Lee vs RCBS dies

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I started reloading with Lee dies, and they will work fine. However, over time, I am gradually "upgrading" all my dies to RCBS and Reddings.

Truthfully, I prefer Reddings over RCBS.
 
love the whole lee systems!

load a lot of 45 lc and 45acp using the 4 die system,, the buldge buster factory crimp 4th die , wow what a system for 45 acp! dam, all the rounds are perfect, even if ya get a bad one you know it when your crimping ,way before a failure to load or eject! thats the name of the game, sort out the bad ones fire the good ones! you can pay more, but hard to beat lee!!!!!! I am loading 300 rounds a week, every week, lots of 45 acp 45 long colt 357 38 sp and 32 mags .243,22-250 270 shootem if ya gotem people! go USA! thank god for our great armed forces!
 
Same here. Nobody seems to make all the best dies I like. Lee makes great collet-type neck sizing dies for rifles, and collet-type crimp dies for rifle and bottleneck pistol cartridges. Lyman and Redding make excellent expander dies for pistol cartridges. Forster and Redding (comp series) make the best rifle seating dies, and Hornady makes great seating dies for pistol cartridges. Forster and Hornady put the best lock rings on their dies.

Andy
 
"I do agree that the RCBS dies give me more consistant results, especially in OAL."

Now, THAT puzzles me.
 
If I had to pay 5X or 6X as much for Redding dies as Lee dies, I'd GLADLY pay it!


There just isn't any comparison. I own, and use, Lyman, C-H, Hornady and RCBS dies as well, and they're all superb dies. But even they don't compare with Redding, IMHO.

A set of dies is a lifetime investment. Why not get the best??:confused:
 
i have a lee speed set for .38spl-,357 magnum and one for 9mm.... i like lee dies and they work very well for me... i will stay with lee dies and presses because they have done very good by me when i've needed them..... i have seen the other brands and while they seem prettier my lee dies work just fine thank you..............

LIFE IS SHORT.....
 
I have several sets of each brand. I like the locking rings on the RCBS dies as the Lee's can be moved . My solution to that is a mark with a magic marker on the ring and body to make sure everything is still where it is supposed to be. I can tell no difference between in the quality of ammo loaded with either brand.
 
I have used both RCBS and LEE. I have found that lee dies are a little smoother inside than RCBS. I have gotten cases stuck in the RCBS die, never LEE. no I did not change lube or amount of lube. as far as lube goes, I use hornady unique. lasts a long time and it is GOOD.
 
I have over a hundred die sets sitting in the reloading room mainly because I find I like a particular feature of one brand and another feature of another brand but in the same calibre.

For example I like the Lee carbide pistol die and the expander die for use in a progressive press but I like the Hornady bullet seating die.

Other posters have sort of ranked the die brands on "quality" but have tended to disregard individual features.

Where I disagree with most of the posters is that I no longer buy standard RCBS dies. I will buy X dies on occasion if I need that feature, but I think the standard of the RCBS external finish sucks. Maybe I got a few bad dies but they were so bad that I gave them away. Couldn't bear to handle them, the threads were an embarassment and simply should not have passed quality control.

All the other brands make good ammunition within their limitations which an experienced reloader will understand.

To answer the OP, I do not hesitate to buy Lee dies even though they occasionally need a mild deburring of some of their sharp edges.

For most rifle cartridges I end up with a Lee set(s) for the Collet NS die and the Factory Crimp die and a Forster set for the Seating die.
 
I'm too old and been doing this too long to drink any makers Kool-Aid. I have no blind loyalty to inanimate objects or brands, just give me my features.


otblue: "Other posters have sort of ranked the die brands on "quality" but have tended to disregard individual features.... All the other brands make good ammunition within their limitations which an experienced reloader will understand."

Exactly so. The average "quality" of all dies is equal if we ignore trivial externals and consider the quality of the ammo that can be made with them.

User features do matter but saying something I don't personally care for is a "quality" issue is silly, it's a personal taste and nothing more.


"For most rifle cartridges I end up with a Lee set(s) for the Collet NS die and the Factory Crimp die and a Forster set for the Seating die."

Add a body die, any make, and your list is also my choice. I frequently modify a standard FL sizer by boring out the neck a few thousanths over normal size to make my own body die and the Lee Delux die set is great for that. I just add a Lee FCD and Forster seater to complete the set I want.
 
I'm curious.... what is it about the forster seating die that makes people substitute it in to a set ? I only load pistol cartridges (but am gearing up for rifle very soon), so I'm curious. As pistol seating dies go, you could pretty much get away with a block of wood for a seating die, let alone a forster die.

is it the ease of depth replication / ogive engagement method ? I've heard complaints of varying seating depths in rifle bullets due to ogive variation and plug design in the seating die.

Just curious.....
 
Short of the hand dies, the Redding Competition seaters are the best, followed very closely by the Forster.

That's why. :)
 
best how ? all they do is push the bullet down. Short of geometry issues, i don't see how one seating die can be better than another. Amplify please :)

ETA: OK, I can also see how adjustments in thousandths via micrometer instead of thread-guessing would be handy for competition and such.

Other than that, i still don't see why a 100$ die is better than a 10$ lee die.
 
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"I'm curious.... what is it about the forster seating die that makes people substitute it in to a set ?"

Walk is correct, it's a concentricity thing. Not a vast difference but, on average, a clear difference.

The Forster seater was designed with a full body chamber (works much like a Wilson hand die) that slides under spring pressure inside the die body. The case is fully enclosed before the bullet contacts the seating plug so the seating is virtually as straight as with a BR type seater. The Redding seaters are direct copies of the Forster system, they stated that after the Forster (originally Bonanza) patents expired. And ONLY the Forster/Redding Comp. seaters work that way.

The micrometer seating heads, all of them, add nothing to the quality of the seating, it's a user convience and that's all it is. I paid for a mic head on my first Forster seater, haven't done so since, I find it easy enough to set my OAL exactly as I wish just using my caliper.
 
I have Forster seaters in .22 Hornet, .222, .223 & .222 Mag. None have the micrometer top since they were not available back then. I do not have any Redding Comp seaters for rifle as of yet, but know folks who do. I plan on getting one in .308. I have been loading .308 with standard Redding dies for a hunting rifle and playing, but my nephew bought a very nice .308 bolt gun which may be able to benefit from the better seater. My sons father in law just bought a Steyr .308 as well and I told him I would help him load for it.
 
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