I've got a couple questions as I'm very new to reloading. Are the hornady custom dies a good die to start with? Decent easy to use and of good quality? I plan to buy a lee press either the 50th kit or the turret press. Calibers to be loaded are 223. 25-06. 35whelen and 45-70. Or should I just stick to lee dies and shell holders? Thanks
hornady custom dies
- Thread starter brybenn
- Start date
dies are dies, for the most part. There's really not a huge difference in brands, or function. My first choice is usually the Lee Collet deluxe set, if it's available in my caliber. The collet die is definitely unique to Lee, and works very well for lube-free neck sizing; which is a fantastic time saver when you're loading a large volume of precision ammo (for blasting gophers, for example).
Hornady dies (at least, the ones I've used) include a collet thingy in the seater die that's supposed to keep the bullet aligned during seating. Not sure how effective this actually is, or if it's just a gimmick. Also, most Hornady dies have a tapered expander plug, which makes for a smoother resizing process.
But, like I said - dies are dies, for the most part. There's usually not really a compelling reason to choose Hornady over Redding over RCBS over Lyman, over whatever else have you.
Hornady dies (at least, the ones I've used) include a collet thingy in the seater die that's supposed to keep the bullet aligned during seating. Not sure how effective this actually is, or if it's just a gimmick. Also, most Hornady dies have a tapered expander plug, which makes for a smoother resizing process.
But, like I said - dies are dies, for the most part. There's usually not really a compelling reason to choose Hornady over Redding over RCBS over Lyman, over whatever else have you.
Don't cheap out on reloading equip., it's too important, Hornady dies are okay, Lee dies and press are crap, very flimsy, my choice in dies and presses are Redding and Forster. With the Forster Co-ax press my first choice, and Redding "deluxe" die sets which feature both a full length sizing die and a neck sizing die. The Forster die sets feature, in-line seating, though for this task I prefer Vickermann in-line seaters. Note: This is my opinion only, people get their backs up because they don't like to hear that they cheaped out on something this important. I spend most of my days making bullets, reloading, shooting and hunting, and any Lee equip. that I had has long since gone in the trash.
I bought the Lee kit and Im not happy with any of it. The measure and scale were garbage, I actually threw them in the garbage. The press seems to work ok but I've had an accuracy problem (.4moa vs 1moa) than I seemed to get after switching from a friends rcbs press to the Lee. I think maybe its not straight and it loads shells the same. Anyway the Lee kit is a waste of money in my opinion.
My Hornady dies seem to be about the same as the few Lee sets I have.
My preference would be Redding or RCBS, as for presses my Forster Co-Ax is a good unit but small and the shell plates are a royal pain to switch when changing calibers because of the springs.
I cannot use my Vickermann seating dies in my Co-Ax because of a lack of clearance with the yoke on the handle.
My Co-Ax works great with small cartridges, but for the larger stuff I prefer a stronger press like the Lee Classic Cast and it is easily strong enough to size and load up to 50 BMG.
The only other press on my bench stronger than the Lee is my Ammomaster.
Actually, I put my Co-Ax on my table at the Kamloops Gun Show for $75 with all accessories and nobody would give it a second look, so now it loads small stuff like 22 Jet, or Hornet.
My preference would be Redding or RCBS, as for presses my Forster Co-Ax is a good unit but small and the shell plates are a royal pain to switch when changing calibers because of the springs.
I cannot use my Vickermann seating dies in my Co-Ax because of a lack of clearance with the yoke on the handle.
My Co-Ax works great with small cartridges, but for the larger stuff I prefer a stronger press like the Lee Classic Cast and it is easily strong enough to size and load up to 50 BMG.
The only other press on my bench stronger than the Lee is my Ammomaster.
Actually, I put my Co-Ax on my table at the Kamloops Gun Show for $75 with all accessories and nobody would give it a second look, so now it loads small stuff like 22 Jet, or Hornet.
Actually we were suprised too !
When I got back home it went back on my bench and I just use it for small stuff or shorter cartridges no longer than 308.
The comment we heard most when someone looked at it was.... "looks pretty dinky compared to my Rockchucker ".
I found that amusing as I had used a Rockchucker for well over 20 years.
I've got 3 of them, 357, 243 and 30-06. I like them because of the extra piece mentioned before. If you've belled a brass too much, it'll still work.
I just wished the box was a little different with the "carbide"(can't remember the name) ones. Saw the red and thought it was the same as my first Hornady New Dim. dies, 357 "carbide" type. I now own a stuck case remover
Clint
I just wished the box was a little different with the "carbide"(can't remember the name) ones. Saw the red and thought it was the same as my first Hornady New Dim. dies, 357 "carbide" type. I now own a stuck case remover
Clint
i don't like hornady dies myself. ive had three sets and sold them off. i prefer rcbs or redding. i would probably use a lee deluxe set before buying hornady dies. but thats a personal prefernce as i dislike the hornady seating die.
I've tried all the dies mentioned plus Lymans, Herters, CH, and a few criptic oldies that most folks (including me up to the time I found them) have never heard of. In an ideal world where they were easy to find and half the price, I'd follow CH's advice and use nothing Forsters and Reddings. Unfortunately, the ideal world doesn't exist - at least not in this end of the country or in my wallet. I haven't had problems with any of the dies mentioned and have produced extremely accurate loads with all of them. I prefer the Hornady seating dies and I like their eliptical sizing balls which, in my view are superior to those in the RCBS and Lymans. Have had no problem with the Lee's other than their adjustment rings don't work well in my coax press so I have to use them in my RCBS.
And as for the coax press - found mine for $50 (lucky me). Its leverage is tremendous. I can slip a well lubed 30-06 into it, run it through a .308 die and with virtually no effort out pops a .308 with a really long neck. Its universal shell holder saves a lot of dinking around. If you're luck enough to find one, I highly recommend them.
And as for the coax press - found mine for $50 (lucky me). Its leverage is tremendous. I can slip a well lubed 30-06 into it, run it through a .308 die and with virtually no effort out pops a .308 with a really long neck. Its universal shell holder saves a lot of dinking around. If you're luck enough to find one, I highly recommend them.
Benn
The sky is practically the limit when it comes to reloading gear and related accessories. If Lee gear is all you can afford then this this where you should start. If you can afford the $500 Rockchucker Supreme kit than there is where you can start. The is no doubt that the scale and powder measure in the RC kit is of much better quality, not to mention the press.
Now Lyman make a kit, the lesser RCBS kit with the Partner press is serviceable. Redding make a couple of presses and the there is the caddilac the Forster. Another thing to consider is how much shooting you will be doing? Fellows Like me that go to the range at least once a week and gopher shooting as often as possible will have no trouble justifying spending more money on the bells and whistles, where as a guy that wants to load better quality ammo but may not get out and shoot once a month may feel that some of the less costly gear is were he should start.There are tens of thousands of fellows in the USA and around the world that use Lee gear. FS
I've been reloading hunting & Varmint rounds for a number os yrs
My fav dies are actually the Hornady New Dimension, although a relatively new product they work great & would strongly recommend them over any other die set & will continue to do so till such time as they prove me wrong! As for presses, after yrs playing with various Lyman, RCBS & other single stage presses I switched to a nice used basic Lee Turret press 20 yrs ago & can't imagine ever a reason to use anything else. I have 2 turrets so I leave my Varmint dies set in one & use the other for various other calibers as needed!
Ignore the "top of the line" doeheads adviseing for nothing but the particular brand they use
I have made some pretty seriously accurate Varmint-bench type loads with Really Great Buy RGB green box Lees dies, & would not hesitate to purchase them to reload for a hunting rifle.
Thanks for the advise guys. Basically I wanna load just to save the cost of factory ammo in 2506 and 35 whelen as they are hard to find at times. And the 45-70 double will shoot a lot of cast lead once I make a backstop to reclaim my lead. The 223 25 and 35 will see only 50-300 rounds a year so by no means high volumes. I've got 22lrs and a sks for that
