Favorite dies for 30-06

[Guy B. Meredith]

Doing a round of the forums to learn what ya'll are using for 30-06. I guess I'll finally get into rifle rounds on my Hornady LNL AP for my M1 Garand now that the $.30 rounds from CMP seem to have dried up.

What dies do you use?

 

[rcmodel]

I don't care for Hornady pistol dies at all, and I don't own any of thier rifle dies and never will.

If I was going to buy a new set of 30-06 dies, I'd get another set of RCBS, or possibly Redding.

rc

 

[R.W.Dale]

For bolt actions hands down the Lee collet neck die.


For autoloaders pretty much any FL die with the exclusion of those Rube Goldberg hornady sets

 

[Steve in PA]

I own nothing but RCBS dies for the two dozen or so calibers I reload for.

A few years ago I switched from the reular FL dies, to the X-die for the Garand and M4.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

The RCBS site does not seem to be search friendly or information rich. I see from other sources that the X-DIEs appear to trim cases as well as full length resizing. How well do they work?

 

[USSR]

Guy,

I use the Redding Competition Die Set in .30-06. For my Garand, I run the brass thru the body die, and then the necksizing die.

Don

 

[Walkalong]

Redding, Forster, or RCBS.

 

[alfack]

I just bought a Dillon 3 die set. It has the full length resizer, but I am loading for a semi-auto. I normally prefer the Redding neck sizers and competition seaters for my bolts, thouigh.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

IMO for your semi-auto you should use full-length size dies and also IMO the Lee or any that has the vent hole is preferable.
for the admittedly limited calibers I load for I prefer Lee both rifle and handgun (powder thru expander dies)

 

[ants]

Put it in perspective...

You have been shooting 30-cent rounds in your Garand.

I bravely hazard a guess that you're not shooting tiny one-hole groups at 600 meters.

Any set of dies will work excellent for you. The bushing neck sizers and micrometer seaters that serve the 1/2 MOA crowd won't produce ammo that suddenly makes your Garand accurate. Or shoot any better at all.

In fact, the cheapest rifle dies on the market will make better ammo than that $.30 stuff you've been shooting, and the cheapest rifle dies on the market are actually pretty good dies.

 

[PA Freedom]

FWIW, ive been using standard RCBS dies for 30-06 for years without any sort of problems. Ive also been using Lee and Lyman for a long time and have had no problems with these, either.

 

[Slamfire]

Because I shoot Garands as well as other 30-06 rifles, I small base everything.

When you start reloading for your Garand you need a cartridge head space gage.

A wilson is pictured.



I highly recommend you use a small base die, with a decent case lube. Like Imperial Sizing wax or RCBS water soluble. It is just about impossible to small base size a case using a spray on lube.

Size your cases to gage minimum. Prime all cases by hand and verify that no primers are above the case head.

I also recommend using the least sensitive primers you can find, I use CCI #34's.

The reasons for this is to minimize the chance of having a slamfire. Or worse, an out of battery slamfire.

You absolutely do not want any delay to bolt closure in a Garand. All the time, as that bolt is pushing a round into the chamber, that firing pin is tapping the heck out of the primer. If you don’t believe it, just look at the pock mark on the primer of a chambered round. Reducing the case to factory dimensions, or close to it, with a small base die, and sizing to gage minimum, reduces the chances of a slamfire.

Lyman made small base dies that reduced the case diameter more than any other brand. Unfortunately Lyman stopped making those dies. My RCBS small base die is an excellent die.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

slamfire nailed it IMO.
the X39 rounds that I've loaded by just touching the shoulder back and neck sizeing have showed primer indents on rounds that chambered but I did not trigger.
they sure shot good groups though.

 

[ranger335v]

Dies are dies. IF you and your rifle is good enough to shoot 1/2" groups consistantly you should consider Forster BR or Redding Competition dies, otherwise it won't make any difference. In -06 I have (or have had) dies by Lyman, Lee, RCBS, Pacific, Lachmiller, Eagle and Forster. They have all worked quite well. I have other brands for other cartridges and they all work.

Far too many people put far too much faith in a given brand. There is really very little difference in the ammo that can be produced as a function of brand. Working tolerances vary as much between sets of a brand as they do between brands.

 

[lgbloader]

I have the Redding Comp set for my bolts and the deluxe set for my Garand. I still have my old RCBS 2 die set from years ago and I just puchased a X-sizer for 30-06 after trying it in 223 a couple of times.

I jumped the gun and bought the X-sizer for 308 Win as well... What can I say, I got caught up in the moment.

LGB

 

[Uncle Chan]

I use Lee.

 

[Steve in PA]

No need to use small base dies. All it does is work the brass more. If you want to, then more power to you.

With the X-die, you trim once....and then use the X-die to resize. I have several firings through this brass and never had to trim.

Same thing with my .223 brass. Regular X-die...........several firings.......no trimming.

 

[Slamfire]

RCBS makes a small base X die in 30-06.

 

[rodregier]

Redding 3 die set with the carbide expander upgrade and wilson gage to feed my Garands.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

ants,

You are correct. I have a CMP Field Grade and both LC and Greek ammo from CMP. The rifle can do 2 MOA on the bench so 50 yards is the longest distance for a single large hole with 8 rounds.

Unless I get involved in competition I am thinking that I'll just add to my RCBS collection and consider the Redding Competition seating die down the way--once Obama gets the economy back in gear.

Now to learn the intricacies of doing rifle rounds in a way that makes best use of my progressive press. The extra operations compared to handgun loads don't seem to make that a no brainer.

 

[Alaska]

Hornady Seater Die

Hornady Seater Die and RCBS Small Base Sizer Die

 

[Walkalong]

Now to learn the intricacies of doing rifle rounds in a way that makes best use of my progressive press. The extra operations compared to handgun loads don't seem to make that a no brainer.

Run the brass through the press the first time with only the sizer/expander. Then trim if needed, tumble, and prime. Now run it through to load. That is how I do all calibers, pistol and rifle. (no expander first trip through on straight walled brass that uses a secong die to expand) AC

 

[ants]

Yup, Walkalong.

Depending upon your trimmer, you may decide to prime before or after trimming. You figure that out on your own. (Hand priming after trimming works great!)

You will probably get into the habit of prepping hundreds or thousands of cases by cleaning, inspecting, sizing, trimming, and priming. Then stockpile them aside for loading whenever you need ammo.