die recommendations for 308 WIN

[ben hunchak]

For precision work, I'd opt for Forster, Redding or RCBS, competition dies which will have a bullet seater that seats bullets with as little runout as possible. I like the Redding "Deluxe" set which has both FL and neck sizing dies, add an inline bullet seater and your all set. The Redding bushing neck die is a good bet too, but you may still need a FL die as well.

 

[rnbra-shooter]

I've been doing a fair bit of reading, and the Lee collet die sounds very intriguing. Does this die also deprime cases?

Yes.

You never mentioned what the intended use of your ammo was. Some people have given you advice on high end dies suitable for precision match grade ammo. If all you want is cheap reliable ammo, you don't need to spend $100+ on super premium dies. A Lee set that includes a seater die, full length sizer die, and collet die (neck sizer) will be cheap, versatile, and good.

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

No need to crimp. Ordinary neck tension holds bullets pretty darn strongly. Lee has this peculiar notion that this is essential (and they strongly push their "factory crimp" die).

 

[subneural]

Yes.

You never mentioned what the intended use of your ammo was. Some people have given you advice on high end dies suitable for precision match grade ammo. If all you want is cheap reliable ammo, you don't need to spend $100+ on super premium dies. A Lee set that includes a seater die, full length sizer die, and collet die (neck sizer) will be cheap, versatile, and good.

No need to crimp. Ordinary neck tension holds bullets pretty darn strongly. Lee has this peculiar notion that this is essential (and they strongly push their "factory crimp" die).

Thanks for this info, rnbra-shooter. The intended use for my reloaded ammo is precision/match shooting, out to 300m for now and further as I build my skills. Any hunting I do with this rifle will be with factory ammo.

Interesting that you mention the Lee 3-die set. I just found the same thing over at (forum sponsor) reloaders.ca, and it appears to be a good value to get me started.