulder. I will also use a SB sizer die as go-to initial sizer for once-fired brass and a Lee decapping die to deprime.

G'Day Fella's,

Saeed, iirc, the partial thread on the Hornady dies, is apparently for "rapid decapping rod/pin adjustment".
From what I remember of these, the nut/collet that clamps it in place, is a variation on the similar but unthreaded Lee Precision decapper rod.
As a mechanical engineer etc (40+ years), I learned a long time ago, that "Form Follows Function"..............

Saeed, I also learn't a long time ago, that the best reloading equipment, is either Green (Redding or RCBS) or Blue (Dillon), (all though, I do like Mr Lee's Collet Dies, for reloading rifle ammo on progressive presses).

Hope that helps

Regards
Homer

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
You have to tighten the hell out of the expander rod collet.They won't pull out then. Why not full threads? Ostensibly for ease of adjustment so you don't have to actually unscrew it. Better? I have no problem with them, but I do tighten them, hard.

Rocket science, eh?

I only buy Redding and Forrester dies.

I can't believe so many other have had the same problem as I have had with Hornady dies. 8x60S, 219 Zipper, and 5.6x57.

Some time ago I bought a Lee Universal Decapping die. Sometimes I try to get away without using it, then I run into issues such as many of you have mentioned.

I then retake my vow to ALWAYS decap separately. Saves time in the long run and helps me keep my sanity just a few days longer.