Advice on dies 7mm rem mag/.458 win

I bought some Lee dies when I got my 550C. Easy to adjust seat depth and crimp.

I've used Lee dies on my 7mm Rem Mag for the past 10 years with no problems. Ammo is accurate and has killed everything I aimed it at.

One more vote for Lee.

I have used RCBS, Hornady and Lee dies. All will do a good job, how much do you want to spend? I like the RCBS sizing die and the Lee seating die. I have a set of Hornady dies in 45-70 and I'm very happy with them.

Pick a price, pick features, pick customer service or consider them all. Sorry I didn't make it easier.

And another.

I havent ever had a bad die set tho.

A set screw locking ring, otherwise they are as good as any basic set that ive owned. What i do is usually drill and tap the lee ring and use a brass or nylon setscrew to lock them in place.

My Lee dies in 7mm Rem mag work fine. Inexpensive.
Lots of people seem to like Redding but they are quite a few more $.

In my opinion:

1. RCBS dies are the best. They have that little hole in them that minimizes the chance of collapsing the shoulder if you get too much lube on the case.
2. Hornady lock rings are the best. When I buy dies, I replace the lock rings with those made by Hornady unless, of course, they're Hornady dies.
3. Lee dies are OK but I don't like their die boxes and their lock rings with the O ring don't hold the die securely enough in place for me.
4. Redding and RCBS die boxes are the best. Their size isn't outlandish and they stack well. I give a slight nod to Redding boxes because of the cavities in the top that are handy for putting the cartridges in as you reload them.
5. Hornady apparently believes that one size die fits all so for some cartridges, their dies are bigger than they need to be.
6. Hornady and Wilson die boxes are too big and don't stack well. That's more of a concern if you have 40 sets of dies.
7. Lee Collet Dies are way overrated.
8. Lee Factory Crimp Dies are the best crimping system out there.

Other than that, they're all the same and will load accurate ammunition.

My dies are all packed but i want to say all of mine have the vent hole in them.
Good note on the boxes, as small as that seems unless you leave the tops off the lee boxes they are a pain to open and close.
Another note...all hornady seaters are the same per caliber, so if you adjust your seating die every time you can just have one seater for each cal you load.

My 7mm Mag dies are RCBS (1974?), never been a problem. I do have the Hornady split lock ring on them. I've got dies from Hornady, and RCBS too. The Hornady die boxes are larger to accept the bushing for their presses. The last few dies I have bought have all been Redding Type S Competition sets or hunter sets. They all work, just depends on how much you want to spend. I don't have any Lee's dies except for spare seating dies. Never have liked the finish and roughness of their dies. It also seams that the sizing can be a hit or miss depending on which size of the spec they are if you have a tight chamber. I also don't own any LFCD. I learned how to load before the internet and you had to learn to setup your dies to work as they should. No using a die to correct a problem.

I am with Walkalong, RCBS Dies, Hornady Lock Rings... Works for me....

I've never regretted the purchase of equipment from RCBS.

I've generally had good luck with Lee, but I was disappointed with the set of 9mm dies, so they were replaced with RCBS.

I have been consistently disappointed by Lyman and I'd rather deal with the Comcast's Customer Service than theirs.

No experience with Hornady dies although every die I have has either Hornady lock rings or the old RCBS lock rings (similar to Hornady but without the wrench flats).

I've been using RCBS dies for my 7 mag the past 40 years.
-mike

For rifle dies RCBS or Redding here.

Heck, I use Lyman, Pacific, RCBS, Hornady, Lee and maybe one or two more. All good for me!
But I'm like others, hate the Lee o-ring lock, so it gets chunked!
As long as i can securely lock with others Im good to go! I've even filed flats in round rings to make them easier to adjust (than with unsightly pliers)
Good luck

I can't stand the RCBS seating stem adjustment, much prefer the Hornady and Redding seaters, even the Lee, although I'd like to have a locking ring.

I use Hornady and Forstner locking rings. Most of my "small batch" loading is done on a Forster Co-Ax, so a sufficiently large locking ring is necessary to key into the press.

I have Redding and Hornady for 458wm, and RCBS, Lee, Redding, & Hornady for 7mmRM. I prefer the Redding & Hornady out of those, and do most of my loading on the Reddings.

The Larry Willis Body die is worth buying for your 458wm. Generally the 7mm will loosen pockets fast enough you won't gain anything by bringing the body back, but if you run a lot of low to mid-range practice loads out of your 458, like most of us, you'll get enough loads out of the brass to make the body die worth it. If you DO get some bulge in your 7mm with some life left, then having the body die for your 458 will let you use it for the 7mm too, but I don't typically get enough life to need it.

Are you annealing? I anneal every loading in 7mm, more than doubles my case life.