which dies would you purchase

[MOC]

Recieved a press for Christmas and now its time to purchase the dies am quite confused on which ones to get. I would be very thankfull for any help in this area. Web sites for how to get started?

[Sharps Shooter]

I guess that depends on what yoou plan to reload for. That and everyone has an opinion, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

IMO, the Lee Carbide dies are the best setup for straight wall pistol reloading. get the factory crimp die too.

For bottleneck cases I really like either Forster or Redding dies. The neat thing about the Redding dies is that you can get a carbide expander ball, and they have a whole slough of new dies which utilize bushings to allow reduced neck sizing. Never used one, as I have found FL sizing to be more accurate in my rifles anyways over the neck sizers I have used.

I started out with Lyman dies and they are OK, but not really great. RCBS makes quality dies, but they are more difficult to make fine adjustments to if that is in your future.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Sharps Shooter.
'74 Sharps... when you care enough to use the very best.

[Poodleshooter]

For the money you can't go wrong with Lee dies. Reddings makes just about the best rifle dies made, but they can be expensive. RCBS makes a great sizing die called the "X-die". With this sizing die, you can trim brass after it's first firing, re-size it with the x-die, and there is no further need to trim the brass! Essentially it eliminates one of the necessary steps in rifle reloading. If you're just starting out however, I'd recommed just buying Lee dies.

[MOC]

Thank you for the replys. Will Lee dies work in a RCBS press?

[Sharps Shooter]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by MOC:
Thank you for the replys. Will Lee dies work in a RCBS press?</font>

They all have an industry standard 7/8 x 14 pitch thread. They should work if yours is a modern press of other than Hollywood or Herters manufacture.

Regards,
Sharps Shooter.

[solo]

Yes, lee dies will work in an RCBS. If you are reloading rifle be sure to look at RCBS small base sizing dies, they size the case closer to its original dimensions rather than a standard FL sizing die. I have some for .270 and love them, fixing to get some for my 30-06.

[Skrenos]

I also would have to recommend Lee dies. If you can, get the carbide dies.

They're cheap, and they produce great ammo.

[JA]

A die is a die unless you are talking about shooting benchrest matches. Then you need to buy Redding,Sinclair,or a custom made set of dies to get that under .2"@200yards groups.
I started reloading in 1977 and the only equipment at the local sporting goods store was RCBS. So I started out with that brand.
In the last 15 years I have bought all Lee dies except a set of 30-06 RCBS small base dies for a Remington 7400 rifle. Buying the rifle used with a pitted chamber I had to send it to Remington for a new barrel. The barrel's chamber was pitted so bad that the brass would stick in the chamber and the exstractor would tear the rim off the brass. The only way to get the brass out of the chamber was using a brass rod and a hammer.
After getting the rifle back from Remington with the new barrel installed it would work fine with new ammo but my reloads wouldn't chamber. I used the small base dies and the reloads worked just fine. I had run into this same problem 20 years eariler while loading for a friends BAR in 7mm mag and small base dies cured the problem.
I have about 25 sets of pistol and rifle dies that are Lee brand. All produce ammo that works fine in my guns and all of my friends guns. Just remember that Lee dies will rust if not wiped down with a oily rag after use. The sweat from your hands will cause them to rust quickly. Lee dies work great for me and are about 1/2 the price of other brands. Another really good feature of Lee dies is the depriming/neck sizing rod is held in the die by a collet. This allow the rod to slip up into the die and not break the depriming pin when encountering a berdan primed case. It is also great when a case gets stuck in the die. Just unscrew the collet and tap the rod with a brass hammer or use a piece of wood/plastic between the rod and a steel hammer.

[Poodleshooter]

So JA, you have dies older than me???? I feel so humbled http://www.ak-47.net/akcgi/smile.gif

[JA]

I bought a set of RCBS 22-250 and 357 mag dies in 1977 when I bought my RCBS jr press. Dinosaurs still roamed the earth back then and we killed them off using reloads made with RCBS equipment.
Got RCBS,Hornady,Lyman,Pacific,and Lee die sets. I can't tell any difference in the ammo loaded with any of them. They all load ammo that functions in all my guns.

[RogerLee]

If reloading rifles, I would get the Lee dies called "pacesetters"(or something like that) they include the shellholder and the factory crimp die which I like to use. Others don't use it or need to.
JA,
On your Lee pro-1000, do you use the bullet feeder? got my in 9mmNato and the press set sometimes is picky on the bullets used.
RogerLee

[Gremlin]

http://fmreloading.com/
The absolute best price on Lee dies,all kinds a other too

[JA]

I tried the bullet feeder and it worked real good till I left bullets in it for a week. The fingers streched and would drop bullets before getting to the seating die. I boiled the fingers several times per instructions but they would work good for 75rds or so before dropping bullets. I bought a new set of fingers and have not tried them yet as my supply of 9mm ammo is still about 2500rds from my last batch I did of 6000rds.

[glock19]

I have only used LEE die's and I have not had any problems with them either.

[RogerLee]

thats what the bullet feeder is starting to do, that and when I drop the bullets the bottom one would get sideways. But even with little problems like that I still do about 500-700 rounds in about 4-5 hours.
For $160, the Lee pro-1000 is a great deal!!

RogerLee