Which Dies?

[David Dundas]

Hi All

So many questions???
So many choices on reloading Dies, which one do you use or have found to be the best.
I hear good things about, Redding, Whidden, Forster, Wilson and Lee, but is one die better then another?
Do you use an Arbor Press? Which one?
If you have a standard 6mmBR with a .272 No turn neck is all you need standard dies or do you still need it one modify\honed etc?

Would like to hear and bad experiences as well or what to steer clear of.


Cheers

Dave

[John 23 Harris]

My uno way to go when trying not to break the bank is a le Wilson full length bushing die matched with either a Le Wilson in-line die or a Forster ultramatch seating die .

I also own Redding comp with also the micrometer neck die .
Although these are a really nice set of dies that make some pretty straight ammo  I don’t believe they deserve the current price tag .

I also have a custom built set of dies for my ppc .

In terms of custom or not .

From my limited experience there is no measurable gain from them .
My custom dies fit so tight that they have a vacuum and when seating bullets I have remove the seating  stem and reinsert it to use it as a air compressor to shoot the loaded round out .

Even with these very tight tolerance  my concentricity still remains 0.002” and under .

No different than my other die sets .


Arbour press or not ....

Arbour press  solely because it is a portable solution to reloading .
And perhaps when seating bullets the inline type have a slight edge on screw in .

I use a K&M arbour press , I bought that brand because it was available and looks nice .
It is not the one I wanted though , I wanted the 21’st century long arm model as it is leaver driven and dose not have the rack and piñon of the other brands .


You mentioned Lee dies in your post .
Lee makes a collect neck sizing die that works really well .
The other dies are pretty crap .

Excluding smartreloader lee is the bottom end of the reloading market excluding a few little gems like the collet die and the powder thrower I mentioned to you previously.





Short of the long .

Buy a quality brand and more importantly what is available.
More often than not a availability governs a lot of your purchasing when sourcing this stuff .

[David Dundas]

Thanks John,


I just threw "Lee" on the list and its easy to remember and spell, it was the other top names that keep coming up in reloading forums. I do like your KM Arbor press and it would be easy to take to the range, just hate the idea that I also need a bench press to do the resizing.
I wont be shooting PPC anytime soon and doubt that I would ever take a press to a Fly match but would be really handy to have at the range when you are working up a load.

Lets see if anyone else will chime in with there experiences, dam nothing else to do!

Cheers

Dave

[stuart veal]

G'day Dave, I'm currently running a 6BR which defenitly shoots better than i can read the wind
I started out using a hornady custom grade kit Part# 546432) which has the FLS and seater to which i installed the micrometer top and VLD stem.
Unfortunatly the 6mm NS die i had(also hornady) needs to be modified(shortened) for the stubby little 6BR and also note the decapping pin needs to be swapped out for the smaller diameter one.
Due to the sometimes rough drives to ranges where the rounds get bounced around in their  boxes i have now taken to seating my rounds longer at home for the trip, then on arrival seat them to to final depth using a K&M arbor press and LE Wilson micrometer seater with VLD stem (part# S6M-BRVLD)

Cheers Stuey

[David Dundas]

Thanks Stuart

The KM Arbor Press and the Wilson in line dies is a nice setup indeed for seating. Had plenty gear bounced around in the boot of the car, but never thought much about the bullets. I never leave the bullets in the car on those cold winter nights before a match as temps can get well below zero at some places - accuracy seems to drop off.

Cheers

Dave

[chappo (Greg Chapman)]

Hi Dave. I have hadgood success with Redding type S match bushing die sets in 6ppc, br and dasher.  From personal experience steer clear of whidden. The plastic tops are not rigid and can rock from side to side causing inconsistant seating depths.

I am just moving to arbor press and wilson dies. Only reason is reduced run out in loaded rounds. redding avg 0.015 or less but throws the odd one at 0.020-0.025. Wilson arbour die so far hasbeen avg under 0.015 and cant get one worse than that.

[John 23 Harris]

You are always going to need a bench mounted press for full length sizing .

Although you can neck size with a arbour press .

In regards to won’t be loading at the range .
That really depends on how much brass you own and how organised you are .  Last Canberra match was the first ever I have come equiped with enough ammo .

I generally load while away as it’s the only time I available to make bullets .  And gives me something to do in the evening .

If I was you I would start with a standard press and go from there .

Or if you are real organised and willing to spend the money you could buy a combo press like the ones made by harrels

[David Dundas]

Great thanks Guys,

Well in just a couple of posts we have dropped Whidden and Lee dies from the list. Keep the suggestions comming.


Dave

[David Dundas]

All

Thanks to all those who contributed. My wish list is the following,

Press=Forster Co Ax for the reloading bench at home.
Dies= Forster or maybe Redding competition

Optional: Press to take to the range=K&M arbor and Wilson seating die

I even had time to read my Berger reloading manual (very bored).


Cheers


Dave

[Les Fraser]

Dave Ring me Les

[John 23 Harris]

Why Forster coax?
Back in the day when they were $250 I believe they were a great bit of kit .

For the money they fetch now I wonder where the value is ?
Why not buy a benchrest press from one of the premium suppliers ?

[David Dundas]

Hi John,

Just want the best gear, don't want to buy something only to get an inferior product. The Coax press comes highly recommended and I should never need another. I like the shell holder and decapper on the Coax, the fast change die feature will be of little use as I am only loading one calibre and would probably decap and resize in one session and load\seat bullets in another. Will be reloading for the wife so will need approx 100 rounds for a match, 200 if shooting both classes.
I see the RCBS and Lee have decent offerings for just under $500, but happy to hear of others which might save me money and I will do some research.

I really liked your Arbor press and if Ididn't need to resize I would just go with one of them and a Wilson Die.

Cheers


Dave

[David Dundas]

Thanks for everyone's help.

Some Redding type S dies came up 2nd hand and I picked those up at a fair price. Just need some bushings the right size for the full length resizer. The seater die has the micrometer top so should be good for working up a load.
The just last week a Harrell Arbor press cam up for $100, to good to go pass so got that as well. I will keep my eye out for a Wilson in-line die for reloading at the range.
I am still looking for a solid bench mounted press and I love the Forster Co-Ax but at $800 plus its a bit rich, so been looking at the Mec Marksman, the Redding Big boss 2, the Frankford Arsenal Co ax and the RCBS Rockchucker as they are nearly half the cost. Might even run a wanted advert!
So after attending some matches and talking to you all on and off the range I now feel I can buy items with some confidence and don' feel like a complete Noob anymore.

Really enjoying all this new stuff so thank you to the dozen or more Fly shooters who have been so helpful. Hopefully, we will see you on the 500m firing line soon.

Cheers

Dave

[David Dundas]

All,

I am slowly gathering all my gear together and now have my Dies and Reloading presses. I have taken the suggestions from many over 2 years before I jumped in.

Dies
Redding Type S Competition dies (set)
Wilson SS Micro top seater die

Presses
Forster Co ax (on order)
Sinclair Arbor

The combination (Sinclair\Wilson) allows me a good setup for reloading at the range without too much bulk,  should be good to use when working up a load. The Forster\Redding combination will be ideal for resizing on the bench at home. Thanks to all those who have helped with advise over the years, I look forward to getting catching up at a shoot soon.

Cheers

Dave

[Fred Blacker]

Hi Dave.
Do you have scales or powder thrower yet?

[David Dundas]

Hi Fred,

Just got a cheap setup to start me off, will throw a charge under and then have a RCBS trickler to get me to my load. I have a Gempro 250 and some balance scales which will do for now. I recently saw the A&D 120i and Autotrickler v3 and was very impressed so going to save my pennies and look at one next year.

Cheers


Dave