Hornady Custom-Grade dies

[zxcvbob]

...suck. I bought a set of .38 S&W dies, and instead of buying Lee dies I got Hornady this time. Never bought premium dies before.

The brand new carbide sizing die makes scratches in my brass deep enough I can feel them with my thumbnail. I cleaned the die with some lighter fluid and a Q-tip and it didn't help. The brass was tumbled overnight in corncob media and highly polished, and now it's covered with scratches.

I haven't contacted Hornady yet; will do that tomorrow. Or maybe I'll just see if Midway will take them back so I can buy a set of Lee dies like I should have bought in the first place.

 

[gilly6993]

Just contact Hornandy and I'll bet they send you a new die....give that a dry before you dump 'em....Hornady makes great dies....

 

[Floppy_D]

That's a bummer, probably a bad set. I've owned Dillon, Hornady and RCBS dies; all have been great... but none out-performed the competition. I'll be buying Lee dies for a long time to come.

Hopefully they make good on it for ya.

 

[rfwobbly]

That IS a bummer. I think Hornady makes a superior product and you'll probably find that they'll be very helpful if you call them. Just bought 2 sets this month myself and I couldn't be happier.

 

[J.R.W.]

The only thing I like about Hornady dies are the lock rings. Good thing the sell them in 6 packs and they fit all my Lee dies perfectly.

 

[ranger335v]

" instead of buying Lee dies I got Hornady this time. Never bought premium dies before."

Not a dig but I think you still don't have "premium dies." Only meaning that I see no reason to think any common brand of typical dies work better on average than another. Sorta meaning they are all usually quite good.

Hornady, like any other maker can let a dog out the door from time to time, very likely they will fix it for you.

 

[Jwbfx4]

Fortunately I haven't had many problems. But I have noticed that the reloading companies have great customer service.

A while back, I ordered a lyman M die from midway that came with the wrong expander plug in it. Gave them a call and they got all of my information and said they would get me a new one on the way. The only downside was I got the die from midway in two days it took close to 11 to get the replacement. But all in all it worked out.

 

[pmec]

The Lee dies have been very good to me and I recommend staying with them for dies. Hornady makes awesome bullets and I plan on staying with them for bullets. Staying with a company's core competency rings true.

 

[zxcvbob]

" instead of buying Lee dies I got Hornady this time. Never bought premium dies before."

Not a dig but I think you still don't have "premium dies." Only meaning that I see no reason to think any common brand of typical dies work better on average than another. Sorta meaning they are all usually quite good.

I got suckered by the "Custom Grade" and the initial high price (I bought it on clearance -- but marked down 50% it was still $10 more than Lee.)

I won't make that mistake again.

 

[rozziboy18]

i had a problem like this one with hornady 308 dies, they were quick to replay the whole set. i have since switched to lee dies.

 

[qajaq59]

Call Hornady. I'm sure they'll make it right. All the die companies are pretty good about things that get by their inspectors.

 

[Glock20]

I've had 3 different sets of Hornady New Dimension dies, and only kept one. The last was .223 where the seating die left a ring on a Hornady bullet, their solution was that I polish the seating stem. I don't think so.
I now use Lee or RCBS in .223 and they seat all mfg bullets just fine.
Probably won't be buying any more Hornady dies anytime soon.

 

[jerkface11]

I swore off Hornady dies after i couldn't get their .45-70 die to seat bullets. The seater die had like 6 parts and was put together wrong at the factory I never did figure out the right order to put it together.

P.S. if you want really nice dies get a Forster set you won't be disappointed.

 

[CraigC]

It's one die, just send it back and get a new one.

 

[rfwobbly]

I got suckered by the "Custom Grade" and the initial high price (I bought it on clearance -- but marked down 50% it was still $10 more than Lee.) I won't make that mistake again.

That's like saying you had a bad experience with 1 Eskimo, so all Eskimos must be worthless. Everyone knows this type of wide-ranging assessment only works with the French! The point is, taking one data point and forming an opinion about what the rest of the graph looks like is no way to get ahead.

Sure you've been stung, and it smarts. You're entitled to be sore. OK, we got it. But consider....

• It takes 2 to tango. There is also a chance that you have played a part in this poor outcome. Certainly not by intent, but that does not erase the chance. Accidents do happen.

• The measure of a company is not so much in the quality of it's products, but lies more in how they stand behind their products. That is, their "customer service" and how far they'll go to satisfy their customers. So exactly what did they say and do when you phoned them? That's what I'd like to know. Just exactly how "High Road" is Hornady?

We also note that with your reduced price set of dies, you still got the "free bullet offer", the killer Hornady lock rings, and (at least on the pistol dies sets I've gotten from Hornady) multiple bullet seating anvils. Your posts don't mention any of these obvious extras that might indeed cost more to put in the box.


Just thinking that as a kid, I hated vegetables and the French. Over the years I've left some doors open and kept trying different things. Now I actually like vegetables. I like to think I'm better off for it, too.

 

[Furncliff]

JM02 on Hornaday CS...

Got an email today "We apologies for the mistake. You were shorted on your order and a correction will be made."

Next email was from their shipping dept. confirming the order.

This situation was just convoluted enough (and I was at least partly responsible for the confusion) that they could have squirmed out of sending the extra bullets. They did not.

Tom

 

[zxcvbob]

We also note that with your reduced price set of dies, you still got the "free bullet offer", the killer Hornady lock rings, and (at least on the pistol dies sets I've gotten from Hornady) multiple bullet seating anvils. Your posts don't mention any of these obvious extras that might indeed cost more to put in the box.

No extra anvils, no shellholder (I wasn't expecting a shellholder). There was an extra tip for the decapping pin, and an offer for 100 free bullets if I pay the shipping.

They are nice lockrings, but not worth $40 for 3 of 'em.

I sent emails to Customer Service at Hornady and Midway. I've only heard back from Midway; I'm going to send the dies back and exchange them. Not sure if I have to pay the shipping for the replacement dies. Meanwhile I'm back to using 9mm dies to load 38SW.

 

[ranger335v]

"The last was .223 where the seating die left a ring on a Hornady bullet, their solution was that I polish the seating stem. I don't think so."

In all fairness to Hornady, that's not unusual from any maker's seater plugs; the "ring" is harmless. The cure is the same for all of them and it's really quite easy to fix for yourself.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

I have been very well pleased with several sets of Hornady pistol dies and Forster Rifle dies.

Andy

 

[Hey_Allen]

The only time I've had any issue with any manufacturer was with one call to Lee where I got the run around from customer service, but even then a second call got things sorted out.

Personally, if I'd known then what I know now, I'd likely have bought more Hornady dies, just for the longer die bodies fitting in a LnL AP press easier, but any manufacturer has the possibility to have a defect. One of my Lee sets snags on the expander every time it cycles, just due to the machined surface. They'll fix it, or I can buff it out myself, much as Hornady apparently suggested about the seating die a few posts back.

With RCBS and Hornady, the single call I've made to each was taken care of promptly and at no charge. Due to being unable to afford it, I've never had any Dillon parts to service, but I've constantly read the same of their customer service.

The only thing that ever took very long was waiting on a production run of bullets during the shortage, and I couldn't complain too much, getting 1k of bullets for $21.00 shipped!

 

[Hondo 60]

Several months ago I emailed Hornady because I bought a box with only 98 bullets in it.

They sent me a package of 9. Not sure such an odd number, but the moral of the story is, they more than made up for their error.