Stupid die question

[J_McLeod]

I'm thinking about starting to load .308. I usually use Lee dies but they are sold out, so I'm considering RCBS or Hornady. I'm leaning towards the Hornady because I can pick up locally at Midsouth. Does anyone have an opinion on these dies? What else do I need? I assume I'd need a Lee shellholder to use them in my Lee Turret.


http://www.midwayusa.com/find?sortby=1&itemsperpage=20&newcategorydimensionid=11971

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=00005546358

 

[mdi]

RCBS "style" shell holders are universal; will fit 99% of new presses including the Lee turret, so any manufacturer's shell holders will work. I have heard no negative statements about Hornady dies, just make sure you use a good case lube...

 

[Ifishsum]

Hornady's bullet seating dies are better than average IMO, with the floating guide that keeps the bullet centered on the neck. Especially so with smaller size bullets but it's very nice with all of them.

 

[PhotoBiker]

I just started loading .308 with Hornady dies.

For what it's worth:

- I have a Hornady Single Stage Press, therefore my first choice is Hornady.
- There is a a rebate (100 free bullets) for the Hornday (to be fair, RCBS now has a rebate)
- I like the Hornady Bullet seating die much better.

With that said, I broke my decapping pin on the Hornady last weekend after about my 25th case. Turns out LC cases are a bit tough to size and decap at the same time.

Lesson learned.

I bought a Lee Universal decapping die and it arrived yesterday (Friday). This will allow me to decap only after firing (before tumbling) and just size only in my Hornady sizing die.

Today, the first time I used the Lee Universal, the die everyone claims is unbreakable, I broke said decapping pin after a Berdan snuck into the mix. I thought I'd gone through them all and removed all the Berdans, this one literally snuck in. I did buy a spare decapping pin so I am good to go for now.

Regardless of my lame-brain shenanigans, I do recommend the Lee for decapping and then the Hornady for sizing & seating.

FYI: If you are trying to reload LC brass, it will take a couple of passes through the sizing die to get it right.

 

[savanahsdad]

I have, lee, pacific, redding, rcbs, and Horndy dies on hand I like the lee's for handgun cal's and Redding's for rifle, I feel there the best of all I have tryed

 

[Grumulkin]

I have nothing against the quality of Hornady dies. My only criticism of them is that they're big and clunky as are their die boxes.

I prefer RCBS dies because their die boxes are better, the dies are of more reasonable size and there is a little relief hole in them that lets excess lube escape the die so the shoulders of the case are less likely to be collapsed by the excess lube. What I don't like about RCBS dies is their stupid lock rings; I discard them and buy Hornady lock rings for my dies.

 

[JLDickmon]

I use RCBS dies primarily.. that being said, I do have a few sets of Lee dies.. and pretty much all Lee shellholders.. in a Lyman press..

 

[orthophonic]

I reckon that I have been lucky but I have Hornady, RCBS, and Lee dies and every one of them plus their shell holders have always worked well for me. I'm happy with any of them and it shows to me that manufacturers for our hobby are great people!

 

[griffinbk]

i have rcbs and hornady. I have to say that i hate the hornady. I use rcbs for 308, 223, and 45 acp. Hornady for the 45-70 and 300 blk out. I got my first stuck case with a hornady. Well tell the truth reloading the straight wall cases with hornady is awful. The 300 is a little better i guess with it being a bottle neck. The resizing is ok. The issue i have with it though is the bullet guide gets stuck in the up position, and the bullet seating pin has seemed to get offset and out of place. What I'm saying is when the market settles down I'm replacing the hornadys with the rcbs