Redding Dies an Upgrade?

[Allen Lone wolf]

I have both Hornady and Redding dies but, I do prefer the Redding dies. They seem to be better quality. Just don't expect much from the paperwork that comes with them.

 

[sable tireur]

If you're talking about the circular rings, that looks to me like they came from the chamber. The linear marks would come from the die. Sometimes the circular rings don't become visible until the sizing action burnishes the case body.

I suggest that you examine your chamber first. I'm guessing Hornady will say the same thing.

Vertical scratches come from the dies not concentric rings.

As to brand preference, choose what you want to afford, what's available or whatever the current favorites are. Every manufacturer has failures on occasion, it's how customer service handles those failures that makes a company and it's products worthwhile.

Best of luck with this problem!

 

[hangfire]

I have used dies by all the major die manufacturer's RCBS, Redding ,Forster, Hornady and Lee I have had excellent dies from RCBS, Redding and Forster but I have also had complete dogs from Forster and RCBS by dogs I mean 3-4 thou run out and by excellent I mean 1 thou and under. So far I have never had a dog from Redding. Hornady and Lee have never given me 1 thou or under but then again they have never exceeded 2 thou

 

[Reloder28]

I have had Hornady ND dies come undersized right out of the box. It was an eye opener in my younger loading days. Once I stepped up to Redding & Wilson, the difference was night vs day. I now have zero runout issues. Once I find a load that works, I buy a dedicated seat die for it & set it, forget it. I do plan to obtain some Forester dies as I have the press already. I do ALL of my load development at the range and for that purpose the Wilson dies work best for me. I load with them on the bench too after the fact. Of course, Wilson's are Arbor Press dies. I really like my setup. It has negated many variables.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I can't speculate on your rings that are showing up but I have many dies including Redding, Whidden, Forster and Micron and the all leave some linear marks on the brass. That said I've owned (2) sets of Hornady dies and they are the only dies I've ever had a stuck cartridge in.

I also think you have another problem with your statement about a piece of brass occasionally getting stuck but that is likely related to your PRC chamber reamer.

Is this a custom or a factory rifle?

 

[AnesthesiaMD]

I have zero experience with Hornady dies. My first batch of dies were Forster micrometer dies since my first press was a coax single stage. I thought matching would be best. I now have a couple of the fancy Redding Comp bushing sets and a Whidden click adj bushing die. They are all nice. BUT if you can afford it…..The SAC sizing dies are a step up in quality. They size the cartridge family simply by changing out the bushing. But instead of just a neck bushing that can leave a ring at the junction of the shoulder it is a neck/shoulder one piece bushing. I LOVE the new die and am saving for the SAUM version now. Lots of ways to play the game. Find what works for you.

 

[22250imp]

So how about Lee dies? Have been considering them for a 223 Wylde chambering. I do like their Factory Crimp Die for pistol cartridges

 

[Western4444]

I pick and choose my dies not on vendor but rather does the vendor make a die that fits into my reloading strategy. Examples. Lee Collet Die, Redding Body Die, RCBS Professional Seating Dies, are critical to my reloading processes. There are no bad die makers, I appreciate them all.

 

[Chas1]

Yes, Redding is an upgrade over Hornady dies for sure, Hornady dies are generally rough inside. They generally work, but I won't buy them anymore, I buy Redding and Forster exclusively for commodity dies.

+1 I own both Redding and Forster and both are excellent and worth the $.

 

[SWHandldr]

I had the same brass-marking problem in a Redding body die recently. Die was really tight and grabbed at the brass. I got a pack of felt points to put on a Dremel, coated one up with Flitz, and very little at a time polished until the marks went away. I used two sizes of the spitzer-looking points - one for the body and one for the shoulder area.

Did I change the die dimensions? Eh probably not with polish and how lightly I had to hit the die, but if it did change anything then 1) the die works significantly better now, 2) brass life hasn't seemed to suffer, and 3) gun shoots better on the resized cases than it did the first time through, so it didn't hurt anything.

If you end up messing it up, the die was trash to start with so you aren't out much. At most a replacement if Hornady throws a fit about you trying to fix their mistake.

Hornady dies are fine, I have dozens of them sitting on the shelf next to my fancy Redding and Whidden and SAC and bloogah-bloogah something-fancy dies - they're a good value at the price point, very similar to how a lot of what Lee makes is low-cost but not "cheap". This is probably a case of a worn reamer or a chip getting stuck when the die was cut, could happen in any die. You'd hope QC would catch it, but Hornady does a lot of volume and a lemon is bound to turn up somewhere occasionally. I was able to fix mine, I don't feel like Redding owed me anything since it was a simple job.

Amazon Link to Felt Points

If you want to buy a Redding, I think they make good quality dies, especially mic seating dies. But I also wouldn't give up on what you have already, if only just to try to look inside it and see if it can be made to work instead of pitching it

Amazon Link to Felt Points

If you want to buy a Redding, I think they make good quality dies, especially mic seating dies. But I also wouldn't give up on what you have already, if only just to try to look inside it and see if it can be made to work instead of pitching it.

I bought the same or a very similar set of felts a year or so ago, polish all my sizing dies with them + Flitz (the green liquid version). Dies are mostly Lee, a couple RCBS, couple Redding.

Big difference in smoothness, no more marked up cases. Lubed with either 9:1 99% isopropyl alchol: lanolin in a spray bottle or Hornady case lube (refined beef tallow).

IME, many / most consumer products are 'factory grade,' mass-production quality. We can buy top-brand products (Forster / Redding) and most but not all will be finished to a higher grade than Lee, RCBS or Hornady. Or we can do the last step ourselves.

I'm retired, fixed-income. More time than $$. First die choice is generally Lee and I do the handwork almost never found in mass-produced products: Polish insides with Flitz, file reference marks on die bodies, lock rings & seating stems / caps for repeatable positioning.

Dies work better and changing from one cartdg or bullet to another is easier & faster; I'm less frustrated & more satisfied with my results.

No mfr's tools will suit most of us perfectly. Most of 'em work better with a little effort on our parts.

I have a Hornady bullet feeding die for 45 ACP; for me it's fiddly & prone to dropping multiple bullets at a time no matter how I tried to adjust it. Bought an RCBS for 9mm & find it about 100X more reliable, YMMV. But the RCBS bullet feed tube (3 or 4 come with the die) is a simple length of clear plastic. I have to be a contortionist to get a full tube onto the die without dumping a few out the bottom as I slide my finger out of the way when changing tubes.

Seated an empty tube, marked it just above the die then drilled straight across with a 3/64. Next time I was at Ace I got a few minature hitch pins for @ 19 cents each - don't even remember - they were cheap. Push one thru the holes, fill all the tubes with bullets. Seat the first one, pull the pin. Wa-La. When I empty it, I change out for a full tube & pull the pin.

RCBS could add this. They would have to drill the tubing, SKU the pins, & ensure each bullet die ships with 'em. More steps to screw up & they might add $10 to the retail. Why should they? It's easier & cheaper for me & I feel a small sense of accomplishment. I pass Ace Hardware every day I get my daughter from school so NBD.

Make yer stuff work for you.

 

[RidgeTop]

I contacted Hornady and will see what they say about these rings the die is putting on my brass along with the fact after a few firings, the brass gets stuck in the die unless I add a lot of wax.

That is an awful looking brass case. I would check your chamber - looks like chamber never got polished.

 

[CoyoteConquest]

As said before it's your chamber. I debated the same thing about dies. Ended up with 4 sets for 6.5 CM. I have a few CMs so it works out.. Here it goes as far as seaters.
I bought Redding premium series set with micrometer seating stem, A Forster set with micrometer seating stem, Hornady and lee. I like them all. I like how Forster supports the case, but they do have a problem with the stem. It can crack. They tell you not to use it with compressed loads and it's for a reason.
The Redding is ok but like the Forster micrometer better.
Hornady kind of copied Forsters seater design some what but it doesn't really work the same due to you can use it for any cartridge with the same bullet diameter. It doesn't support the case. It's accurate enough though.
I find myself using the lee more than anything else. It does t look as pretty but Dead set seater is the proper name for sure. It has less run out and seats it dead on every time. I wish they had a micrometer option. It's a great set and forget seater.
All the FL dies work the same. Some look better than others finish wise but they all work the exact same unless you use Bushing dies. I have a few different bushing dies for necking up and down wild cats but to use it too set neck tension isn't worth it. Not all brass is created equal. Unless you have Lapua or something similar you will find yourself buying several bushings which adds up fast at $15-$20 apiece. Different brasses have different neck thicknesses and you can have neck thicknesses all over the place with the same manufacturer unless you neck turn. Not worth it unless you're shooting competition.
Good luck

 

[jsthntn247]

Need to have a smith look at the chamber. If it's getting stuck it could be an oversized chamber causing the brass to squeeze down too much in the die. Also could be all the marks on the brass from the chamber catching in the die.

 

[skipglo]

Id have a look in my chamber. Had a similar problem with my 250ai. Turned out it was a rough chamber. It could also be a die issue also.
what about Forster dies?

I'm looking at this as you did. I would suspect vertical stringing from a die...not Horizontal rings. Just my 3 cents worth! ( I'm adding a penny this year)