Die!!

savage express

savage express

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New to reloading, I now have 90% of equipment bought and set up all I need now are the dies. I am looking for the best ones, I only see that carbide is availabe for hand gun so what about RCBS "X" dies to reload from .338 Win Mag to .223 Rem.? Or the Hornady New Dimension dies? ...
Its may understanding that a good set of dies, if taken care of will last for a very long time. So I wouild rather spend the extra couple bucks now, and get a premium set, but with the lack of experience, I dont want to buy into BS.
On a side note, is RCBS Case Lube II supposed to be as thick as gear oil? (better lube?) Why not a thin lube like air tool oil?

Thanks for your input.
 
Unless you are loading ammo for competitive shooting, I doubt that you will find any advantage to using "the best" dies available over "standard" dies. The standard RCBS dies will produce precision ammo, I'd say save a few bucks and go with them.
 
I have a mix of Lee, RCBS, and Lyman - they all work well. Given a choice, I would buy the Lee Deluxe set - gives you a tremendous selection of hardware for the price.
 
Johnny G1 said:
If you are gonna use a lube do your self a favor and use Imperial sizing wax, about 6$ and will last a long time, only the best that most reloader's use. Just my thoughts.
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I agree with your take/assessment of the qualities of Imperial. I've used Lyman, Rcbs(too stickie) and Hornady, while most of them work well, I've found Imperial to be the best. While I am a fan of RCBS products, their case lube isn't one of my favorites. Where the difference has really become apparent to me is in case forming/high preasure applications.

I have about 1/3 left of my old original tin, 2"dia.x3/4" and the instructions on the container to "Use very sparingly" means exactly that. A little goes a long way. I've had this tin for years. I've had trouble locating Imperial, so for a margin of safety:p, I picked up some Unique Case Lube made by Hornady and it seems to work well, and reasonably priced, $4.oo.

On my last 'shopping trip' at P&d, the Gods of reloading were smiling upon me. They had a supply of Imperial in so I picked up three tins, kept two and gave one to a shooting buddy. These 'new' tins are 2 1/2"x7/8" and were priced @ $16.oo. Not cheap but good. A rough calculation, with the supply I have now, I should enough to last 'till my 107th Birthday.;)
 
I load a wide variety of calibers. maybe 30+ Never had a situation where the lube was stressed. Only problem was when I forgot to lube. But I don't do much case forming.

I have all makes of dies. I have problems withthe Hornday sizing dies. RCBS has always been good. Bur recently buy Lee. Like the unbreakbale decapping pin.

I find that lube is defined by how easy it is to apply and how easy is it to get off. I use the Lee watersoluable because it wipes off well with a paper towel. I install it by puting brass in a plastic pail, smearing a worm of lube along pail wall, and then swirling about 50cases around in the pail (200 pistol cases.)
 
[On my last 'shopping trip' at P&d, the Gods of reloading were smiling upon me. They had a supply of Imperial in so I picked up three tins, kept two and gave one to a shooting buddy. These 'new' tins are 2 1/2"x7/8" and were priced @ $16.oo. Not cheap but good. A rough calculation, with the supply I have now, I should enough to last 'till my 107th Birthday.;)[/QUOTE] I hope the price you paid was for all 3 tins and not 16$ apiece, Bought my last tin in Kamloops @WSS for about 6$ Will check out the price again next time I get to WSS
 
Good die do make a difference. Invest in Redding die, specially the S die. You can change the neck tension by changing the bushing. This is handy when using different brand of brass.:) Redding is also selling shell holder to adjust the amount of sizing ( set back) you apply to the shoulder of your brass.
As for the lube, I use Dillon. I prefer it over the other. this does not mean the other are not good, but the Dillon is dispensed with a sprayer. Put the brass in a pan, spray and roll the case. Use a Q tip to wipe the inside of the neck and that's it.
 
"While I am a fan of RCBS products, their case lube isn't one of my favorites"

This I agree with as I started out with the Lee setup using the lube and later bought out a Friends RCBS setup. I tried the RCBS setup and sized up a pile of 338's and noticed after the necks had dents in them. They do mean sparingly. I was fine until the lube built up in the die and the pressure built up. My bad and not the products fault.

I would be interested in this Imperial product. Is it a oil or paste?
 
corney said:
"While I am a fan of RCBS products, their case lube isn't one of my favorites"

This I agree with as I started out with the Lee setup using the lube and later bought out a Friends RCBS setup. I tried the RCBS setup and sized up a pile of 338's and noticed after the necks had dents in them. They do mean sparingly. I was fine until the lube built up in the die and the pressure built up. My bad and not the products fault.

I would be interested in this Imperial product. Is it a oil or paste?
Click to expand...

Imperial is called sizing wax, I would say it is something like a hard Turtle Wax amazing stuff, very little needed, I found a bit on your finger's will do a few cases.
 
I use the RCBS lube (spread sparingly with thin cardboard) on a lube pad when sizing lots of brass as it is faster to roll 10 or 15 cases on a pad, this stuff is also "little goes a long way". I also use Imperial if I don't want all the mess associated with the resizing or if I am not doing cases in bulk amounts.
 
Looks like I gotta get me some of that Imperial. I kinda like to check then out when I rub the lube on with my fingers;)
 
Most case lubes are water soluble....not petroleum based. If it gets inside the case it can be washed/tumbled away without much fuss. Petroleum based will not wash so easy and could cause hang/misfires.
 
Trust whats being said here.
Imperial Sizing Wax is the best product out there and I've tryed them all.
Open the tin and place a touch of it on your fingertips and FL size to your hearts content.
Since trying it I've thrown out all of the spray lubes,pads and tubes of junk that I'd stacked up over the years.
 
Johnny G1 said:
[On my last 'shopping trip' at P&d, the Gods of reloading were smiling upon me. They had a supply of Imperial in so I picked up three tins, kept two and gave one to a shooting buddy. These 'new' tins are 2 1/2"x7/8" and were priced @ $16.oo. Not cheap but good. A rough calculation, with the supply I have now, I should enough to last 'till my 107th Birthday.;)
Click to expand...
I hope the price you paid was for all 3 tins and not 16$ apiece, Bought my last tin in Kamloops @WSS for about 6$ Will check out the price again next time I get to WSS[/QUOTE]

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:(No, it was $16.oo each:redface:.It's been a while since I've seen it available and way back when I picked up my first tin, even though it was smaller, as I recall I paid about $5.oo for it then. I'll re-inquire at P&d as to the price at the next opportunity.

When you find out the price at WSS I would appreciate being informed.
 
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