Hornady Dies- Experiences and comments

T

tabs4u

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I am looking into getting some of there dies and am wondering what everyone thinks of them ? Quality. precision etc etc I normally use RCBS

thanks
 
With the few sets I have used I have found their quality to be about equal to RCBS. I like their bullet seater better than most other standard dies.
 
Had a buddy use his run out guage on some ammo perpared in various dies. He found the Hornady to be quite consistant for run out. Actually the RCBS offerings had quite a bit more inconsistancy in run out.
That's as scientific as testing maybe 2 or 3 different sets of the same calibre.
 
Their dies are EXCELLENT. For rifle you can get microjust seating thingy's... marvellous fit and finish all round... well worth the extra couple bucks if you like fine tools. I believe I have about twelve sets of Hornady dies and various tools of theirs. Not a disappointment among them.
 
I found they worked well, but was really surpised when sizing .308 that the expander bulb pulled off the spindle that it is LOCTITED to. Using a Lyman set know
 
I've won all my Service Rifle and Sniper rifle medals with the Hornady Custom grade dies. There... does that help? Then again, I 've had great sniper partners who really help me with the wind....

Seriously now... I love the Hornady dies. I had all RCBS dies about 20 years ago. Then I found that Hornady had a 'micro adjust' bullet seating device that allowed you to 'dial' in your different bullet lengths. Great for my needs of a .223 inventory of different bullets.

I shoot with a .223 for Service Rifle (68 gr. & 69 gr.), Tac Carbine (62 gr. & 55 gr. FMJ), Precision Rifle (75 gr. AMAX) ... Now you can see why I like being able to dial in my bullet lengths.

I also happen to be a cheap bastard (okay, I do know who my father is..) but I am cheap according to my sons. With that context, I like to keep my die sets the same, spare parts and all that jazz. I like the decapping rods in the Hornady. I have broken very few of the decapping pins, unlike with my previous RCBS inventory of dies, I was always bending or busting decapping pins.

Hope this helps,
Barney
 
Yep. From now on, I'm only ever buying Hornady and Lee Collet dies (and maybe the occasional redding or forester competition die)
 
Broke my decapping pin on my Hornady .45 die, called Hornady and had a new one in my mailbox in about a week, no charge and friendly people on the phone.

And... the dies work great.
 
Hornady Dies

All the new Diers I have purchased in the last 3yrs have been either Hornady or Lee carbide. I really like the seating Die. One observation is that the shape of the Hornady locking rings makes them difficult to use in a turret press. I have solved my problem by using smaller Lee locking rings.
 
I DON'T like the Hornady sizing die. :mad: The stem is supposed to lock in place by turning the sqeeze nut in. It does only when applying extreme force on two wrenches. In frustration when trying to size and deprim .303 Brit cases, I took the stem out, threaded it, and made new nut to fit.
Works great now. Did this with a Lee die too.
For full length sizing dies, I now only buy RCBS or Redding.
 
papaneil
I used my checkering file on about an inch of the shaft.Locks up easy now.
Even simpler would be to chuck it up and knurl it.The new ones are way better.
Rich
 
I chatted with Lonny at Hornady about the slipping decapping rod and he mentioned as RR has, just rough up the surface. He suggested using emery cloth.

Aside from the slipping rod, I love my hornady dies too. I only wish they had come out before I had gotten so many RCBS sets!
The seater kicks butt!

Noel
 
Papaneil said:
The stem is supposed to lock in place by turning the sqeeze nut in. It does only when applying extreme force on two wrenches.
Click to expand...

The new ones don't have this issue, they have the 'zip spindle' which looks to be lightly threaded right out of the box.

For general purpose rifle use, I like Hornady dies - good value in terms of dollars per feature.
 
I have couple of sets.The seating die should have a breather hole otherwise the bullet seater/pusher will hang up with the vacumn.It's edge needs a chamfer as well. Others have had problems with the collet not holding,deeper slots and a couple of more slots solve that problem.They have brought out new stems, that are the best of collet and screw, this year.They sent me one when my pin broke,they do work well,except they go back to a replaceable pin. They are a good value.
 
Tom Whitaker, one the finest long range shooters in the world and a qualified gunsmith, uses Hornady dies as he states they make more consistent ammo.

Regards,

Peter
 
acrashb said:
The new ones don't have this issue, they have the 'zip spindle' which looks to be lightly threaded right out of the box.

For general purpose rifle use, I like Hornady dies - good value in terms of dollars per feature.
Click to expand...

Sorry to dig up an old one, but I just got my first set of Hornady dies. Neck sizing new/unfired brass, the zip spindle pulled right out and now the expander is stuck in a case. I'm :runaway: around trying to figger out how to get the spindle to hold tighter in the neck of the die....and more than a little displeased.

OK, full disclosure, I didn't lube inside the case mouth. But with my RCBS neck sizing dies, I don't have to - haven't had any stick yet, even with hard(ish) brass on about 5th neck sizing.
 
I had a problem with hornady .45 ACP seating steam. It had a too sharp of an edge and was marking bullets when seating. Quick e-mail to them and I received another seating stem.

Great customer service.
 
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