# Presses and dies



## MHMRanch (Jun 29, 2009)

Redding or rcbs dies and presses.which one and why? What have been your experiences?


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## gotfish81 (Mar 1, 2011)

For general single stage reloading my experience has been with RCBS for a long time. RCBS and Hornady dies have been good as well. Lee dies only in a pinch.


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## Texas T (May 21, 2004)

RCBS Lasts well, easy to use, and great customer service if needed.


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## Ernest (May 21, 2004)

Redding makes great dies. I like the "S" versions for reloading rifle rounds. Spendy, but dies last seemingly forever.


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## coogerpop (Sep 3, 2009)

I have had both and they both are good....RCBS has been overall cheaper and maybe the line has a few more products than Redding...can't go wrong either way...I'd just let the price direct me..


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## prarie dog (Feb 28, 2011)

I use an RCBS Rockchucker press and mostly Redding competition dies on all my accuracy loads. SWMBO gave me the press for christmas several years ago so I didn't buy it, but there's not much to complain about with that press, it's been the standard for a long time. 

Hornady, RCBS and many others make dies that work well for rounds that don't need to be perfect. I have several pistol die sets that are carbide made by RCBS that work fine and allegedly won't wear out. With pistol and short range rounds practically anything will work ok.
For accuracy work I'd stick to Redding competition die sets, they're spendy but, VFG.


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## CDHknives (Mar 17, 2012)

Both work well. Redding is maybe a bit better finished and RCBS had legendary customer service should you need it.


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## MHMRanch (Jun 29, 2009)

Wanting to make the most out of my 257weatherby.can't seem to find competition dies though.


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## bowfishrp (Apr 5, 2007)

I have used all of them and basically you get what you pay for. The redding is worth the money but like others said I would not do redding unless I was loading rifle rounds for accuracy. I have a little trouble sometimes with my RCBS 9mm sizing die but other RCBS dies in different calibers work fine for me. Hornady is what I use primarily because they give you 100 free bullets with each die set and their die sets work great for me.


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## letsgofishin (Sep 28, 2009)

*That is what I think 2*



Texas T said:


> RCBS Lasts well, easy to use, and great customer service if needed.


I don't like to mess with what works! :texasflag


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## Nitroexpress (Apr 7, 2010)

Don't think you can go wrong with either brand. Redding dies seem to be a bit higher quality if you are loading for precision.


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## THE JAMMER (Aug 1, 2005)

Service better than RCBS DOES NOT EXIST. They are the bomb.


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## twang56 (Nov 21, 2010)

IMHO for rifle reloading, Redding, Forester, RCBS and Lee in that order and RCBS is 1st in customer service. I have Redding dies i have used for over 40 yrs and still going. RCBS have been replaced several time and some at no charge. Love Redding & Forester competition seating dies for accuracy.


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## yep (Jul 25, 2006)

*dies*

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I just ordered some lee dies for a 38/357. has anyone had any experience with the pistol dies?


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## B-Money (May 2, 2005)

I've pushed about 5000 thru my Lee 38 dies. No problems


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## artys_only (Mar 29, 2005)

*rcbs*

Just bought a rock chucker and prep station had problems with the shell chafer , called rcbs and they mailed me 2 new one for free , plus asked about load VDL bullets and they have a special chamfer for them sent me two free ones of them also , RCBS gets my vote


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## bowfishrp (Apr 5, 2007)

I like Redding first, then hornady, then rcbs...but thats just me.


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## jct1 (Jan 26, 2010)

*Dies*

I reload pistol. All of my Dies are RCBS never had any issues.


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## Reloder28 (Apr 10, 2010)

Hornady for run of the mill loads, Redding for precision loads. 

Sold all of my RCBS dies & won't ever buy them again.


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## coogerpop (Sep 3, 2009)

RCBS gets my vote....now that HERTER"S is out of the business....tells you how old I am and how long I've been reloading....I have 5 or 6 sets of Herters dies that preform perfectly. Use clean and properly conditioned cases and clean the dies regularly and I don't think the average shooter could ever wear them out.I have made it a point over the years to buy a set of dies each time I traded for a new caliber rifle, so I have 35-40 sets.


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## FearNoFish (May 22, 2005)

*Redding or Forester for precession*

The Redding S-Type dies are by far the most popular dies for precession long-range shooters, and their Competition series seaters with micro-meters are very nice when working up a load and trying different seating depths.

The Forester Bench Rest dies are also very good, up there with Redding but a little cheaper and they will even make custom dies for your rifles chamber if you send in 3 once-fired peices of brass. As far as presses go you can't beat the Forester Co-Ax, I also have a RCBS rockchucker and a small Lee for taking to the range but the ability to swap out dies quickly in the Co-Ax is a very nice feature, it also has a great spent-primer catcher and precession primer seater built into it. You don't have to worry about shell holders either with a Co-Ax as it has a "universal jaw" that will fit all brass other then .50 cal. Dies mounted in a Co-Ax also have a little play in them which allows everything to self-center when seating or resizing, I have measured the run-out from rounds loaded on my Co-Ax and it is very small indeed.

Be aware that Redding S-Type resizing dies requires the use of a bushing which must be purchased separately, but this allows you to size the neck to acheive the perfect tension on the bullet and prevents over-working the brass. To find out what size bushing you need simply measure the neck of a LOADED round with the brass & bullet you are loading for and subtract .001 from that measurement and this will size your neck to give it the perfect amount of tension on the bullet for a bolt gun. On loads for gas guns I like a tighter neck, .002 or even .003 under.

It all depends what you are loading for, I load .308 and soon 6.5mm for precession long range shooting and the ammount of work I put in on my brass & loading procedure boarders on insane at times, but you only have to turn the necks & weight sort brass once.


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## rmorgan9718 (May 21, 2012)

MHMRanch said:


> Wanting to make the most out of my 257weatherby.can't seem to find competition dies though.


either Redding or RCBS will may you a set of whatever you want, take about 6-8 weeks, cost $150 or so. I did see some 257Wby dies on one of the internet sellers a month or so ago, but didn't pay that much attention.


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