Cougar71
Member
RCBS, Lee, or Hornady. I have used rcbs exclusively for my rifle reloading and sometimes they were a PIA! I heard good things about Hornady and Lee. Just wanted opinions about what yall use the most, 3 die, 4 die. etc. Thanks!
Pistol Dies
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Lost Sheep
Member
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What chamberings will you be loading? What kind of press? (Single stage, turret, progressive and the brand might make a difference, too.)
Do you batch process or continuous process? If you charge with powder on-press or not, for example, it would make a difference having a powder-through die.
Lost Sheep
What chamberings will you be loading? What kind of press? (Single stage, turret, progressive and the brand might make a difference, too.)
Do you batch process or continuous process? If you charge with powder on-press or not, for example, it would make a difference having a powder-through die.
Lost Sheep
Blue68f100
Member
A std pistol dies set (straight wall brass) is a 3 pc set, Sizer, expander, seater. Some ammo uses a taper crimp. Hornady does not include a TC with their die sets. So this in purchased as an extra expense. I like Hornady dies better than RCBS and LEE. Hornady's bullet seater die has a drop down tube the helps to align the bullet and gets your fingers clear of the press. Lee 4pc die set includes a Factory Crimp Die. I do not use any FCD. Some use this to fix something they are doing wrong. I do not even own one in 35+ yrs of reloading, not needed in my opinion. Lee does included a shell holder, where the other does not. I do not like Lee or RCBS Locking rings, junk. Hornady split rings are far superior to RCBS and Lee's.
Now if your using a Progressive press some dies work better than others. Some presses require longer die bodies. Hornady uses a larger radius sizing die that helps it align up. The TiNi coating is slicker than any other dies I have used. I have Lee, RCBS and Hornady in 357mag dies. The Hornady sizing die will require almost 1/2 the effort when compared to RCBS and Lee.
Now if your using a Progressive press some dies work better than others. Some presses require longer die bodies. Hornady uses a larger radius sizing die that helps it align up. The TiNi coating is slicker than any other dies I have used. I have Lee, RCBS and Hornady in 357mag dies. The Hornady sizing die will require almost 1/2 the effort when compared to RCBS and Lee.
ranger335v
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I don't understand the 'pita'. I use all brands of dies and find that while there are small differences in things like lock rings and how the decap/expander rods are adjusted but they all work equally well for me. The choice of three or four die sets is just a matter of personal taste in working methods rather than any absolute 'best' way to do things.
oldreloader
Member
I have dies from Lee, Hornady, Lyman, RCBS, and Redding. They all load good ammo.My last few sets have been Lee and the next ones will probably be Lee too. for Lee, I buy the 3 die rifle and 4 die pistol sets.
Cougar71
Member
A couple of my weatherbys, for some reason, the rcbs dies would not size my brass where it would chamber in my rifles. n
ever figured it out. Got the Hornady dies and never had that problem.
Im using a proressive press for my pistols in 40 s&w and 9mm, and 380.
Hi Lost Sheep, Jim.
For pistol dies, I like the Lee 4 die sets. First the resizing die is a carbide sizing die and while you may not need the Factory Crimp Die, I like to have it on hand to use it with my Bulge Buster kit from Lee to run cases through to insure that the WHOLE case is back to factory specs as well as using it after seating the bullet to insure that all flare is taken out of the mouth of the case and will feed without ANY problems.
Just my take on the matter.
Jim
For pistol dies, I like the Lee 4 die sets. First the resizing die is a carbide sizing die and while you may not need the Factory Crimp Die, I like to have it on hand to use it with my Bulge Buster kit from Lee to run cases through to insure that the WHOLE case is back to factory specs as well as using it after seating the bullet to insure that all flare is taken out of the mouth of the case and will feed without ANY problems.
Just my take on the matter.
Jim
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I have RCBS and Lee carbide dies.
I did buy one set of Hornady dies some years ago. They had the titanium coated sizing ring (gold ring) because Hornady doesn't make carbide dies.
In my case, the titanium coating wore away in fairly short order and I trashed them.
rc
I did buy one set of Hornady dies some years ago. They had the titanium coated sizing ring (gold ring) because Hornady doesn't make carbide dies.
In my case, the titanium coating wore away in fairly short order and I trashed them.
rc
gamestalker
member
I'm on the same page as Ranger335v in that all brands have worked 100% for me. There are certain features some have that others don't that are an added convenience, but in short are no better / worse than another brand.
Thompsoncustom
Member
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I would say the lee carbide 4-die set it's effective and cheap.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
For handgun calibers I use mostly Lee dies because they work well and they are inexpensive.
montanaoffroader
Member
I use RCBS dies for rifle cartridges and Lee for the handgun stuff. I actually prefer the Lee die sets, but I got a really good deal (free) on the RCBS stuff.
No experience with Hornady reloading stuff, good bad or otherwise. If I had to choose between Lee and RCBS, it would be probably be Lee that gets the nod.
No experience with Hornady reloading stuff, good bad or otherwise. If I had to choose between Lee and RCBS, it would be probably be Lee that gets the nod.
Cougar71
Member
Thanks for the recomendations. I think I will be getting the Lee set.
gahunter12
Member
Of those listed I would go for the Lee dies also. I just purchased my first set of Lee dies for my wife's 38spl mainly for the FCD. They have worked fine, but I'm not as satisfied with them as I am with my Dillon dies. My only complaint so far has been with the internal finish. The Lee dies are not as smooth as My Dillon dies. I noticed the seating dies was dragging on the case mouths a little. I think it had more to do with the angle of my expander/powder die. I ended up backing out on my powder die where it still functioned properly but didn't put any flare on the mouth at all. This did solve my issue with the dragging and brass build up, but I was having to ride the bullets up into the seating die to keep them from falling off. This was a PITA. Last night I used a buffer pad on my dremel with some flitz and polished my Lee seating die at a slow speed just to polish it up some. Now I can put a little flare and it works Much better! I am pleased with the Lee dies now and do like the adjustment knob on top.
mingansr
Member
Cougar71, for what it's worth, this is a copy of what i just posted in the 'gettin started' thread.
i'm new to reloading, but for what it's worth, here's what i've bought
i have purchased a new Lee Loadmaster for my .40s&w XD 40 (by the way, you can't purchase lee stuff for a better price than 'FSReloading.com', the factory authorized distributor for Lee Precision loaders and parts. i got mine, and they are on sale now, for 220 plus ship. i live in WI so i had to pay the sales tax. eBay couldn't come any closer than 239 plus ship.
the Loadmaster is a five station turret, with a huge 1 3/4" piston. it's massive. the price included 3 dies for 40sw, auto powder measure, auto primer feed. i purchased the fourth die, a Factory Crimp Die (the third die, which seats bullet, should then be backed off so no 'roll crimp' will be done). that was another 16 bucks. the Loadmaster can do all pistol and even the magnum rifle calibers. comes with shellplate for the 5 positions. you can quick swap out to another caliber in no time, as i understand.
the bug has bitten me, so i'm gonna reload my .30/06 and .270 soon, too.
the site has videos for reloading in the various presses, BUT at my xdtalk.com, one guy gave me the info on a great site, called 'loadmastervideos.com'. the Glock boys donated the money for the site, and it's great. cuz i saw a youtube video on loadmaster that just was not put together well, at least for a newbie like myself.
if you're gonna just load rifle calibers, perhaps the other guys might be right about other presses. IMO the Loadmaster is the best. other manufacturers are gonna charge a whole lot more. since every bullet i shoot comes from my IRA, dwindling fast now, i felt the loadmaster was the best value for me.
i'm new to reloading, but for what it's worth, here's what i've bought
i have purchased a new Lee Loadmaster for my .40s&w XD 40 (by the way, you can't purchase lee stuff for a better price than 'FSReloading.com', the factory authorized distributor for Lee Precision loaders and parts. i got mine, and they are on sale now, for 220 plus ship. i live in WI so i had to pay the sales tax. eBay couldn't come any closer than 239 plus ship.
the Loadmaster is a five station turret, with a huge 1 3/4" piston. it's massive. the price included 3 dies for 40sw, auto powder measure, auto primer feed. i purchased the fourth die, a Factory Crimp Die (the third die, which seats bullet, should then be backed off so no 'roll crimp' will be done). that was another 16 bucks. the Loadmaster can do all pistol and even the magnum rifle calibers. comes with shellplate for the 5 positions. you can quick swap out to another caliber in no time, as i understand.
the bug has bitten me, so i'm gonna reload my .30/06 and .270 soon, too.
the site has videos for reloading in the various presses, BUT at my xdtalk.com, one guy gave me the info on a great site, called 'loadmastervideos.com'. the Glock boys donated the money for the site, and it's great. cuz i saw a youtube video on loadmaster that just was not put together well, at least for a newbie like myself.
if you're gonna just load rifle calibers, perhaps the other guys might be right about other presses. IMO the Loadmaster is the best. other manufacturers are gonna charge a whole lot more. since every bullet i shoot comes from my IRA, dwindling fast now, i felt the loadmaster was the best value for me.
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