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Old October 4, 2005, 11:36 AM   #1
MrGee
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Which Brand of Dies

searching around for a set of loading dies for my .308, i've come to the crossroads between Forester Ultra bench rest, RCBS Competition an Readings Comp.... all seem to have good qualities i think i'm looking for, but not sure ...they are approx... same in price? [which would bring up the best place to buy as well?] just looking for some advice ..maybe from people who have tried these set-ups or maybe have a better idea then the above.. i'm using Lyman's equippenmt at present an think maybe better dies can tighten a group up some,,.... open to any an all suggestions Thanks Rich G,....
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Old October 4, 2005, 03:32 PM   #2
DanV1317
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for my .308 i'm using all redding dies. Type S neck bushing die, Competiton seater die, and a FL die. They are top notch in my opinion and i bet alot of other people's too.
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Old October 4, 2005, 04:14 PM   #3
AJ Peacock
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I have Redding, Forster and RCBS competition. I don't have anything bad to say about any of them. If I were doing it, I'd get the RCBS, as it includes the tight shell holder that is extended and helps get the opening in the seater die above the press.

Any of them will work fine though. For the most part, the only way to REALLY improve over any of these is to have one made when the barrel is made (same tooling).

Others may have a reason for/against one of them that I haven't experienced.


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Old October 5, 2005, 10:07 AM   #4
MrGee
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thanks... a friend back home uses redding like Dan which got me wondering if the extra expense was worth the outcome , would i really see a difference on paper w/ the any of these suggested dies , like i said i was using plain Lymans but most all my dies are RCBS, liking those myself, but then is the next step even better..? who has the best prices around , i tried looking in Brownells but don't think they selldies at all or at least i didn't find any...
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Old October 5, 2005, 11:02 AM   #5
30Cal
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What sort of group tightening are you looking at? If you're currently seeing >1MoA, then a different brand/design of dies is probably not going to do much if anything for you.

A comp seating die is nice if you've got a large amount of bullet runout with your current die. Many standard dies give great runout measurements, so you might not see any improvement.
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Old October 5, 2005, 04:45 PM   #6
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basically it was the my first time out w/ the rifle an had loaded up some FC brass that i used previously in a [now sold] M1A , i bought new Win. brass but have been waiting to load them with some new Varget powder i ordered , the powder came but the seal was broken open ...so i brought it back an still waiting for the new stuff, in the mean time i have been gathering loading info for the varget.. an got itchy an went to the range. i was shooting a 2x3" group maybe a little less, so i've had time to think on new equipment , the dies are Ok they work fine, but the mind had time to wonder as you can imagine......
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Old October 5, 2005, 06:04 PM   #7
Dave R
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Quote:
I'd get the RCBS, as it includes the tight shell holder that is extended and helps get the opening in the seater die above the press.
Isn't it Redding who dies that? I didn't think RCBS dies included the shellholder...maybe they've changed?

Anyway, Redding is my choice. Easier to adjust by hand/fingers. AND they include the shellholder, which is enough to offset the price difference. AND they include spare decapping pin(s?), which is a major convenience. AND they include the hex wrench for adjusting collars. AND all that stuff has its own nice storage space in the box, which means its all always handy when you need it. Nice.

I've got RCBS, Lee and Redding dies, and Redding is my favorite.
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Old October 5, 2005, 11:55 PM   #8
MrGee
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shell holder

i don't know if Redding comes with... but i was reading yesterday and it said RCBS does come with,.... Forester for sure not.... who has the best prices around..?
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Old October 6, 2005, 09:51 AM   #9
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still waiting for the Varget,,,,, its a rainy day here so went an started to load up some bullets, i just stuck 50 gr.s of IMR 4350 in the .308 case [book says max 52gr.] i can hardly stick the bullet in the case [now thats a comprest load for sure] i hope my scale is right don't see how 52grs would fit ?
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Old October 6, 2005, 11:29 AM   #10
30Cal
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You're not going to make any headway on 2-3" groups by spending money on dies. In a tight rifle, bullets are going to make the biggest difference, and after that, the combination of bullet and powder.

You mentioned an M1A, but that you'd sold it. 2-3" is pretty typical for that rifle if it's not fully match conditioned. I had a standard model that would shoot 2.5MoA with match ammo and nothing I did at the reloading bench could improve on that. 4350 is definitely a no-no in that rifle.

I.e. My M1A supermatch will put any match bullet 150-175grs into 1.5MoA or better, but when I fine tune the powder charge, I can get down under 1MoA. Going to a competition seating die eliminated the occasional flier (1 or 2 out of 20)that I would only see at 600yds. When I use non-match bullets, I see groups as large as 2.5-3MoA depending on the bullet.

Any .308 should shoot a 168gr Match load well. If you still see 2-3" groups with a box of Fed Gold Match, Black Hills, etc, then you probably aren't going to see better results with anything you cook up at the reloading bench.

Ty
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Old October 6, 2005, 12:57 PM   #11
MrGee
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i see what your saying, but i guess i haven't exactly been clear as i tend to do that writing, it doesn't all seen to fit some how.
1st off the M1A was a NM , 2nd i didn't load 4350 for it , i was used 43.0grs-4064. i bought it off a police officer, he needed it to qualify for S S position with it ...then sold it [to me] an bought Rem 700. i thought i was going into match shooting at that time , but my job changed to nights an soon after i sold it. i never got a chance to shoot more the 300yrds, an it held1MOA at that point......
what i was writing about was the .308 [Rem.700PSS] i just
bought an was using the FC brass from the M1A . i had loaded up some 168grMK Sierras w/cci primer 43.grs of imr 4064
an got the 2X3" group at 100 an 200 yards 1st time out with the rifle / all the other stuff came about while waiting for the Varget powder. i just stuck the 50grs of 4350 in a couple of those FC .308 cases this morning an stopped, it didn't look rite... i did mean to confuse you LOL ..... iam already confused myself..Haha.... Max. loads: Speers #11 book says 52. grs. , Lymans #47 says 50,grs , an Sierra... 49.7 grs for the imr4350 powder. thought i would bring some variables to shoot next time out...
i do think i'll get a better group some where down the road , i've been saving the bran new Win cases for Varget powder,.. at least its what i'm hoping to see anyway
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