Easiest dies to adjust between different loads

[CKweigand]

I use spacers but as walkalong suggests. I have a die set dedicated for the magnums and another for the specials.

I just prefer uniformity or OCD maybe, who knows.

“Everything in the reloading room has its place, and every place has its thing..”

 

[FROGO207]

I also have primerless "setup rounds" for everything I load and resettting the dies is really quite easy when using them. YMMV

 

[HEAVY METAL 1]

I use automotive valve shims as posters above have said they do; that way no need to fuss with lock rings. As far as seating dies I look for used ones at gunshows where they can be picked up for less $ than new dies. The Redding unit looks good, but I cannot justify that $ when I can spend less and just buy another complete die or use the shims.

 

[TheDomFather]

If I'm reading this correctly, you're talking about changing bullets profiles within the same caliber.

So you're asking about adjusting seating depth to allow for longer or shooter bullets.

For that there is nothing better on the market than the Redding Competition Seating die. It allows adjustments in increments of .001". So all you need to do is seat one bullet, measure, and then dial up the change you want. Just note what the reading on the die before and after the adjustment and you'll be able to switch back and forth easily.

View attachment 819713

I use it when switching between a 158gr RNFP plated bullet and a 170gr RN Hi-Tek coated bullet...one for practice and the other for competition

I am using for the most part this die as well. I have this die for .224 valkyrie, .308 win and 6.5 Creedmoor, What i would say is two comments. 1. these dies are very expensive 2. you need to put an o ring between the micrometer component and the body of the die otherwise when you spin the micrometer it will spin the whole component vs the seating stem. That being said I will never buy another seating die that doesnt have a micrometer built in. It makes it so muchh easier to dial in your OAL. RCBS, Hornady, Forester, Redding all make them so choose what works best for you.

 

[someguy2800]

The Lee seating dies have a big thumb screw on the top for seating depth that are easy to adjust. In 9mm I switch back and forth between two bullets with two sharpie marks on the die showing where to set it.

In 38 special, 357 mag, and 357 maximum I share the same sizing die, but I have separate expanding, seating, and crimp dies for each. Too much hassle going back and forth and spare dies are cheap. I keep a dummy cartridge to set oal for each bullet in these.

 

[someguy2800]

You can usually find older non carbide die sets on eBay for like $20. So buy a good set of carbide dies to use for specials, and a cheap used set to get an expander, seater, and crimper for magnums.

 

[cfullgraf]

When I got started in reloading back around 1980, I used RCBS dies for 38 Special and 357 Magnum. The die set came with a spacer so that the die set could be used between the two cartridges without making adjustments. I found they worked fine, primarily for the mouth expander die.

The bullet seater die needed to be re-adjusted for the different bullet that I might use between 38 Special and 357 Magnum. Also, I quickly began using a separate crimp die from the seating die and it frequently needed to be adjusted since I did not trim my cases.

Over time, I have evolved to having dedicated sets of dies for each cartridge that I reload for. In some cases, I resize cases on one press and reload on a different press so in these cases, I have dedicated dies for each instance.

I still use those 1980 vintage 38 Special/357 Magnum dies, but they are dedicated to only one of the cartridges and more dies have been purchased for loading the other cartridge.

The spacer worked well. Thinner shims as mentioned by Walkalong, would also be beneficial for making finer adjustments as necessary

 

[WestKentucky]

Adjust? I don’t have designated tool heads or anything so I just do a setup when I put the dies on the press. I keep a dummy round in the box so I just go through the stages setting up with the dummy as a datum. If I am loading low pressure rounds and I feel good that nothing slipped then I will try one...but I usually make a point of adjusting out as I remove dies.

 

[Series70]

When switching from 38 special to 357 magnum, I used a spacer of a nickel and a penny sandwiched under the lock rings. Worked close enough for me.

 

[WelshShooter]

Call me cheap, but I just put a different colour sharpie witness mark on the seating stem, die threads, lock ring and press. I write down the colour coding for bullet brand etc on my die box for reference. Much cheaper than mucking around with these expensive micrometer dies

 

[Bfh_auto]

Bullet depth is easy on any brand. Crimp is a little worse. Lee is actually pretty good for dies. O ring locking rather than an allen head set screw or locking ring. Or use your rcbs/ hornady/redding etc set and crimp in another stage with the lee crimp die. Imo rcbs is the worst to make changes to. Great company though

Funny thing is I throw the o-ring away and replace it with a Hornady split ring. I don't like RCBS does either even though I have about half a dozen of them.
To the OP, I would get a micrometer die if I wanted to switch between bullets a lot.

 

[lightman]

Having owned and used several brands of dies I really don't see much difference between them. I have a couple of sets that have a factory spacer and found it to be pretty useless. The shims that Walkalong pictured would work better. Mostly I just readjust the die for different bullets. I have a dummy cartridge for most of my favorites bullets and that helps me more than anything. I have a few Redding Competition seaters for my more accurate rifles and the micrometer is nice for making changes but I can't honestly say that they are any better than the Bonanza BR seater that I have without the micrometer.