die recommendations for 308 WIN

S

subneural

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The cost of factory match ammo is limiting my shooting, so I'm seriously considering reloading. Fortunately my club has reloading equipment (RCBS) for members to use, so no need for me buy a starter kit - I just need dies & shell holders to get going.

One oldtimer at the club recommended Lyman dies to me, saying they did the resizing better than others - any truth to this? Which die set are you using for your 308 loads?
 
I have a set of Lyman .308 dies. I find that the sizing die tends to get cases stuck in it easily, so I bought an RCBS set that does not have the same problem.
 
I'm an RCBS snob, I have used them for 30 years and never had an issue. I'm not a match shooter or bench rest, so I can't comment on what they would use.
 
Depends on your rifle if you want to do a full resize of not. If you are shooting a bolt then you may want to thing about only neck sizing the brass.The initial firing of the brass will size the brass to the chamber and then use the neck sizing die to decap and size the neck.
RCBS makes a die for this, bit you will also have to buy the regular 308 die.

Another option would be to buy the xdie in 308. You trim the case once and then you are set.

Lots of choices.
 
I started with Lee, but have used RCBS for 308win for quite a few years now. RCBS makes good quality products and stands behind them.

Welcome to the world of reloading.



James
 
Thanks for the suggestions all. C Broad Arrow you bring up a good point - Unless things change, I'll only be reloading for my 308 bolt rifle. I think I will look at a neck-resizer as a first option.
 
I have used Lee, Hornady, and now Redding. No doubt, Redding is the best but you are looking at over $200 for a match neck die set with bushings and a carbide expander button. If you load a lot, the setup I just described is ideal because:
* the FL die is included and you may need it if you use brass that was not first fired in your rifle.
* usng a properly sized bushing on the neck means you are not over working the neck and your brass will last longer.
* with the minimum resize on the neck, and the carbide button you will not need to lube
* the seater has a tight fit and produces little runout.

Second best of the three brands I have tried is the Hornady with a FL set and a Neck die as well. (So you need to buy the extra NK die). You will need to lube the inside of the necks when using the NK die. Seaters are good with little runout.
NOTE: It is nice to have a sleeve in the seater to guide the bullet, especially if you load flat based bullets.
 
Assuming that you are shooting some type of Target/Precision rig since you are using Match ammo I would suggest Redding Type S or Competition dies.

Wilson dies are also very good but would require the purchase of an arbor press.
 
I have been using RCBS 308 dies with great results. I look forward to trying the Lee Colet Neck sizing die soon.
 
If you are shooting competitions, Redding dies are money well spent. If you are going with just neck sizing your brass you should also buy a Redding body die. After 5-6 loadings even if fired from the same rifle, sometimes the bolt get a little heavy closing. You can run loaded ammo safely through a Redding body die and save yourself from:bangHead:
 
I use an RCBS decapper/sizer set up to neck size only, and a Forster Ultra micrometer seating die.
 
Lee neck collet dies are in my opinion the best ones going if you are only using the brass in one rifle. I also really like the Forster Becnhrest seater, produces nice straight rounds. Also a body die (Redding) for bumping the shoulder back after a few firings. It all depends on how accurate you are looking to shoot and whether you want to spend the time on the fussy little things.
 
I've got mostly RCBS with a smattering of pretty much all the other brands. I have mostly RCBS because of availability over the years. Redding is still the best quality though, IMHO.
 
yukoncoyote said:
Lee neck collet dies are in my opinion the best ones going if you are only using the brass in one rifle. I also really like the Forster Becnhrest seater, produces nice straight rounds. Also a body die (Redding) for bumping the shoulder back after a few firings. It all depends on how accurate you are looking to shoot and whether you want to spend the time on the fussy little things.
Click to expand...

This is my setup as well.

Produces excellent results (IMO).
 
I'm having great results with the Redding Bushing die lately but I'ved used my RCBS FL die almost 30 years for 308. The Lee collet neck size with redding body die combo is hard to beat for a bolt gun.
 
superd222 said:
RCBS FL is the best place to start. You'll do fine with a standard 2-die set from RCBS.

There's no significant advantage to neck sizing unless you're using a bushing neck die.

Have fun and load safe!
Click to expand...

There certainly is! No lube needed for neck sizing.:)
 
I've been doing a fair bit of reading, and the Lee collet die sounds very intriguing. Does this die also deprime cases?

Secondly, given that precision loads are not crimped, are there any concerns with feeding from a box magazine?
 
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