Okay I am just getting into reloading. Do I have to worry about the brand of dies I use? Do I need to stick to one brand or can I interchange RCBS, Redding, Hornady, and Lee?

The current press I am using is a friends rockchucker until I can buy a press and starter kit of my own. Currently I am leaning towards a Hornady kit.

I use RCBS and Redding dies.
The first thing to do is read all you can about reloading, then make your decision about what dies to buy.
I would recommend the RCBS kit that is sold after your studies are complete.

Don

I use lee 4 die carbide dies for pistol and rcbs for rifle.

George,

Those of us who've been doing this a long time know two things:

1. Reloading is cheaper than buying factory ammo and usually more accurate.

2. Reloading can be an expensive way to obtain ammunition.

Once you start, it's a process and a means to an end. The dies you buy and the press you buy won't matter in the end. You'll lust after something else sooner or later anyway. Most presses use standard 7/8-14 dies but you can find odd stuff Stay away from the odd stuff. At leastr in the beginning. A good plan might be to start with a used press like an RCBS junior and put all the money you save into the things that make a difference right off the bat. Like a good scale. Like a good measure. Like a good calipers. Like a stoney point gage.

George,

One other thing...I don't know about Dillon or Hornady etc, but if you break or lose something that's part of an RCBS press or tool (like hand primer) or measure, or die, you can't buy the part from RCBS, they just GIVE you a new one and pay the postage too.

You will also find that places like Cabelas or Sportsmans Warehouse or (god forbid it's all you have available) Gander all have better selections of RCBS accessories than anything else.

I use Bonanza, Redding, and Lee dies and the Redding are certainly the smoothest when sizing and using them, but the Lee are much cheaper and load ammo just as accurate.

I use dies from RCBS, Lee, Hornady, Lyman, Redding and Herters, they all work, although I personally do not care for Lyman dies. I will say that you can not beat RCBS's warranty on any of their reloading equipment, I have a bunch of green-rcbs and quite a little red-Lee equipment, if the green stuff breaks, free replacement is just a phone call away-never a question asked, Lee is pretty good on warranty too, but you had better be able to explain the problem, now Lyman has no such thing as WARRRANTY or CUSTOMER SERVICE, infact the few times I've dealt with them they were borderline rude!? hell of a way to run a businessIMHO

hey, george -

i'll give you my take on it, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

my feelings are that a person should get the best equipment that they can afford, while keeping in mind that expensive doesn't necessarily mean better. i lean toward lee products, partly our of necessity (low price), partly out of loyalty and partly because they put out good stuff. i can recommend them with a completely clear conscience. hornady, RCBS, dillon lyman, redding and others all make good stuff. their prices are reasonable, but for the most part out of my budget.

my recommendation is to get a lee kit. in fact, if you only have one or two cartridges, try a lee loader. i am convinced that the loader will take a person down into the fundamentals of loading and give a greater understanding into all steps of loading.

i strongly recommend lee's hand primer and case trimmers.

quote:

Originally posted by GrosVentreGeorge:
Okay I am just getting into reloading. Do I have to worry about the brand of dies I use? Do I need to stick to one brand or can I interchange RCBS, Redding, Hornady, and Lee?

The current press I am using is a friends rockchucker until I can buy a press and starter kit of my own. Currently I am leaning towards a Hornady kit.

To actually answer your question (with the short answer, which is unusual for me)

No, yes.

No, you don't have to worry. Highly unlikely you will have any incompatibility.

Yes, all the major press makers use the same thread size and same basic operation of their presses (a ram goes up and then goes down). You can mix brands of presses with brands of dies (but generally you will not want to mix die sets. for example, if you are reloading a .345 Whatsisbanger, do not mix a Lee sizing die with a Hornady crimping die). But you can use a Lee Die set on an RCBS press pretty assuredly.

Welcome to the sport of reloading.

I have been advising a friend of mine on getting started in shooting and reloading. I have been out of the loop for a few years and am learning new stuff and re-learning old stuff a LOT lately. For instance, I have always used carbide dies for pistol calibers. No lube required. I am told the nitride coated dies are even better than the tungsten-carbide dies.

I have also been told that, among the press "kits" the Hornady turret is one of the best. Most kits are assembled of a mix of components that, after you have reloaded for a while, you will wind up replacing almost everything in the kit except the press, one at a time. That means that when all is said and done, you will have assembled your own kit of good tools at full retail price on top of the kit you bought before you knew what your preferences were. You could have saved a bunch of money if you knew what pieces you wanted before you started. But I was told recently that if I bought the Hornady, I would wind up being dissatisfied with fewer of their kit components than with any other kit.

I was told this by a salesperson of course. But on the other hand, I believe him. But on the other hand, it's not my money.

All that being said, I've never seen a BAD piece of equipment from any major name. Some tools are just more suitable for particular uses than others, or affordable, or amenable to a particular user's peculiarities.

You pays your money, you takes your choice.

Ear protection is a good idea any time (and gives you an excuse to ignore interruptions). Always wear eye protection, especially around primers and primed cases. And don't pinch your fingers in the press.

Good shopping, good shooting, good night

Larry (Lost Sheep)

I am currently using RCBS, Lyman, and the cheap Lee dies and I'm shooting a lot of ammo accurately. I suppose the more expensive dies would have tighter specs, but my stuff is working just fine.

Stick with your friends Rockchucker for a while and you may see that it is a lot more press than you need or you may decide it's the cat's nuts. In the meantime, you will learn a lot about what you really need to have to reload and you can shop around. You won't have to buy a kit. Since you will have the knowledge, you can pick up quite a bit of your stuff used and on Ebay --I bought a RCBS Jr press used 40 years ago and its still going strong. Basically you need a press, a set of dies, an autoprime, and a set of scales. And a funnel. And a book. The rest of the stuff is kinda "nice to have" things. I trickled powder for quite a while with a bowl and a teaspoon.

quote:

Originally posted by Lost Sheep:s. for example, if you are reloading a .345 Whatsisbanger, do not mix a Lee sizing die with a Hornady crimping die). But you can use a Lee Die set on an RCBS press pretty assuredly.

Please explain exactly why this mix-n-match is bad practice? I'm sure we're all curious.

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:

quote:

Originally posted by Lost Sheep:s. for example, if you are reloading a .345 Whatsisbanger, do not mix a Lee sizing die with a Hornady crimping die). But you can use a Lee Die set on an RCBS press pretty assuredly.

Please explain exactly why this mix-n-match is bad practice? I'm sure we're all curious.

Onefunzr2,

I hope I haven't stuck my foot in my mouth by picking dies that are compatible in my example (Hornady/RCBS), but I would not want to take the chance that a sizing die from one set might form a cartridge case just a hair larger or smaller than the next die in the rotation was expecting, lest that case be off-sized enough to give trouble to that next die.

I may be being overcautious. Educate me.

I do recall that some dies perform more than one function at a time and that (at least) RCBS and Lee mix and match functions differently. My Lee case mouth expander (for pistol) can drop powder into the case at the one station. It would be a good idea to have the case primed before that step, but the RCBS inserts a primer at a different point in the rotation.

I will admit that, if you are careful and think everything through, there should be no problem mixing dies from different manufacturers, but for someone just getting started, I would counsel caution. On the other hand, I would not want to plant a piece of misinformation in a mind which might remember my (unchallenged) advice years later, to his detriment.

So, if I am wrong, thanks for calling me on it. I didn't get my nickname for nothing.

Larry (Lost Sheep)

Thanks guys, the biggest question I had was about the interchangeability of the dies. I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't have a problem if I bought the Hornady kit but had rcbs dies for my short mag's, Hornady dies for my mauser's, and lee dies for my '06 family.

I do have to say though that the 500 free bullet offer from Hornady may be the kicker. I do need my own press though mostly do to schedule issue's. I want to be able to load up a hundred rounds when I have the bug to do it. Not when it is convenient for someone else.

The only presses that don't use the normal 7\8"-14 thread dies are either very old, probably pre-1970, or meant for an arbor press like Wilson dies. Then there's the really BIG one meant for the 50BMG.

Every loading die, every gun's chamber, every revolver's charge hole is machine made with production tolerances. You can just as well run into a mal-formed die with "Redding" on all the dies in the box, as there is with each individual die having a different brand name.

GrosVentreGeorge is an admitted newby. He's not adjusting the peculiarities of a progressive press like you suggest. He's just getting started in this hobby and doing one procedure to every case at one time on a single stage press. Change to the next die, and do every procedure to that case. And so on. There is no rule that each die has to be of the same brand.

Many folks substitute different brand dies for a certain caliber. In my for instance, I substituted a carbide resizing die of another brand...no problems. I then substituted a collet crimp die for the original...again no problems. I even substitute shellholder brands, although it would be wise to then re-adjust the other dies to that shellholder.

GVG, The short answer to your question is yes you can use Hornady dies with a Lee press and Lee dies with a RCBS press, etc. So if you bought a RCBS kit and Forster dies, they'd work.

You can use any brand of dies that you have, as long as they all have 7/8X14 threads so they'll fit your press. However, in some cases,it is advisable to use the same brand of shellholder as the dies are, since some are shorter or longer than others, and need to match the inside dimensions of the sizing die chamber to size cases to the right dimensions.

I use RCBS, Redding, Forster, Lyman, Hornady, C&H, Lee, Herters', and a few of the other older brands (Pacific, etc.) that are no longer in production. IMO, Forster & Redding are about the best of those currently in production, and these two makes are about equal in quality. RCBS tools are very good, and I see nothing wrong with the Lyman dies I have either. Lee dies work pretty well, too.

Good luck!!