Dies - starting reloading.

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BigCat

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Hi, I bought a RCBS rock chucker supreme kit to start reloading (red good reviews and the deal was good...) The kit is pretty complete but I know I need the dies and a case trimmer. The thumbler won't be necessary for now because I only plan to reload my .308win and I only shoot one box a week (average). I don't hunt much, most of my reloads will be for the range. Right now mostly to 100y but more soon.
I always try to buy the best price/quality so what are my options? I red that the ranking from, ok to better, is: Lee, RCBS and Redding.
So, would that be a good idea to start with a Lee kit to get into reloading and after few years buy the full adjustable (very expensive) dies? Or someone told me to buy Redding 3 dies set, A serie, and be almost set for life...
What would you do and what do you use?
I'll keep the trimmer for a new thread...
Thanks.
 
Dies will last you a long long long long while so buy the best you can afford. If precision shooting, Redding and Forster are pretty solid performers with little runout form the reviews I've read. The three main dies you'll want would be the FL sizing die, a neck sizing die and a seating die. You won't really need a factory crimp die.

I really should pickup a concentricity gauge and compare my Forster Ultra micrometer seater dies with my older Lee set. That said, I've had really good success with the cheaper Lee deluxe die set.
 
The only things I do not like about lee are the floating seating stem that many have and the o-ring lock rings. The latter can be solved with locktite once they are set up, the former I solve by using someone else's seating die (in my lee progressive press)

I've never sprung for Redding. Mostly just Lyman, RCBS, Lee, and a few odd ball ones like CH4D or hornady. RCBS and Lyman have always been our go to brands, but we just shoot informally. Nothing match grade in my methods.
 
The only thing I like about RCBS dies over Lee is the finish is slightly better. However its not enough to get me to spend substantially more on them. When it comes to real performance I skip RCBS and reach for Forster. The Lee dies are the best value by far and work well. All have really good warranty support so you'll be hard pressed to shoot yourself in the foot buying dies.
 
I have dies from all the usual manufactures and see very little difference in them. Unless you are setting up for competition i'd get what's available and reasonably priced.
 
Wish now I'd bought the 3 die set for the calibers I shoot from the bench .308 and .223. The micrometer seater wouldn't hurt either. Price starts to add up though. Go for a die set either FL, Neck sizing and seater.
 
Mark-II said:
The only things I do not like about lee are the floating seating stem that many have and the o-ring lock rings. The latter can be solved with locktite once they are set up, the former I solve by using someone else's seating die (in my lee progressive press)

I've never sprung for Redding. Mostly just Lyman, RCBS, Lee, and a few odd ball ones like CH4D or hornady. RCBS and Lyman have always been our go to brands, but we just shoot informally. Nothing match grade in my methods.
Click to expand...

I use a lot of Lee dies but don't like the O-rings either. I just turn them over and use like any other locking ring.
 
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