I am trying to find some F L RCBS .308 winchester dies but finding them in stock anywhere is proving impossible. Are the Hornady dies just as good; I've read some comments that say they are very 'tight' and 'stiff' and are possibly more finicky about what type of lube you use? Is this true?
.308 Dies ; RCBS vs Hornady
- Thread starter vpsalin
- Start date
If you can't find them, order them from Huntington's.com. They are stateside, and an RCBS dealer (apparently they are right next door to RCBS) and they have even weird or specialty dies, and you would probably get it as fast or faster than ordering up here. I won't even bother with Sinclair anymore.
I tried a set of Hornady dies in .30-06 many years ago when I first got into handloading. They have a "floating", non-threaded de-cap rod that gave me no end of grief. No matter how much I tried to tighten it down, or how much dry lube I used in the case neck, the expander ball would stick in the neck and pull the rod out on the down stroke. It was so long ago I can't even remember how it was supposed to tighten down. The design may have changed since then, but I don't know for I've never gone back to Hornady again.
RCBS and Redding dies, by contrast, have been entirely trouble free.
P.S. Just checked the Hornady and Midway websites, and it appears that the new Hornady dies have threaded de-cap rods now, so I guess I wasn't the only one with a problem. Try Ellwood Epps for your .308 dies.
RCBS and Redding dies, by contrast, have been entirely trouble free.
P.S. Just checked the Hornady and Midway websites, and it appears that the new Hornady dies have threaded de-cap rods now, so I guess I wasn't the only one with a problem. Try Ellwood Epps for your .308 dies.
Last edited:
samsplacci71
Regular
- Location
- Toronto area
7 of my 8 dies are RCBS. I prefer the Lee universal decapping die. That's RCBS 'Achilles heel. The Mickey Mouse pins they have for decapping are not well designed.
I have all the major brands of dies and still prefer RCBS, because of the shortages I had to buy a Hornady 9mm die and a Redding .44 die.
The far more expensive Redding carbide die still requires you to lube every 5th case to prevent stiff sizing.
The Hornady die works very well and has some nice features but the die body and components and not finished as well as a RCBS die.
That being said I have Lee dies that look worse but function just as well as the RCBS dies.
Right now with the shortages if you find a die in the caliber you need grab it and use it, they all do the same job.
My uncle drives Chevy's and I drive Fords and we argue and kid each other which is the best truck, in the end our trucks get both of us to where we want to go.
The far more expensive Redding carbide die still requires you to lube every 5th case to prevent stiff sizing.
The Hornady die works very well and has some nice features but the die body and components and not finished as well as a RCBS die.
That being said I have Lee dies that look worse but function just as well as the RCBS dies.
Right now with the shortages if you find a die in the caliber you need grab it and use it, they all do the same job.
My uncle drives Chevy's and I drive Fords and we argue and kid each other which is the best truck, in the end our trucks get both of us to where we want to go.
