Bullet seating dies

[charlie b]

So, am opening up a bag of worms.

I know the Wilson bullet seating system works well and I suspect the Whidden seating die works good as well.

What about the Redding, Forster, RCBS and Hornady competition bullet seating dies? Any preferences? Any to stay away from? Harder to use?

I do load a lot of different bullets (weights and shapes) so ease of setting different seating depths is important, ie, a micrometer type adjustment would be convenient if it has enough range.

[bigedp51]

Below the Redding and Forster seating dies appear to produce very concentric ammo.

Reloading: Seating Die RunoutSeating Die Induced Runout - A Comparisonby Germán A. Salazar
https://www.uniquetek.com/store/696296/uploaded/Reloading-Seating-Die-Runout.pdf (https://www.uniquetek.com/store/696296/uploaded/Reloading-Seating-Die-Runout.pdf)

And now, the moment you've been waiting for...#1 - Redding Competition Seating Die (sliding sleeve type, threaded die)The Redding, which I expected to finish high, did what I thought couldn't be done - itproduced rounds with an average runout that was less than the average case neckrunout of the brass used. In none of the ten rounds loaded did the Redding increasethe runout; it either held exactly the same or it decreased. The Redding, with anAverage Runout Change of -0.0003" is the winner. The negative sign, of course,indicates a reduction in runout.

Below a Forster benchrest seating die image.

https://i.imgur.com/MomXeUI.gif

[Stumpkiller]

I use a Redding competition seating die (VLD ogive). No complaints. I agree with bigedp51's results. I very seldom bother to check run-out as it was repeatably "deminimus".

[charlie b]

Thanks for the info.

[Txhillbilly]

I've got Lee, RCBS, Redding, Hornady, and Whidden die sets. The seater's all work fine depending on the style of bullet's that you are seating. For the long Match or VLD style bullets, it's best to buy a seating stem that is designed for those types of bullets. Having a micrometer adjustment on top is nice, but not needed. It just depends on how much you want to spend on your dies.

[charlie b]

I have the Lee and std RCBS. I marked the Lee 'stem' like a micrometer so I could change it easily for the various bullets I load. I may load three different bullets in a single session so the markings are important to me for repeatable settings. Both are OK for maintaining alignment but I'd like something better.

PS I also modified the Lee seating stem. Drilled long and tapered so long bullets would not bottom out and it would not put a 'ring' on cast bullets.

[charlie b]

Well, stocking of parts is a problem. I went around and looked at a bunch of different places and nothing but the Whidden and Wilson were in stock.

I put myself on the notify list for the Redding at Midway. Keep my fingers crossed :)

[Nor Cal Mikie]

RCBS Compitition Seater. Micro adjuster top, side window to insert the bullets so you don't end up smashing your fingers.
Some people will laugh at the "smashing fingers" part but once to do it, you'll never want it to happen again.
I guess if you've never used your fingers for anything other than picking your nose, it wouldn't make any difference?
I'll pick up any RCBS Comp seater I can get my hands on and swap the internals to match the caliber of the round I'am working with.
A quick call to RCBS gets me what I want and if you're real nice, you may get the parts at No Charge. RCBS is good at that. :cool:

[Bill2905]

I use the Redding competition seating die for 6BR and a Hornady New Dimension seating die with their microjust seating stem upgrade for 223 Rem. I don't measure runout so I can't comment on that aspect.

I like and recommend the micro adjustable seating stems. They're not necessary but they do make the job of fine depth adjustments much easier.

[charlie b]

Yep, I've smashed fingers before :) Usually on the little .223 bullets. The .308s I can stand up in the case without them falling over :)

I guess part depends on which ones are in stock first.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Remember Charlie, you don't have to go NEW!! Find used ones for sale close to the caliber you're working with and swap the internals to fit your needs. Patience IS a virtue.;)
I have them modified/built for every caliber I shoot.

[Orezona]

Well, stocking of parts is a problem. I went around and looked at a bunch of different places and nothing but the Whidden and Wilson were in stock.

I put myself on the notify list for the Redding at Midway. Keep my fingers crossed :)


Which caliber are you looking for?

[charlie b]

What? Me be patient? LOL

I got lucky. Midway sent me a notice they had them back in stock so got it ordered. Should get here Wed or Thu.

It is for my .308Win.

[Orezona]

Good for you. I'm pretty sure you will like it.

[geezerhood]

I prefer the Redding micrometer seating dies as well. I just bought one for the 6.5 Creedmoor about a month ago and noticed a warning about seating bullets over compressed loads. I don't remember ever seeing that before and I own quite a few Redding sets, but haven't purchased one for many years until this one. Basically the orange warning paper says that you can damage the dies if you use them with compressed loads and that is not covered by the warranty.

I am curious as to when that warning was included with the dies. I may have to dig out the paperwork from a decade or more ago to see if I just missed seeing it back then.

[charlie b]

Don't know. I did see some people who had problems with the Forster with compressed loads. Seems the seating stem would 'flare out' and bind up the 'sleeve'. With the longer ogives that means the stem sides are thinner and would lead to this kind of problem with the forces of a compressed load.

[charlie b]

Mine finally got here. Already found a downside to these things. My cast bullets don't fit :)

The tolerances are tight, as they should be, and the 'throat' section of the die that centers the bullet is correct for jacketed bullets. Almost too tight since it takes a gentle push for the Hornady ELD bullets to go through. Bergers slip right through.

So, will have to figure out something else for the cast bullets (which I shoot a lot of). Probably modify one of the dies I have.

Looking forward to loading up some jacketed stuff and seeing the improvement.

[geezerhood]

You might consider the Lee floating insert bullet seating dies for your cast bullets. I think they have a bit more room in them, though I haven't loaded cast bullets with mine. I did load some ammo in new Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor cases without sizing them when I got a my first 6.5 CM barrel which was for an AR platform. I didn't want to invest in a set of Redding dies unless it shot well. The die worked great and was cheap! With the recent acquisition of several take off Savage and one custom 6.5 CM barrels, I just bought a Redding set with the bushing neck die, FL body die and micrometer seater. I didn't really want to buy the body die that didn't have the option of the neck bushing, but it was all I could find in stock. It adds one extra step but the price was right. I can neck size, prime, and bump the shoulder on my Dillon without having to handle the case twice. I don't trust the Dillon powder measure with this round, so no loss in not being able to load a finished round on the Dillon due to the shoulder die being where the powder measure would go.

[charlie b]

I do have the Lee die. It was allowing a little too much runout with the jacketed bullets, especially the longer Bergers I sometimes shoot. The cast bullets are mostly ok but the long ones I load (210gn) sometimes come out a little off as well.

The Lee die just does not support the case neck well enough and the hole for the bullet is oversize (about .312). The shorter case bullets don't care as they follow the neck well enough.

The good thing is the Lee sizing dies (full size and collet neck size) give me case necks with less than .001" runout (dial needle just barely moves).

PS one thing I need to track is the cast bullet itself. I had stopped measuring them because I saw no significant runout, but, now I need to go back and measure those again and see if they are the cause, ie, bullets not sized straight.