Best Buy in 308 Dies?

[Chuck Perry]

Picking up a new Ruger 308 bolt gun today, and I will need to buy a set of dies to go with. I'm looking for experience based advice on a set of dies. I will not be shooting beyond 500 yards anytime soon, nor any type of formal competition. Still, I'd like to produce the best ammo I can. Loading will be done on a single stage press. I've become a Redding guy as of late, and am leaning towards a Redding FL die set with their Comp seater. I see there is an RCBS version that is a bit cheaper. Forster has their own version of a similar setup. I don't mind spending the money, but I'd prefer to just spend it once!

 

[56hawk]

Lee dies are hard to beat for price or quality. They even sell a set with a full length and a neck sizing die.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=148525

 

[scythefwd]

You can get a used set of dies for 15 dollars on ebay. They tend to run about 32 otherwise. Lee will be the least expensive and they make good dies.

 

[USSR]

Chuck,

Redding and Forster are the cream of the crop when it comes to standard competition dies.

Don

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, both are very good.

 

[Jasper1573]

I have a set of plain RCBS FL dies and a set of Forster dies with the Ultra bullet seater. While the RCBS bullet seater is good, the Forster Ultra can be dialed to an exact length and will seat the bullet within .001 on my RCBS Rock Chucker press. I suppose most all dies will do the job, but the competition grade bullet seaters are superior...I like the Forster Ultra...I believe I paid under $100 for the Forster set and about $33 for the RCBS.

Here is a review/comparison...

http://www.6mmbr.com/catalog/item/1433308/945450.htm

 

[lightman]

Best buy can mean a number of things,not sure how to answer this.All dies can make good ammo,so its kind of a personal choice.Your already kind of a "Redding guy",that would be a good place to start.I have several of their delux die sets,and am happy with them.Have watched Midway's sale paper and added comp seaters to a few of them. Lightman

 

[RugerNut9]

LEE.

 

[popper]

Chuck
Study long range shooting to find what it takes to load long range bullets. Then choose your equipment.

 

[mgmorden]

I own dies from just about every company out there. I still think the "best buy" (value for your $$$) is Lee, but when I went to spend a little more money I tend to lean towards RCBS dies.

 

[jacksgd]

Lee Collet die
Redding Body die
Forster B.R. Seating die

You should be able to pick up a set like that for under $80.00 if you shop around.
The only way you will load more concentric ammo is if you get an arbor setup.

 

[Hesenwine]

I've sorta become fond of Hornady dies lately. I really like their seating die.

 

[gamestalker]

I use RCBS FL with comp. seater, it's everything you'll ever need according to your post. It's also quite a bit less expensive. If it were me, I would go with the RCBS, and then put the money you would have spent on the more expensive dies toward a neck die, about $25. By doing this you'll have a the FL die that comes with the RCBS comp set to bump the sholders back when needed.

 

[dagger dog]

I like the Lee collet neck size only die, have used them in three different calibers including .308 Winchester, they are very convenient and easy to use ,requires no lube.

I use the RCBS competition full length die to resize when needed, and the micrometer type seater die to seat the bullets. The seater die has a window cut out of the die body near the top and a sliding bullet guide that makes sure the bullet is seated straight with minium runout, the cut out allows you to insert the bullet into the guide with out having to feel your way to the case mouth, it requires an extended shell holder which comes with the die set.

The Lee dead length seating die that comes with the Lee Deluxe Collet die set does a great job also but the RCBS Competition seater die is so much more user friendly. But as far as value that goes to the Lee Deluxe Collet. Accuracy, well they're neck to neck in my book.

 

[jcwit]

Lee makes a darn good die set for the money, with that said I don't believe you could go wrong with any of the current manufactures. Just depends what you're after and how much you wish to spend.

 

[Funshooter45]

Up until fairly recently, most of my pistol dies were Lee and most of my rifle dies were RCBS and Lyman, simply because that's what the local stores carried. But Most recently, I got a set of rifle dies made by Lee, along with the neck sizing dies for a couple of my other rifles made by Lee. I have to say that I like them better than the RCBS.

 

[MEHavey]

I've become a Redding guy as of late, and am leaning towards a Redding FL die set with their Comp seater.

- For balanced money v quality: RCBS two-die standard is the benchmark. It'll produce 99% rounds.
- For the best of the best/last 1% (IMHO) Redding Competition set.

(But the Forster Comp Seater is as good or slighter better)

 

[ranger335v]

"Lee Collet die
Redding Body die
Forster B.R. Seating die"

Yep, no contest. And I DO own all brands of dies, including several that are no longer available. On average, I've found no measureable difference between any common dies of any brand, I find there is as much variation between dies of the same brand as between brands. But those listed above always produce very good ammo IF the loader is very good; meaning no dies, or press, will make the loader better than he is.