i have been using lee dies and have never had a problem with them. recently my dad has been asking me to load him some 308 win rounds for his new ar10. not only that he said he bought a two piece die set from hornady. i was reading the reviews and it seems the resizing die is a hit or miss. in several cases some brass was not properly resized to chamber in semi autos. before I tell him to return it and get a 3 pc lee set, what do you guys think? I wish he would've consulted with me first.
.308 dies
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zerobarrier
Contributing Member
I have the Hornady die set and works great for me. I like the seating die because it has a floating tube that aligns the bullet. Most of my die sets are the new hornady ones and they all work great. I use the Hornady dies for my AR15 and every round chambers just fine. If you are concerned there is the RCBS small base sizer that is suppose to be great for semi autos.
WelshShooter
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Well if you go down the route of the Lee dies you won't be disappointed. I have the 4 die set (although I don't use the crimp die) and they are great. Neck sizing does the job and seating is always within 1 thou if I'm using good quality bullets (ie lapua). I have no experience with Hornady dies so I can't help you there.
USSR
Member
Proper sizing is more a function of the way a resizing die is set up, not the particular brand of die. There is no reason that I know of why Hornady dies properly set up would not produce good ammo.
Don
is the crimp die needed? I've always applied a light crimp on all my reloads especially on semi autos. never shot an ar10 before although i own a cetme .308 myself. this rifle is particularly hard on brass, hoping the ar10 is smoother.
I do not crimp ammunition for my Garands. Also, no crimps on AR-15 ammunition.
I do not crimp any of my rifle ammunition except for a 357 mag lever action. It is the only tubular magazine rifle that I have. 30-06 is the largest cartridge I have at present, no shoulder busters that might benefit from crimping.
If the cases you are resizing were not fired in your father's rifle, you may not be resizing the cases enough in all the right places. Sometimes machine tolerances between the chamber and the die cause issues.
USSR
Member
With bottle-neck cartridges that headspace on the shoulder, case headspace is determined by the degree that the FL sizing die (whatever make it is) is screwed into the press. Don't screw it down far enough, and the shoulder is not bumped back far enough. Shoulder not bumped back far enough and: "not properly resized to chamber".
Don
Hypnogator
Member
I made the mistake of buying Hornady dies for .223. Decapping pin broke once, replaced by Hornady. When their one-shot lubricant failed and a case became welded to the sizing die, I sent to Dillon for a set of dies and lubricant. Couldn't be happier with both. 
theshephard
Member
haha.. what a title
"308 dies".. I assure you the death of the 308 has been greatly exaggerated..
"308 dies".. I assure you the death of the 308 has been greatly exaggerated..
mgmorden
Member
I've never had any issues with Hornady dies. Granted, I've had very few issues with Lee dies either (got a 7.5x55 sizing die from them once that had a bent decapping rod, but they sent a new one and that was fine).
Personally I'd keep the Hornady dies. Lee works fine but the Hornady are just a tad nicer. I like their lock rings a lot better than Lee's (you can buy them separately for Lee dies but then you kill the cost savings). They also have the bullet rebate available which is very nice - 100 bullets for $6.95 shipping basically makes the Hornady dies cheaper after that's worked in.
Plus - and I know this is being pedantic - I don't like that Lee doesn't print what their dies actually are on them (there's a model number but not a good description). On my 9mm die set I had to specifically print a label that goes on the case that reminds me that the die with "B" on it is the seater and the one with "G" on it is the factory crimp die (I think - I'm not at home and can't confirm - hence the need for the label).
Personally I'd keep the Hornady dies. Lee works fine but the Hornady are just a tad nicer. I like their lock rings a lot better than Lee's (you can buy them separately for Lee dies but then you kill the cost savings). They also have the bullet rebate available which is very nice - 100 bullets for $6.95 shipping basically makes the Hornady dies cheaper after that's worked in.
Plus - and I know this is being pedantic - I don't like that Lee doesn't print what their dies actually are on them (there's a model number but not a good description). On my 9mm die set I had to specifically print a label that goes on the case that reminds me that the die with "B" on it is the seater and the one with "G" on it is the factory crimp die (I think - I'm not at home and can't confirm - hence the need for the label
).
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Sunray
Member
All semi-autos require FL resizing every time. It's either a regular FL die OR a small base die. The SB die resizes a few though more than a regular FL die, but you only need one or the other. The case length and OAL is important too. Other than that loading for a semi is no different than anything else.
When it's only 'some brass', it means operator failure. Most likely the sizer isn't set up correctly. The shell holder should just kiss the die with the ram all the way up.
Hornady's 2 die sets are FL. Lee's 3 die set has an FL die. So do RCBS sets. Only part that matters is the warrantee, really. Lee's is 2 years. Hornady's and RCBS is forever. RCBS doesn't care who bought 'em new.
"...case headspace is determined by the degree that the FL sizing die..." Cases do not have headspace. Headspace is a rifle manufacturing tolerance only.
When it's only 'some brass', it means operator failure. Most likely the sizer isn't set up correctly. The shell holder should just kiss the die with the ram all the way up.
Hornady's 2 die sets are FL. Lee's 3 die set has an FL die. So do RCBS sets. Only part that matters is the warrantee, really. Lee's is 2 years. Hornady's and RCBS is forever. RCBS doesn't care who bought 'em new.
"...case headspace is determined by the degree that the FL sizing die..." Cases do not have headspace. Headspace is a rifle manufacturing tolerance only.
Your right, a case does not have headspace, but he is right as to the sizer controlling the amount of clearance the case has when chambered. Most of us just say headspace, despite the fact it is not technically correct.
The sizer adjustment determines by how much clearance, or "headspace", the cartridge has each time it is fired.
Headspace is a static measurement mechanically built into a gun (Datum point to breech face), while clearance is how much slop or extra space from the flat of the case head to the breech when the case is fully forward against the datum point in the chamber. I often times call it "artificial headspace". We create this by pushing the shoulder back too far. We create an unsafe "headspace" condition in a gun where the mechanical headspace is fine.
The sizer adjustment determines by how much clearance, or "headspace", the cartridge has each time it is fired.
Headspace is a static measurement mechanically built into a gun (Datum point to breech face), while clearance is how much slop or extra space from the flat of the case head to the breech when the case is fully forward against the datum point in the chamber. I often times call it "artificial headspace". We create this by pushing the shoulder back too far. We create an unsafe "headspace" condition in a gun where the mechanical headspace is fine.
grubbylabs
Member
So its Hornady's fault you did not use the lube right?
I picked up a set of the RCBS X dies for my AR15 and I am very happy with them, but so far my plain RCBS 308 dies are working just fine for my bolt gun and my new DPMS GII Recon.
zerobarrier
Contributing Member
I use the hornady dies and one shot. If used properly they will work.Only had one problem when I did not apply the one shot correctly and got a stuck case, I just bought the rcbs remover and it worked great. Now after thousands of rounds of 223, 308, and 50ae with the one shot applied properly I have not had a problem.I made the mistake of buying Hornady dies for .223. Decapping pin broke once, replaced by Hornady. When their one-shot lubricant failed and a case became welded to the sizing die, I sent to Dillon for a set of dies and lubricant. Couldn't be happier with both.
bangswitch
Member
Chambering for a semi auto may sometimes be improved with a small base die, but it's not always required. I also use LC once-fired brass, in a Springfield M1A. I bought a Redding SB die to size the brass for the rifle, but find that just using my RCBS full length die works just as well, I have no feeding/chambering issues at all. I also use a standard full length die for my AR Blackout and have no chambering issues there, either. But, I do read where some guys have to use SB dies for their semi's, every gun is a little different and you have to experiment for the specific gun's needs. I never just neck-size for the M1A, though, where I can neck size twice or more between full-length sizing for my .308 bolt gun.
ironworkerwill
Member
I just bought the Hornady .223 rem fl die this past Saturday. It came with an extra zip spindle and 2 extra decapping pins.
Ofcourse I did'nt read the instructions. It's the innate nature of my being... Any how, the shoulder of the first case to be sized came out looking like that of a Weatherby..rounded.
After fiddling with it a minute, the next case came out fine, the expander was too high. However, it did not knock the primer out. After one more adjustment the primers came out as usual.
The spiral groove cut into the ''zip spindle'' I'd thought was adjustment threads. Much as the RCBS die does. NO, I suppose they are there to allow the collet to girp the spindle. The spindle just slides, or rather zips, through the collet, simular to the Lee die.
The seat die is akin to the Forster or Redding comp seat die. The bullet is guided up to a stop plug. The factory oil formed an air tight seal on the bullet guide against the die body and once the inital resistance was overcome it worked flawlessly. This die will not crimp.
After running 100+ rounds(SOTA 5.56 upper) with new Frederal and resized PPU brass, I have had no chambering issues.
Ofcourse I did'nt read the instructions. It's the innate nature of my being... Any how, the shoulder of the first case to be sized came out looking like that of a Weatherby..rounded.
After fiddling with it a minute, the next case came out fine, the expander was too high. However, it did not knock the primer out. After one more adjustment the primers came out as usual.
The spiral groove cut into the ''zip spindle'' I'd thought was adjustment threads. Much as the RCBS die does. NO, I suppose they are there to allow the collet to girp the spindle. The spindle just slides, or rather zips, through the collet, simular to the Lee die.
The seat die is akin to the Forster or Redding comp seat die. The bullet is guided up to a stop plug. The factory oil formed an air tight seal on the bullet guide against the die body and once the inital resistance was overcome it worked flawlessly. This die will not crimp.
After running 100+ rounds(SOTA 5.56 upper) with new Frederal and resized PPU brass, I have had no chambering issues.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
Like most of the others I feel Hornady dies are as good or better than most does available out there. Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, Lee and Redding will all produce top quality ammo the differences being some of the features. Choose the company's dies that give you want you want but all will correctly produce quality ammo.
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