Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles RCBS Dies...Suck Dicks!

I run Redding for everything. Never had a problem, ever, period, end of story! Best dies made in there price range. Bold statement but true, even if it’s my truth...RCBS make inferior dies. There tolerances are sketchy. There stems aren’t perfectly centered most of the time. There threads are rough and have a lot of burs that cause binding initially. They just suck!

I’ve bought more rifles where a seller includes his dies usually RCBS Dies and some brass, bullets and what not...And every fricken time I examine a RCBS die it’s got something wrong with it. I bought a few rifles where Redding dies were a part of the deal. Sure they needed to be cleaned but they were in perfect working order...RCBS make cheap schit for reloading....Yes, I feel much better bitching. If you love your RCBS good for you and GFY 😁😎

Yup. I'm going that way too. Buy once, cry once.

I have a couple of RCBS die sets and fortunately they are fine, but I've found Redding to be THE schitt. Their Premium Deluxe die sets are the best deal going. I just picked up a set to replace another brand of .223 dies I have. I also updated another deluxe 3-die set of Redding dies with a carbide sizer button and a micrometer seating stem. So that set is now just like the premium sets offered in the black box.

Redding....less runout every time. Swapped out my RCBS dies for Redding years ago.

I I have some of each, Redding’s are better I think.

I'm still using the same RCBS dies that I bought almost 40 years ago. I've had a decapping rod break, but that's pretty much been it.

Buy some newer ones, I think you would be disappointed.

I have a wide variety of dies in my collection. For example, in just FL size dies for 308 Winchester I have Lee, RCBS, Redding, Forster, Hornady and there may be a Lyman hanging around in one of my storage boxes. They all treat brass a little differently. I've done a lot of measuring and comparing in my time. From what I've seen the name on the outside of the die box isn't quite the predictor of results some would have us believe.

Redding is great and their customer service is awesome too.

I run Lee's as my preference....
but for most calibers I load for, I also have Redding or RCBS in the same caliber...
and often all three...

my still preferred way of brass prep before priming...

Lee Collet Neck Sizer... then Redding Body die.. or substitute another caliber die, with the spindle removed..
such as a 260 Rem die, makes a great 243 body die.

I slum a few RCBS but much prefer Redding...

All things considered there (their? they're?) are a lot of other things to worry about in this man's world.

Amen. Some people just look for something to bitch about.
Don't like RCBS? Buy something else and move on with life.

Oh and by the way, I've been killing game with ammo made from RCBS dies since about 1985, and my dad since about 1970. They work just fine.

Wow! Not the responses (until the end) that I anticipated.

I have mostly RCBS and all the ancillary stuff. Most of it is older, but I have loaded a lot of different ammo with it. Never had one elk complain or get up and runaway after being shot with ammo loaded with it. A little adjustment and I turn out ammo with .001-.002 runabout.

Pretty pathetic that a grown man cannot express himself without using the foulest language, not civil nor gentlemanly at all. Expressing disdain with something is fine, resorting to vulgarity is pretty juvenile.

I started reloading in 2000 with RCBS dies and have bought many sets over the years. Yes, I've had some problems, but it was mostly operator error. The one exception was the 30-06 X-Die. It regularly broke and had to be sent back several times before I bought a regular decap/sizing die and have not had any problem since. I've run thousands of rounds through my RCBS carbide pistol dies without a hitch.

Most of the dies I've bought over the past 5 years have been Lee. It isn't so much that I find them better, but rather they give comparable results at a better price. At the recommendation of folks here on the 'Fire, I've started using Lee Collet Dies where practical.

One thing that I will fault RCBS for is their design of the crimping feature on their standard rifle sets. I tried every which way to use as intended, and always crushed cases. I finally resorted to backing of the bullet seating plug and doing the crimp as a separate step, and they worked fine. However, I've since moved away from crimping rifle loads, and the one remaining (30-30) I use the Lee Factory Crimp die, and it is a marvel. I use Lee Factory Crimp Dies in all my pistol loadings.

GWiZ, I apologize for offending you with the my thread title. Hopefully you don’t ever walk upstairs to the top. Your sensitivity to strong language would cause you to faint. 😎

Maybe in your world, but not mine! When I’m holding a new custom build rifle that finally landed, and all components are in front of me to start loading for a not readily available chambering, and this RCBS die that the seller said was “good to go” that I paid extra for, and the dang FL die has a bent stem rendering it unusable. Had to order a new Redding die on a Sunday, won’t be here until Wednesday-Thursday...I should have had a couple of range sessions for load development done before then...So yeah, in your world, not a big deal. For me it sucked...😎

Good for you! Maybe you take better care of your RCBS dies and handle them with gentle care. Apparently a lot of other loaders don’t and pass them along broke, which is always an RCBS, not Redding die...Telling, ain’t it. 😎

There are possible work arounds. What is the cartridge in question?