Redding or hornady dies?

[theosmithjr]

My runout on hornady dies is usually 3-5 thousandths. Completely unacceptable. There is reason some companies can charge more. Nobody wants to spend 150-300 bucks on a set of dies. If you're going to chase accuracy, why short change yourself every shot? ‍‍
I agree with the people recommending Forster dies. BUT Redding makes a fine product too.
Hornady isn't even a consideration for me.
I'll add the bump neck die is my all time favorite (Forster).

I agree 100% with you sir. I told him REDDING COMP. SETS are the BEST ALL AROUND! I use for 90% of my loading. But I'm chase EXTREME LONG RANGE ACCURACY, for that I have my DIES MADE. Either from the SAME REAMER as my CHAMBER, or from ONCE FIRED BRASS. ONLY way to FLY WAY, WAY OUT THERE! Theosmithjr

 

[BeaverHunter]

My runout on hornady dies is usually 3-5 thousandths. Completely unacceptable. There is reason some companies can charge more. Nobody wants to spend 150-300 bucks on a set of dies. If you're going to chase accuracy, why short change yourself every shot? ‍‍
I agree with the people recommending Forster dies. BUT Redding makes a fine product too.
Hornady isn't even a consideration for me.
I'll add the bump neck die is my all time favorite (Forster).

What does 3-5 thousandths in run out equate to in terms of accuracy? At 100-800 yards. I'm using these dies to use for hunting guns, not benchrest/prs shooting. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely asking. Only reason I'm asking is because I want to make myself a better shooter/hunter but I wonder if other things are much bigger variables I should be working on first equipment/reloading wise. Thanks in advance.

 

[Playtimefun]

I used to have all RCBS, and for the last.... 10 sets in probably 5 years I've gone to Redding. And every set is a deluxe die set.

Little higher priced (ok the most expensive by far) up here in Canada but I am having trouble even considering Hornady or RCBS for my "junk" cartridges. The Redding just seems to have better tolerances (in my low opinion lol) than the RCBS. But I can say that I have never had an issue with any RCBS dies either.

The Hornady.... well I gotta admit I have heard good things about them. A friend Has about 4-5 sets of Hornady titanium nitride dies and he really likes them. He says that he likes my Redding dies better but Hornady dies are pretty cheap $$$ compared to Redding.

If you check Redding's components with a micrometer, you will be shocked at how tight their tolerances are.

Now you talk about presses... well you will have to pry my RCBS Rock Chucker our of my cold dead hands lol.

 

[Wolf76]

What does 3-5 thousandths in run out equate to in terms of accuracy? At 100-800 yards. I'm using these dies to use for hunting guns, not benchrest/prs shooting. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm genuinely asking. Only reason I'm asking is because I want to make myself a better shooter/hunter but I wonder if other things are much bigger variables I should be working on first equipment/reloading wise. Thanks in advance.

I'm a hunter first and an avid reloader second. Don't shoot matches or really even care about PRS. What does matter to me is confidence to do the job. Shooting 1-1.5 moa will kill many animals, but doesn't inspire confidence especially when the distance lengthens.
When you shoot consistent .5moa groups, things change. 200 yard shots aren't even challenging.
Lack of accuracy wounds animals and destroys hunts.
The acronym APE was developed for hunting bullets.
A=accuracy
P=penetration
E=expansion
That's the pecking order of priorities for a bullet. Why would anyone skimp on the #1 priority?
Look at the difference in 1 vs 2 moa. Using your example @800 yards that's an 8" group vs 16". One is ethical and the other shouldn't be considered.
I get trying to save some $$, better dies + good technique most often yield significantly more accurate ammo. I'll bet you don't have a tasco or a Walmart simmons scope mounted on your rifle. Why? Because better glass makes a difference.
As for variables, which of them is unimportant? Scent control, hunting skills, marksmanship, equipment, planning.
As a side note, one gun I own is so accurate that I bring it to the range to identify shooter or equipment error.

In short, it's a hunting gun and the value of having a highly accurate load is more important than paper punching.

Buy once, cry once.

 

[BeaverHunter]

I'm a hunter first and an avid reloader second. Don't shoot matches or really even care about PRS. What does matter to me is confidence to do the job. Shooting 1-1.5 moa will kill many animals, but doesn't inspire confidence especially when the distance lengthens.
When you shoot consistent .5moa groups, things change. 200 yard shots aren't even challenging.
Lack of accuracy wounds animals and destroys hunts.
The acronym APE was developed for hunting bullets.
A=accuracy
P=penetration
E=expansion
That's the pecking order of priorities for a bullet. Why would anyone skimp on the #1 priority?
Look at the difference in 1 vs 2 moa. Using your example @800 yards that's an 8" group vs 16". One is ethical and the other shouldn't be considered.
I get trying to save some $$, better dies + good technique most often yield significantly more accurate ammo. I'll bet you don't have a tasco or a Walmart simmons scope mounted on your rifle. Why? Because better glass makes a difference.
As for variables, which of them is unimportant? Scent control, hunting skills, marksmanship, equipment, planning.
As a side note, one gun I own is so accurate that I bring it to the range to identify shooter or equipment error.

In short, it's a hunting gun and the value of having a highly accurate load is more important than paper punching.

Buy once, cry once.

Again I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm trying to find out what 3-5 thousandth in run out equates to in accuracy. Thanks

 

[sedancowboy]

In my experience anything over .002 can be seen on a target. I strive for 0 but settle for .001 total run out. JE Custom wrote a great thread on here about that if you can find it.

I would add that there are a lot of things that have to come together for that to be noticed on target.
Rifle barrel what kind of Chamber does it have. What kind of brass and the prep of the brass, bullets and other factors before run out is a big factor.

 

[Wolf76]

Again I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm trying to find out what 3-5 thousandth in run out equates to in accuracy. Thanks

The answer is dependent on many variables. I think of it like an imbalanced tire. If it's slow moving like a on a tractor (or shotgun slug), not a big deal. But on a race car, its catastrophic.
On my 300wm this equates to .75 moa. 308 was closer to 1 moa.
If better dies only shaved 1/8" off group sizes, I wouldn't spend the money. They have made a much bigger difference and saved me $$ in load development time/ components.
0-1.5 thousandths runout is an acceptable range IMO.
The Lee collet die in the only cheap die that performs well.

Good luck.

 

[cape cove]

Again I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm trying to find out what 3-5 thousandth in run out equates to in accuracy. Thanks

I don't believe you will get a definitive answer on this, mostly opinions. I read an article a few years back on run-out.It stated that for big game hunting with in moderate ranges up to .005 was acceptable, .003 for varmint and long range big game hunting and for bench rest/target as close to 0 as possible. On the subject of dies I own quite a few sets from most of the major companies, but like Forster best.

 

[theosmithjr]

I used to have all RCBS, and for the last.... 10 sets in probably 5 years I've gone to Redding. And every set is a deluxe die set.

Little higher priced (ok the most expensive by far) up here in Canada but I am having trouble even considering Hornady or RCBS for my "junk" cartridges. The Redding just seems to have better tolerances (in my low opinion lol) than the RCBS. But I can say that I have never had an issue with any RCBS dies either.

The Hornady.... well I gotta admit I have heard good things about them. A friend Has about 4-5 sets of Hornady titanium nitride dies and he really likes them. He says that he likes my Redding dies better but Hornady dies are pretty cheap $$$ compared to Redding.

If you check Redding's components with a micrometer, you will be shocked at how tight their tolerances are.

Now you talk about presses... well you will have to pry my RCBS Rock Chucker our of my cold dead hands lol.

ROCKCHUCKER ALWAYS WAS, ALWAYS WILL BE THE BEST IN MY OPINION! I've do e everything from .17 to .50 and IT ALWAYS GETS THE JOB DONE!
Theosmithjr

 

[FEENIX]

I have both Redding and Hornady (as well as RCBS, Lee, Lyman, and Whidden) dies without any issues. However, my dies are mostly Redding. Between the two, I'd go with the Redding but replace the lock ring with Hornady sure-loc ring. All of my dies now have them, including my custom dies.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

My first "long range" rifles where used Rem Senderos in 300 RUM and 25-06. They shot pretty much everything, including factory, sub 1/2 MOA, .2's and .3's regularly. The reason I say this because some rifles will shoot mediocre ammo well and I believe the reason in this case was mostly the heavy Sendero contour as well as the HS Precision aluminum bedded stock. Back then my knowledge of handloading was basically beginner/novice level. I handloaded without the aid of a concentricty gauge and had no idea what I was producing in that sense. Sometime after I sold those rifles I bought a concentricity gauge and i found a few leftover 25-06 handloads which I ran on the gauge and found out that some of them were as much as .010 out.

There is no way to quantify how much runout will affect your accuracy. There are a lot of factors. Your rifle is a system with many factors, parts, components and workmanship.

If you are handloading without a concentricity gauge you are sort of flailing around in the dark. Recommend you get one and check your fired case before sizing, then after to see the difference. Also run a few cases through your sizer without an expander button. You will almost certainly see that the expander button is causing runout. Two benefits, to using bushings, one, less runout, two less working the brass.

If you want quality handloads, get away from standard dies.

 

[Mc Fraser]

Redding.
For hunting the Lee cast iron quality vs price it hard to beat. My concentricity gauge measures 2 thau and less with lee press and dies.

 

[Clay Target Guy]

I can tell you that in a 270 Winchester I had that about .005 of run out equaled right at about .25 of an inch in my groups.

 

[DartonJager]

After agonizing quite considerably over die choice I decided to fallow the advice of a reloader far more experienced and successful than i and use Redding body only sizing dies to FL resize my brass then a Lee Collet die to size the necks, fallowed by a Forster BR bullet seating die. If you have basically factory rifles and not high $$$ custom or semi-custom rifles and unless you're planning on or needing accuracy for shooting beyond 800 yards, the above dies will serve you well as they have me.