Part 1 Reloading Dies Compared Intro Hornady, Redding, Lyman
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- čas přidán 30. 08. 2020
- During these turbulent and stressful times, gun ownership, ammo buying and reloading have exploded with many new shooters in our midst. We have previously done desktop reviews of the various die sets, but not an in depth reloading comparison series. This is Part 1 of a new 9 part Patreon series using the reloading dies from our world famous US manufacturers, and the entire series will be posted here on CZcams. Dick Tickles has requested that this series be made available as a public service on CZcams. And I agree...Get ready for reloading comparison featuring Hornady, Redding, Lyman, Lee, RCBS, Forster, Dillon and LE Wilson...We will also be range testing the ammo in a separate video...
- Krátké a kreslené filmy
Always been a lee fan. Started out a broke shooter now I’m broke because im a shooter:)
I get it yes!
Hahaha ha I heard that bro. You spoke a true word there my friend!
I may have spent more on reloading components than my new rifle in a new to me caliber. LOL.
@John Beige I’ve had good luck with ebay as long as it’s a seller with 98%+ feedback and sell quite a bit. Good luck! Something tells me it’ll be rough for a while
@Maia Harland cool. Glad some people are figuring out how to get around big tech
I use Lee,RCBS and Hornady....I started re-loading about a year ago and thank God I did....I live in upstate NY and you cant find ammo or re-loading stuff. I got lucky last week and found 2000 small pistol primers and 2000 small pistol magnum and they were just 33.00 per 1000...I almost felt guilty taking them....all the best stay safe and thanks for your hard work for us
Good find on your primers!👍
russ elder - Congrats on getting those primers...that should keep you in action until the primers return...say about Jan 2021. Good reloadin' to ya, Steve
Every problem I have had in using dies can be traced back to not reading the instructions, so good instructions are important to me.
One of the best and most honest reviews of die sets I have ever seen. Fortune cookie 45LC is a treasure to the reloading community! Thanks So much for doing this!
I prefer Lee for pistol, Redding bushing sizing dies and Hornady seating dies for rifle. Hornady lock rings for everything.
Hornady lock rings really are the best I've seen.
@@VincitOmniaVeritas7 Yes it would work but for .223 I use a Lee carbide full length sizer along with a powder through die set up on a classic turret. Can load just as fast as pistol. Carbide is great!
I always look forward to watching your comprehensive videos!! You are always thorough with your descriptions and evaluations. I appreciate that!! Stay safe out there!! Thanks for all that you do for the reloading community!!
MCDS Daddy - I appreciate your generous comments and remarks...Have a very well and healthy season... Steve
@@FortuneCookie45LC Thanks, Chris
My worst experience with a die set was the Redding 40 S&W Carbide 3 die set (Green Box). They weren’t cheap, either, but I was new, and people raved about Redding dies. No matter what I did I couldn’t get my once fired brass sized to fit an ammo check block. Advised to ignore that and just size, flare, and load. Once I added powder and a bullet I learned that the ammo check block was correct...I could push the bullet right into the case by hand. So I was advised to get the Redding GRx die to get rid of the bulges, since that’s obviously the problem. Then I had to get a pin gauge to determine the diameter of the sizing ring. Lastly, I had to mail the whole set with cases and bullets to Redding. As it turned out...they had the wrong sizing ring in the sizing die. In the end, I could’ve just bought several 40 S&W die sets from the major players for less than I paid for my Redding die set and the additional troubleshooting equipment. Would you believe I haven’t spent another penny on Redding products?
The first two die sets I bought were RCBS. Now, almost 40 years later, I have 85-90 sets of dies including all colors except orange. I have no Lyman sets. I should fix that. I do have a couple of Lyman specialty dies. Looking forward to this series. Thank you for posting it on You Tube.
Luvta Handload - Wow, that's an impressive number of die sets. I look forward to more comments from you as this 8 part video series is posted... Good reloadin' to ya, Steve
Awesome video, looking forward to seeing the rest of the series.
Thank you very much, I just started reloading recently and your work in this area have been so helpful in this new hobby for me. I picked up a set of Hornady dies for 44 mag/spec today and noticed that they are a little different from the Lee that I have been using without any issues. Thanks again !
Thanks Mr. Tickles, we're all indebted to you.
Lol, no problemo.
Ary Dabirnia - It is now an 8 part video series as Dillon dies have been requested to also be included - an actual reloading review. Best to ya, Steve
@@FortuneCookie45LC that is too cool, I'm gonna have to join on Patreon just out of principle at this point.
Hello my friend ! I follow you since 2016, and I had learned a lot with your vids ! Thank you from Argentina !
Nicolas - My wife visited Buenos Aires on business back in 2015 - she had a great time..!! Thanks for your comment, Steve
Thanks so much Fortune Cookie for your video. Only a couple minutes into your video now, I’m not a pistol loader but instead a long precision rifle shooter. Just the same I suspect the content pretty much reflects rifle info as well. Have watched many of your other videos clips over time.. Thanks for all you do..
My favorite set of dies is a two-die set in .223 Remington/5.56mm Nato that was manufactured by the Pacific Tool Company (division of Hornady) that I bought 45 years ago. The Pacific Tool Company is long since out of business and Hornady has long since abandoned support for their products. Oh, well!
I just got a new old stock of Pacific Tool 357 Magnum dies for my collection of vintage stuff. Very cool.
Arthur Devain - Pacific was big back in the 60s. Steve Hornady gobbled up the company back in the 70s. Other of the companies back then was CH, Bair and Texan. CH is still around but minor, but the others have been assimilated. Best to ya, Steve
I got a set of pacific in 45acp never used them been on the shelf for 40 years
Thank you very much. We very much appreciate it.
Excellent comparisons- thank you
Yeah, I requested this be put on youtube because I felt that with new all the new gun owners/reloaders and people looking in to reloading for the first time shouldn't feel that only the most expensive equipment is worth buying because it's apparent looking at the Redding dies that that is not the case.
That doesn't mean cheap is always the way to go either, I've had issues with the Lee mouth flare dies not seating bullets straight and have abandoned it for use in the .32 calibers. It appears that the Lee flare dies, the larger the caliber, the better they work as I've had no issues with .45.
Besides that, the Lee sizing dies work fine, I have no complaints, so why overpay? Even the seating dies, while others may have a one piece seating stem that promotes improved consistency, the Lee dies do just fine seating bullets for handguns. OAL's may be off a few thousandths, but for general use that is acceptable.
From my experiences and what I'm seeing, Lee is the best value for carbide sizing dies and the only one I know of the Big 6 with a powder thru flare die, while the Lyman has the best flaring die in the M die and a good seating die, then Hornady has a really good seating die, but a terrible flaring die.
That Lee Powder thru die is excellent when used with the Lee Powder funnel. This sounds weird, but its a part of reloading i find fun.
Lol I just love your handle
Great information and video. Thanks for sharing
Good to see you again
This is excellent just bought almost everything i need to reload this will help big time lee for pistol an Hornady for rifles
Nice review. Thank you. I started reloading when I was in the Coast Guard back in the 60’s. An RCBS “Junior” press. By the way, I have a cousin in California. His name is Bob. Do you know him? Everyone just calls him “Bob”. Also... is it “Polish”, or “Polish”? I like the Hornady locking rings. I call them “The Lard of the Rings”. I live just a couple miles from a 200-yard outdoor range. Hardly ever see anyone there. I like to go out after dark to practice my sound shots. Robert Forster was one of my favorite actors, so I always looked flavorbly on Forster dies. I think if Andy Devine had been a reloader, he would have used Forster dies. Andy Devine was an interesting guy. Andy’s big acting break came in 1939 with the movie “Stagecoach”. Originally, director John Ford wanted one of his regulars, Ward Bond, for the role as the stage driver. Trouble was, Bond didn’t know how to “pull six ribbons,” or handle the six reins on a six-horse driven stagecoach and Andy did, so he got the job and the rest is history. Andy spent most of his younger years in Kingman, Arizona, where his family owned a hotel. Here is a wonderful video of post-WW2 Kingman, Arizona. czcams.com/video/1TJk1jqzjYU/video.html Andy was also a pilot and trained aviators for the military duringWW2. Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne both cried at Andy’s funeral. Ward Bond died in 1960 while in Dallas. Johnny Horton was killed in an automobile accident at 1:30AM on November 5, 1960. Ward Bond died at noon that same day. If you ever get to Benkelman, Nebraska... Ward Bond’s birthplace and childhood home, you can visit “Ward Bond” city park.
I had no Idea we lost Ward and Johnny on the same day. What a thought.
Surf music and my Pickup truck were brand new. I was born a good hundred years too late.
Herr Prepper - Thanks for all the info on our heroes of stage and screen from yesteryear..!! Ward Bond, best known for Wagon Train, actually was a much more versatile actor - I especailly liked his acting in Sargeant York in support of Gary Cooper's academy award winning work. That 200 yard range reminds me of the Chabot Shooting Range. Best to ya, Steve
Thank you so much for doing this. Just subscribed
Great video as always FC. I'm like you, I've never thought much about Redding equipment cause they are just to over priced. I'm sure they are great but why when Lee is so much more affordable. I mainly stick with Lee but I'm open to the others as well. ( RCBS, Lyman, Hornady). I'm here in California as well and I started reloading about 5 years ago and I'm so glad I did. I love reloading! Take care FC and thank you for all your fantastic info my friend!
I run a mix of them all . Big fan of Lyman m expander die , Redding competition micrometer seating die , Hornady lnl measure with case activation mechanism , and of course the Lee factory crimp die . The lee size decapping dies do have a nice chamfer for the progressive presses and lee dies are carbide .
C Delo - Indeed, the progressive presses led to those inside mouth flares so cases would enter the dies more readily. Trade off was that the resize dies left a small area near the heads that were not completely sized especially on 38 Spl / 357 Maggie. But that was really OK - back in the Super Vel days, I blew the case head off a 357 mag round - to this day, don't know if that little resize ledge had anything to do with that - probably not.. Best to ya, Steve
Rcbs ,lee hornady ,simplex,lyman i use in a progressive press for revolver and pistol . a rcbs sizer ,lyman expander ( then a powder fil). hornady seater and a lee collet crimper or factory crimper
Most of my dies are Lee with a few Hornady, plus I have some older CH and Bear Dies. I only have 1 Redding (for 8mm Nambu; a custom die I ordered and it wasn't cheap). I have a Forester Press but never tried their dies and Dillon is well ... I prefer single stage. If you are more into factory production Dillon is supreme but not for me. Besides my Forester I have a old Pacific C press and a RCBS Rock Chucker after having started on a old Lee Hand press. As you can see, over the course of a 40 years reloading career I have tried most. Keep up the great content FC!
I started with rcbs, bought 3 sets, they were ok, then i bought a hornady set and that was ok too, then i bought a lee set...and ive bought lee dies ever since. I replace the lock rings and thats it. Ive only broke 1 decapping pin out of thousands and thousands of rounds, ive had 1 stuck case and it was an easy fix compared to the rcbs sizer. Lee makes great crimping dies, no conplaints about their expander or their seater.
I did have a carbide insert fall out on me but they replaced that no questions asked. Ive wondered about redding and how much better can their dies be but i can buy a whole bunch more lee sets for what they ask. I believe you are correct about their instructions as well. I dont follow the instructions anymore anyway. I understand what the die is supposed to do and not supposed to do and i go all by feel or measuring with my calipers.
Good evaluation, cant wait for more!
3Eighties Opinion - You've got some very fine experience with the dies...I found that I've broken decapping pins on RCBS and Lyman dies - especially the little straight ones...off center flash holes, little rocks and the renegade Berdan cases were the culprits. I've never broken a Lee decapping pin. Good reloadin' to ya, Steve
You’re the man fortune cookie, keep up the videos.
I only have experience with RCBS, Lee and Hornady dies, but of those 3, RCBS are the worst for seating rifle bullets. Their depth adjustment process is a PITA, where Lee's is a breeze.
Thank you.
Lee makes dies that fit my RCBS single stage Rock Chucker press. I just bought a four die set for loading 243 Winchester. That is a rather interesting cartridge based on what I have learned about it over just a few weeks.
That is a rather interesting cartridge based on what I have learned about it over just a few weeks. How so? Just picked up my first 243 yesterday. Will be buying Lee dies for reloading and I like their bullet molds too.
I use Lee, hornady, rcbs, ch4d, lyman, Bonanza Forster, for + 10 Rifle-Caliber. If you know what to do, you get high precision without the costly high end dies. I like to put not to much money in the reloading theme, but I fail sometimes :). Keep up the good work
That was a nice review of dies available, to tell the truth, I haven't had a die that was "Bad" from any of the manufacturers, One exception, Lee, I wouldn't say they were "Bad" however, not as good as dies offered from others, I have had chambering problems with their rifle dies. Now as far as pistol dies, you can't beat them for the price. Many competition shooters use Lee pistol dies. anyway, Nice video Steve, looking forward to this series.-Dave
Could you please elaborate on the chambering problems? Is the resizing too short? Too long? I'm just getting into 243 Winchester and I need a good fit.
@@Fudmottin - The 243 is actually not appreciated as much as it should be...it is one of our best long range cartridges, varmint cartridges and big game up to mule deer. Even though I have a 6mm Rem, I'm seriously thinking of getting a 243 Winchester as well. There's a lot to be said about the shorter case...perhaps even the Ackley. Best to ya, Steve
Thor's Axe - Hello to ya, Dave...and thanks for dropping in...sounds like you should do a video on your experiences with Lee dies...would be very interesting for all.... Have a great day, Steve
Just wanted to chime in on the locking ring styles. If you take the set screw out, then put a piece of lead shot in the hole, then tighten your lockring set screw over top of the lead shot, it will preserve your threads as only the lead shot will deform. Leaving threads intact.
I have all brand of dies being I’ve loaded for almost 40 years now and I like some of the the features on the Hornady dies like the floating head for seating the bullets specially with the 17 hornet because of it being so tedious to reload but I do have to say kudos about RCBS I’ve bought die used before to save money and I remember the one die was missing some parts and so I called them to order the missing parts and when I ask them how much that I owed them they said it was no charge and my press needed a new pin and keeper it was the same way RCBS is a good company
I had a nice set of Redding 243 Winchester dies that gave away to a fellow who I sold my Tikka M55 243 Winchester to .It was only after I gave him those dies that I remembered I actually had some Australian made Simplex 243 Winchester dies ( good dies but not the fine quality of Redding dies ) that I had forgotten about , I’m still kicking myself about it lol . I’m very much looking forward to the this reloading die series FortuneCookie45LC. Cheers 🍻
Conservative Sniper Hunter - You should do a video on those Simplex dies...would be very interesting for US shooters to see. Simplex should sell here in the US if they are still in business... Best to ya, Steve
@FortuneCookie45LC
I’m surprised they are still manufacturing their products . As far as I know this company has been making reloading dies and presses since the early 1980s . I haven’t seen any adverts on Simplex products in any Australian gun publication for 35 years years . The 243 die set that I have was given to me by an elderly gentleman 30 years ago . I don’t know if they sell Simplex reloading dies and presses in the United States.
Simplex die sets
simplexreloading.com.au/4-photo-layout/super-simplex-press/
simplexreloading.com.au/presses/
Simplex products for sale | eBay
www.ebay.com.au/b/Simplex/bn_21835345
Living large in them California hills!
J. Rob. - It's the suburbs..!! And crime from the big city has moved into the suburbs as well... Best to ya, Steve
I use rcbs reloading dies myself.
30/06, 30/40krag, 223rem, 9mm, 40mm, 44mag/spl.
No issues with any
I know that this is an older video and that Lee wasn't making it at that time, however the newer Lee powder through expanding dies are like the Lyman Type M die now and you can order the new type expander alone to upgrade your older Lee dies for a few bucks.
I own and have used all the dies shown here except the Forrester and all have their plus and minus I think but for the beginner or on a budget it is very hard to beat the Lee dies however they are starting to increase their prices and getting closer to the price of the other major brands I have noticed. Lee does have one of the easiest to remove stuck cases built into it's design.
As far as basic die sets:
RCBS has a fantastic warranty (Best of any of them in my opinion)
Lee has great prices (but are starting to get more expensive)
Lyman has the M die on straight wall (but Lee has it now also)
Hornady has the best seating die in my opinion
Redding hasn't offered anything in my opinion that you can't get out of the other brands for less. Maybe I'm missing something and I'm not trying to hate on Redding. I do like their trim/forming dies.
I have mostly Lee and older Redding dies, as well as RCBS and Dillon (for 9mm and 300 Blackout). I love my Dillon 650!
64samsky - Sounds like you have a good assortment of dies with the exception of Lyman...but that's OK, the US manufacturers give us lots of choices and options...always good. And fine reloadin' to ya, Steve
I am a patron but I am glad you are moving this to CZcams. I like my Hornady Pistol dies, but may have to try a Lyman M die. Forster seating dies are my favorite for rifle. Keep everything nice and straight.
Tex Patriot - The videos will be posted on Patreon early, but then switched to open view as they post on CZcams...thanks for your comment here, as you Patrons are the best in your willingness to share this info. Hopefully, YT won't be deleting these as they do subject on reloading...my take is that they are a little more easy with the current censorship accusations. We shall see...that can all change in a flash... Best to ya, bro Steve
Hey, what about Dillon, this series may not end.
Mike Lockhart - I have Dillon dies for my 2 550B presses. I've used the other die sets on my Dillons, but the Dillon dies have never been taken out of the 550B toolhead - that's why I didn't consider Dillon dies - we just don't use them on other presses. However, that's a good point - I may have to get some of the current Dillon dies to give them a try on other presses... Thanks for picking up on this, as it never would have occurred to me.... Steve
I was thinking the same. Forster i never even heard of. But Dillon is quite huge. Perhaps they dont sell as much tools as theese other companies.
@@FortuneCookie45LC I'm using Dillon progressive and let me tell you, after a long time experimenting with sizing dies, I ended up with Dillon one I use for 9 mm (I use Lee for remaining operations of 9 mm reloading). Why? Well, because 1st - Lee decapping pin is made of chinesium alloy that often breaks. 2nd, Dillon sizing die has decapping pin that has a snap spring that pops even crimped primers out. And I can tell you, few of those crappy cases with heavy crimp will ruin you whole progressive reloading because you have to loose shell plate, remove that case etc. Dillon die with spring loaded decapping pin will pop those primers like butter. Moreover, never had broken pin on Dillon or Redding dies (for .223). Broke 6 Lee universal decappers few weeks ago when processing .223 brass with offcentric primer hole (GFL - Fiocchi). Never occured that to me with Redding.
@@Magisktification I had not heard of Forster until very recently either. I first saw them on Erik Cortina's channel. They build a single stage press which is really interesting. Probably more to rifle reloaders than pistol but I found it to be a clever design.
@@FortuneCookie45LC I use them on the RCBS rockchucker for my 44 mag since I only load a few at a time.
Hey Steve, that was a great review on die sets. Told me I never need to get the Redding dies !
Hope your staying healthy :-) How our you doing with all the fires ?
Thanks Nick..!! Hello to GIg Harbor..!! Yes on staying healthy. And the smoke from the fires is still bad - no range sessions until the air gets better. Best to ya, Nick..!! Steve
Good subject !!!
Hello to dowdawg - this is an actual in use comparison of the die sets...and it has been expanded to 8 part video series to include Dillon dies... Have a great day, Steve
I noticed that none of those brands let you powder charge through the expanding die. Is lee one of the only brands that does that? Thanks for the great vids
teedermcdribble - Yes, Dillon makes powder thru dies that take caliber specific kits for all their progressive presses. But the Dillon powder measure really only works with Dillon presses so that means their powder thru dies really only work on Dillon presses as well. The other manufacturers make powder through dies for their progressive presses. But note, all the Lee powder through dies + their powder measures work on other manufacture progressives including Dillon. Have a great day, Steve
Cows really are happiest in Wisconsin!!
My Lee dies work wonderfully for 9mm, .380, .38 and .45. I truly see no reason to spend more given the volume I shoot. But for my bolt rifles I'm a huge fan of my Redding dies, decked out, of course, with Hornady lock rings.
Jack Waddell - It is amazing that Redding doesn't use cross lock rings, as it seems a huge number of Redding die users abandon the Redding rings as if they had COVID all over them... Good reloadin' to ya, Steve
Quick tip: put a lead shot BB under your die ring lock set screw . It will crush and lock the ring without damaging the die threads. I got this tip from an old NRA reloading book.
Ironbomb - Yes, know that trick - a #9 pellet did the job. Should have mentioned that... Thanks for posting this for others to take in, though, it's good info....Best to ya, Steve
I like all the brands, and Reddings die's are very expensive but when it comes to their rifle dies, their older ones have allways been the finest finnished. But I tell you that pistol dies are all about the same when it comes to their loading ability and equality of loaded ammunition, however I really like Lee for their powder thru expanding dies and their taper or factory crimp dies, and their price point gives them an advantage. Plus I've never been able to find any other brand of carbide pistol dies that load any extra accuracy into a round than Lee dies.
Rifle dies are a differant world, and the type of press used can make a differance and change how they perform for precision loadings. A progressive press for the general plinker, pretty much all modern-day progressive presses work fine.
I'm in agreement with the Lee dies. That's powder thru expander die saves a step and the resize die deprimers don't break withe collet set up they have.Plus they come with that scoop. Too cool!
@@vdog4799 thats right. I personally never deprime using a die as i deprime by hand useing a Lee deprime base and pin. Even if it's a thousand plus cases. It offer me more feel for a bad primer pocket, and I never prime on my progressive press. I deprime all dirty shell cases, clean them before runing thru my dies, steel or carbide sizing dies and seperating them into lots based on lengths and so on. I can deprime a thousand cases in an hour or two watching reruns of combat, rat patrol or whatever. Lol. This allows me to clean primer pockets if needed before I place them in the old school vibritory cleaner. Saves wear on dies. Just my way.
I do wish that that Lee would tin coat their powder thru die inserts, it would make for a smoother progressive running press.
@@davidunderwood3605 wow that's alot more than I do. I only load 38spl and an old cal. 25-35 Winchester. Your way beyond me in experience. I dont do that much volume. My hats off to you
@@vdog4799 well if you say so. Ive doing it while thats true. There are many who would say I'm going to far and don't need to. Its just my way. And truthfully, the more you shoot the more work you do. It's like any hobby, it can get very involved. I just go the extra steps becouse I try to be extra cautious and try not to abuse my equipment as money is hard to come by to replace firearm parts and reloading dies. And honestly, priming off press has an added safety factor. As for primer pockets, if one is too loose you can end up scoring a bolt face of slide face. This I have had happen and it can be costly. Its not common, but range brass can be a big culprit, as condition and usage is generally unknown. As with brass in lots from known sources one or two peices can be an indicator of how close the intire lot is close to end of reloading life.
But the whole idea is to save as much money, have as much fun and shoot as much as we can. FC 45lc is a guy who deffanatly get a person going in a good direction. Have fun.
@@davidunderwood3605 I admire your caution. Heck I didnt even know dies worse out . What you say about the primer pockets makes sense. I use a hand primer to load them. I load mine all from range brass and I go light loads. 105grn swc with 3 grns of trail boss or 700x or red dot. I toss the cases at the first sign of cracking from mouth flaring. What you said tho will give me.more to pay attention to. Still learning. Thanks buddy
I'm a fan of Lee and RCBS dies. I do put RCBS lock rings on all dies though.
Yeah, i dont like the Lee lock rings either. I put the Dillon 1" lock rings on my dies.
The worst thing about the Redding Die set is the box not allowing room to hold my Guage Check that I like to keep with my die sets. Otherwise I can't say anything bad about Redding dies.
@FortuneCookie45LC:
I noticed that throughout this series you say that carbide resizing dies can cause an hour glass shape to the cases, and that some roll crimping dies can cause a buckle in the cases, yet the Lee Factory Roll Crimp Die fixes the issue of buckling the cases, all the while it will at times loosen some of the bullets. So being the Lee Factory Roll Crimp Die will either leave a bulge at the bottom of the case or perhaps at times loosen bullets I would not want such a die.
So I take it no carbide die will do for re-sizing, it will have to be the best Steel [non-carbide] Die, or possibly the Redding Dual Ring Carbide Sizing Die might work. For flaring I notice Redding, RCBS, and Lyman have basically the same flaring tool, yet Redding's with a titanium coated tip should work the best? As far as bullet setting I kind of like the Redding Competition Die with the micrometer on top, but you also showed how another brand [Lee or Lyman I think] could have a micrometer screwed onto it. I also like the idea of a micrometer on top of the roll crimping die such as with the Lyman Pro Series and the Redding Micrometer Adjustable [Roll] Crimping Die.
So my question is, can you tell me which brand die does the best job for each of the stages in 45 Colt ( and perhaps the 45 Schofield) [only] ? Not which set of dies is better, but which die, no matter the brand or cost, does the best at each particular stage from your vast experience?
And not just the best die for each stage but what can be done to them to make them even better if possible (such as you filing the Lee Bullet Seating thing for flat nose bullets, adding a micrometer, or any other way to make them better).
Such as:
1) De-capping - (Redding De-capping Die)
2) Re-sizing - (Redding all Steel Re-sizing Die, or possibly a Redding Dual Ring Carbide Sizing Die)
3) Case Mouth Flaring - ( Redding Premium Handgun Expander Die )
4) Priming - (Lee Ram Prime Priming Unit for Single Stage Press)
5) Bullet Seating - (Redding Competition Seating Die with Micrometer)
6) Roll Crimping - (Redding Micrometer Adjustable [Roll] Crimping Die, or the Redding Special Purpose Profile [Roll] Crimp Die)
I will be using the Buchanan Precision Machine L-N-L Hand Reloading Press. Again cost is not an obstacle, and I am assuming I might end up with different brands of dies to make up the set.
Really wish you could do a video on this point of view, as well to really cover the subject best.
I use to only buy rcbs untill I got a bad set started buying Redding and like so much I started replacing my rcbs dies with Redding and later found another rcbs die I had that would not size right it was close the case would chamber but wasn't right so I replaced with Redding.
I prefer Hornady dies but I use any I can get at reasonable price. Just recently I wanted some 22-250 dies, Hornady price was 100 dollars, so I got Lee Pacesetter die set for half that price.
The micrometer on the Redding bullet seating die is really all I want from it for precision rifle handloads. The rest of the Redding die set is not very good value.
Good luck.
Not your father's root beer...good stuff..
I have always wondered about CH4D reloading dies
@Art Anson - Yes on the CH company. CH was in all the shooting magazines back in the 60s, but then seemed to disappear. I have known that the company is still in business, but they are minor in most shooting circles. Their products are not promoted or well distributed. The company appears to be happy with word of mouth amongst high end shooters. I checked their website out several years ago and can't even remember what I saw. I should check them out again. The last issue of Handloader magazine I read was when I took the issue with me to Hawaii - that was about six years ago. Will go check out CH after I post this reply... My precision reloading has been done all these years with Forster for varmint shooting with 25/06 and 6mm Rem, target shooting/ High Power competition with 223 and 308....never really been into Redding - although I keep looking at their BR powder measure - just never did pull the trigger on Redding products until now. Best to ya, Steve
@Art Anson - Yes, I checked the CH website, and the reason I didn't actually remember much of visiting the site before was that the dies do nothing more than what our other die makers provide. And sure, the quality may very well be there, but I looked at them as if they were unremarkable. But with the current series, perhaps I should go ahead and get some 45 Colt dies of theirs and include them in this series. I'll have to cogitate on this... Best to ya, Steve
@Art Anson CH dies not available in 45 Colt. What a downer...!! Have a great day to ya Art, Steve
CH4D is located about 5 or 6 miles south of me in Mount Vernon,Ohio.My neighbor works there.He keeps me up to date on what is going on.I have not bought any dies from them as I have what I need already.
link to patreon?
Can’t believe reddings instructions lol.
I guess you don’t use Dillon. You haven’t mentioned them in either one of the two videos you have made on this subject. Come to think of it, I don’t remember any mention of Dillon in any of the dozens of videos I have watched. They are definitely on the more expensive end, but it is a good company. Yes I use any die I can get my hands on. I use Lee, Dillon, rcbs, Lyman, Hornady. They all have their strong points and they all work.do you use anything Dillon?
I hate to bother you with this but you're really the only reloder I watch. I know a bit about it from reading handloader mag.
The one buddy my brother has that reload scars me. I saw a box of his ammo it was 4 gr. Over the hornday book max.
He bought a 257 Robert and a 257 Actly improved. ( I don't think I spelled it right)
I suggest he shot the normal 257 Roberts in the improved and keep the brass as fire formed.
Until he get more experienced in hand loading.
He told me he could not find the actly improved in his books ( I don't know what ones).
But he did find in fo on a improved 28° or something like that.
I told him to just reload the standard round.
Did I tell him right? I don't want him getting hurt.
Thanks for your time and help.
Fortunecookie is about the only other reloader I watch too. No shame in admitting that because he is the best.
@@DickTickles no shame in it. He the one that I seen that makes it interesting and makes it look fun.
I wish I could do it. But I am not taking the chance.
To much chance of a sever dyslexic getting numbers mixed up.
@@tbjtbj4786 bummer on the dyslexia man. Can you hace a friend set your equipment up for you? Once set up, nothing needs changing until you chsnge a component. Just a thought. Stay safe friend.
Tbj Tbj - Amazing - I had a similar experience....my friend Doug, who is an avid reloader, was my mentor way back when...when he showed me his reloading of his M721 Remington in 270 Winchester and custom heavy barrel, he was reloading 1 grain over maximum. Being totally new to reloading, I thought he was going to blow up his gun. But it turns out that his rifle chamber had some freebore, so that the 1 grain over max was absolutely safe in his rifle. He was shooting 90 grain bullets at 3700 fps. Ackley calibers allow bigger charges of slower burning powders to push bullets 100-150 fps faster at the same pressures as standard calibers. With your dyslexia, there's no reason you shouldn't reload - my advice to you would be to get together with a reloading friend, and then you can do all the brass prep and bullet seating (especially with handgun bullets) while your friend does all the powder handling. Or, he could set up a progressive press and you could crank out the ammo just fine. Team reloading..!! I would not recommend that you weigh out or check powder charges as errors would not be good there. Definitely, bullet casting, bullet sizing or powder coating would be good for you and your friend to do together as well. Best to ya, Steve
@@FortuneCookie45LC I would add that for bullet seating he use a good/no go gage set for OAL. Don't want him seating a bullet at .948 when it's supposed to be .984.
Forgot Dillon?
Do you have a mouse in your pocket? You keep saying "we" but I don't know who the other person or people you are referring to.
0:25
Didn't rcbs used to make dies for lee, untill they got thier own cnc machines? Anyway I have both- depends upon the price and need. Thanks FC will be looking forward to the rest of your reviews!
ingl wud - Can't answer that one for sure. Never heard that rcbs made Lee dies, Richard Lee and Fred Huntington were in the same time period...I suppose anything was possible...Richard Lee came out with the carbide dies at half the cost of the opposition - this was amazing back in the early 70s. If RCBS made Lee dies, that would have been peculiar. Yes on price and need...but there is want in there a bit anyway. Thanks to ya, ingl wud...see ya..!! Steve
@@FortuneCookie45LC im not sure now who it was -Jim on shooting usa said they made some for a different company in a different color box and it was red, but others say it was orange.
No Dillon dies?
TA - Funny thing about Dillon dies...they are on the pricey side so reloaders keep 'em on the Dillon toolheads. However, because of popular requests, Dillon will be included in this series Part 8. Have a great day, Steve
@@FortuneCookie45LC thanks for the response. I use them on my 550B and use my single stage for rifle brass using Dillon dies.
Shame on Redding for skimping out on the manual. Silly to manufacture what is arguably the highest level of product quality and drop the ball on clearly explaining best practices in setting up and using.
Just want to say. I bought one set of hornady .223 dies and that cemented my belief that hornady dies are the worst thing to ever happen to reloaders. They just don't work, stuck cases in the sizer and bulged cases in the seater. Hornady is absolute garbage.
After Lee, everything else is just a waste of time😂😂 no seriously.
The Lyman M die is really good and affordable compared to the Redding. The Hornady seating die appears to help aid proper alignment during seating, but it's possible that the Lyman or other seating dies could do the same.
All my dies except one M die are Lee. Any poor shooting ammo I've made I blame on the bullets or the powder/powder charge, never the dies or presses I used.
Tom Sherwood - Yes, all made in the USA..and sold worldwide...even in Russia where they collude and use 'em to play hockey with..!! Best to ya, Steve
Hold up, did you say his name was Dick Tickle? Porn stars these days.
Hornady dies are GARBAGE . The only thing worse is Hornadys customer service. I dont buy anything of theirs except 55gr vmaxs.