Frankford Arsenal Universal Seating Die set?

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The Frankfort kit looks alot like the RCBS Gold Medal Seating dies but with a replaceable component that holds the bullet as you are seating it. It is a good system and and dropping the bullet in the window is easier than balancing it on top of the case during seating.

The Frankfort kit costs less than the RCBS die and does more than one cartridge.
 
I’ve mostly enjoyed mine so far. The only 2 problems I’ve run into is loading 300 blackout chunky 230gr bullets, where the flat bottom tends not to settle into the bullet holder and is a pain to orient so it seats right.

The other more frustrating issue is in order to load 300 blackout you have to use the 223 seating plug, but that’s too small and leaves a little ring in the bullet. I’m hoping frankford Arsenal makes additional seating plugs to fill some of the gaps like that.

Otherwise I’ve been very happy with the fit and function, and being able to toss a bullet in and seat it is a fantastic feature.
 
Thanks all. I think I'll add this Frankford Arsenal seating set to my list of things I wouldn't mind Santa leaving under the tree for me this year. I'll have time between now and Christmas Day to try out some of the bullet seating dies I have that came in sets from Lee, RCBS, Lyman, and Redding - none of those have the cutout window. Since the only 30 caliber cartridges I own rifles chambered for are 30-06 Springfield and 300 Winchester Magnum the lack of a part specific to 30 caliber cartridges doesn't overly bother me. The primary rifle calibers I plan to reload for are 25, 284, and 338 so I might find this set particularly useful and maybe FA will add parts specific for 30caliber cartridges at some point in the future.
 
Mr. Zorg said:
Thanks all. I think I'll add this Frankford Arsenal seating set to my list of things I wouldn't mind Santa leaving under the tree for me this year. I'll have time between now and Christmas Day to try out some of the bullet seating dies I have that came in sets from Lee, RCBS, Lyman, and Redding - none of those have the cutout window. Since the only 30 caliber cartridges I own rifles chambered for are 30-06 Springfield and 300 Winchester Magnum the lack of a part specific to 30 caliber cartridges doesn't overly bother me. The primary rifle calibers I plan to reload for are 25, 284, and 338 so I might find this set particularly useful and maybe FA will add parts specific for 30caliber cartridges at some point in the future.
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I don’t want to spread disinformation. The set comes with a .30 cal plug, however it doesn’t work on 300 blackout because of how short the cartridge is. You can still use the 223 plug which is longer, it just leaves a tiny circle on the .30 cal projectiles.

Next reloading session I’m gonna see if I can find an appropriately sized spacer and use the .30 cal so the tips aren’t affected.
 
durachoke said:
I don’t want to spread disinformation. The set comes with a .30 cal plug, however it doesn’t work on 300 blackout because of how short the cartridge is. You can still use the 223 plug which is longer, it just leaves a tiny circle on the .30 cal projectiles.

Next reloading session I’m gonna see if I can find an appropriately sized spacer and use the .30 cal so the tips aren’t affected.
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Interesting because FA doesn't list anything for .308 diameter for this set on their website. Their list jumps from .284 to .325 then .338

https://www.frankfordarsenal.com/re...ies/universal-bullet-seating-die/1116715.html

That's one reason my post was framed as the kit lacking parts for 30-06 Springfield and 300 Winchester Magnum cartridges.

The photos on Amazon also show progression after 284 jumps to 325 then 338 with nothing shown for 308.

https://www.amazon.com/Frankford-Arsenal-Universal-Bullet-Seating/dp/B084HLRHY8
 
Interesting because FA doesn't list anything for .308 diameter for this set on their website. Their list jumps from .284 to .325 then .338
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Weirdly, neither of the links for Amazon or Frankford Arsenal mention that the 308 sleeve is already installed in the die. If you read closely, the Frankford Arsenal site says "One alignment sleeve and VLD seating stem come assembled in the die", but it neglects to mention it's the 308 nor does it list the 308 in the calibers. But the set comes with it.
 
Thanks for that!

Finding out 308 is included moves it up a notch on my potential Santa list items. I don't see a down side for having that window to stick my fingers through, and as also pointed out, it's considerably less expensive than procuring individual seating dies for each cartridge diameter much less each rifle cartridge I plan on reloading for.
 
Well I saw this was $60.80 (+ Texas sales tax) with free Prime shipping so I pre-empted Santa and ordered this tonight, delivery expected on Wednesday.
 
This thread addressed a lot of the questions I had about the Frankford Arsenal bullet seater die set. I've been considering getting this set for a long time, but just had not been inclined to fork over the bucks yet. But, every time I want to try a different bullet or experiment with different seating depths, I find it a real pain to adjust my standard RCBS seating die to get the seating depth just right. Further, for loading 30-06 there is not a lot of room for balancing a bullet on top of the case and getting it started in the standard RCBS seating die. Being able to drop a bullet in the cut-out window of the Frankford Arsenal die seems like it would be much easier.
 
A buddy at work bought one and he likes it, I have not seen it, so still can't comment on how well executed it is.
 
Mr. Zorg said:
Well I saw this was $60.80 (+ Texas sales tax) with free Prime shipping so I pre-empted Santa and ordered this tonight, delivery expected on Wednesday.
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Wow, that was a great deal. Recent check of both Amazon and MidwayUSA show a price of $74.49 and $74.99, respectively. I would have pre-empted Santa, too.
 
For folks that have purchased and used this bullet seating die, does anyone know if the .308 bushing that comes with the die will handle .311 diameter bullets?
 
JDinFbg said:
For folks that have purchased and used this bullet seating die, does anyone know if the .308 bushing that comes with the die will handle .311 diameter bullets?
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I hadn't seen a response from anyone on the forum about my question, so I contacted Frankford Arsenal to see what they had to say. Their response was as follows:

"To be honest we have not tested the .308 stem with that size bullet but there is a chance that it would work for some bullet styles depending on length and shape but it may not work for all."

Thought I'd share this information in case others had the same question.
 
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