Talk to me about dies

[7mmfan]

I have the standard RCBS green box reloading dies for my 7 mag and 7mm-08. Is there really a significant difference between them and some of the much higher priced versions? What would I gain by spending more money?

[h20hunter]

Frankly....not much unless you go special project. For 90% off all my guns I use dillon dies, hornady,  rcbs, etc. My one exception is my Rbros 7mag. I went with the competition type with the neck bushing insert to be as laser dialed in as I could to duplicate the builders load specs. Granted, my shooting abilities likely don't come close to eaking out that minute difference but that is what I'm trying yo do.....get every mm of accuracy i can out of that build.

[BULLBLASTER]

I am a fan of the Redding premium dies. The carbide expander ball is slick going through the necks and the micrometer seating plug is easy to use. I recently got a set of whidden dies and really like them as well.
All of mine are full length non bushing dies, I’ve never tried bushing dies.

To me the set up and adjustment of the Redding and whidden dies is so much easier than the rcbs.

[7mmfan]

I am a fan of the Redding premium dies. The carbide expander ball is slick going through the necks and the micrometer seating plug is easy to use. I recently got a set of whidden dies and really like them as well.
All of mine are full length non bushing dies, I’ve never tried bushing dies.

To me the set up and adjustment of the Redding and whidden dies is so much easier than the rcbs.

The little brass set screw on my RCBS die stripped out last time I was reloading, and wreaked havoc with me trying to keep consistent seating depth. Even when there was no apparent movement in the die, it would still wander on me. Got me thinking about upgrading into something a little better quality.

[Karl Blanchard]

I am a fan of the Redding premium dies. The carbide expander ball is slick going through the necks and the micrometer seating plug is easy to use. I recently got a set of whidden dies and really like them as well.
All of mine are full length non bushing dies, I’ve never tried bushing dies.

To me the set up and adjustment of the Redding and whidden dies is so much easier than the rcbs.

The little brass set screw on my RCBS die stripped out last time I was reloading, and wreaked havoc with me trying to keep consistent seating depth. Even when there was no apparent movement in the die, it would still wander on me. Got me thinking about upgrading into something a little better quality.

two things. First, toss all those garbage rcbs locking rings and order a 6 pack of the hornady ones off Amazon. Second, my favorite dies are the redding master hunter series dies.

[7mmfan]

I am a fan of the Redding premium dies. The carbide expander ball is slick going through the necks and the micrometer seating plug is easy to use. I recently got a set of whidden dies and really like them as well.
All of mine are full length non bushing dies, I’ve never tried bushing dies.

To me the set up and adjustment of the Redding and whidden dies is so much easier than the rcbs.

The little brass set screw on my RCBS die stripped out last time I was reloading, and wreaked havoc with me trying to keep consistent seating depth. Even when there was no apparent movement in the die, it would still wander on me. Got me thinking about upgrading into something a little better quality.

two things. First, toss all those garbage rcbs locking rings and order a 6 pack of the hornady ones off Amazon. Second, my favorite dies are the redding master hunter series dies.

Good call. Didn't know that was an option. Tell me why you like the Redding dies so much? What features do they offer that make them the best in your mind?

[Bill W]

The chamber dimensions of your rifle is the most important part.  Most dies are good enough as long as no one has tied them on for use as a sturgeon sinker.

[Stein]

I think it depends on what you are doing with the rifle.  I have Lee dies which I believe are the cheapest out there.  I can get down to about .5 MOA and maybe a little under that if my daughter is shooting as my eyes aren't capable of much better 0.75 MOA on most days.

If you are pulling out all the stops for bench rest accuracy, I'm sure there are good reasons to go there, but for average hunting situations I am better off spending that money on bullets and powder and shooting more.

[b23]

I pretty much only use Redding dies, but I have a few Forster dies too.  IMO, they size a lot smoother than less expensive dies and I really like Redding Comp dies.

[BULLBLASTER]

The big benefits for me are ease of set up and adjustment as well as overall fit and finish. Like B23 said they also just seem to size smoother.  The master hunter dies that Karl mentioned also have the fancy spring loaded seater die (I don’t know what it’s called) but that supports the entire case while the bullet is seated. Only my whidden set has that.
My only gripe with my Redding dies is on my 300 win seater the seating set up would not allow for long enough seating so i took a locking nut off another die to space the seating plug over the die. Though that would be mitigated with a fancy spring loaded seater.

[Karl Blanchard]

Others summed it up nicely. Just better all around. Consistency, setup, and function. Accuracy comes from consistency. Every aspect and phase of loading and shooting make a difference. While one individual thing can be a minor thing, you add all of them up and it can be significant increase or decrease in accuracy.

[7mmfan]

Alright, good talk guys. Thanks for the input

[CaNINE]

I get some pretty remarkable accuracy results out of RCBS standard dies.  However, the first thing I do is pull the expander ball out and throw it in the trash.  I use a separate mandrel step to expand necks.

[Crunchy]

I am a standard RCBS die guy myself.  I use the Hornady lock rings, which are a must.  Dial it in and lock them down.  I do a lot of measuring to ensure consistency.

[7mmfan]

It sounds like the Hornady locking rings are where I need to start, and then decide if the die itself is still functioning appropriately. My guess is it's fine for my intended use.