Are dies and bullet holders interchangable?

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Picknlittle

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I just bought an old RCBS Special press. The only dies and holders are for 30-30. I'm going to order 35 Whelen and 30-06 dies today. If the dies and bullet holders are inter-changable then Lee has the best deal with dies, holder and dipper. RCBS list dies and holders separate.

This press is no longer made. It has the auto-primer feature built in.
 
Not all dies are the same size, but far and away the most common size is 7/8” X 14tpi. If your press is not for a 50bmg, I’ll bet the Lee dies will be ok in your RCBS.
 
Definitely. I have mostly RCBS dies, a couple of Dillon, and some Hornady. All fit perfectly on both an RCBS press I have, and the Dillon.

Lyman dies also work, as do Redding. In fact, I don't know of any brands which wouldn't work. There may be some from way back, though.
 
I think the question

is are all SHELLHOLDERS interchangeable with all dies?

I THINK the answer is yes, though you may have to raise or lower the die when changing brands of die or shellholder. Anybody?
 
Most dies will fit most pressed, there are a few exceptions, but not many.

There are substantial differences in the quality of dies, while Lee dies might be cheap, they aren't the best deal by any means.
 
I have some RCBS dies that will not fully resize a case when used with Lee shell holders. I bought an RCBS shell holder and it worked fine.
 
. . . I think the question
is are all SHELLHOLDERS interchangeable with all dies?
I THINK the answer is yes, though you may have to raise or lower the die when changing brands of die or shellholder. Anybody?[
I][/I]
This comes up all the time. For many years now there has been an industry standard shellholder depth, a headspace if you will. It is .125" from the bottom seat to the top of the holder. Standard loading dies are set to give standard headspace when the shellholder touches the bottom of the sizing die. Whether the shellholder is a Herter or a J-Type Lyman or a Hollywood the dimension is .125". There are a couple of exceptions for odd rim thickness anomalies including some Maynard cartridges.
All shops work to ± tolerances and there are minor, usually negligable differences even within one brand.
All structural materials give under stress and when a case is being sized it may force the linkage to prevent full contact with the die. Then you just screw it in a quarter turn more to take up the slack if your gun requires it.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross
 
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