Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles competition bullet seaters?

Is there any meaningful difference/advantage between the Forster product and the Redding version?

Thank you

There are two Forster versions, regular Benchrest and Ultra. IME they both produce straight cartridges on par with the Redding Competition seater. The Forster Ultra is the best comparison to the Redding, with both of them being easy to adjust to a precise cartridge length. The Redding is still a smidge easier and also has easier to read graduations. The regular Forster requires a little more fiddling.

For pure "concentricity per dollar" the regular Forster is the best deal. The Ultra is the one I like for ease of adjustment, similar concentricity, and lower cost than the Redding.

The RCBS Competition seater is quite easy to use, but hasn't (for me anyway) on average produced quite as low runout as the Redding and Forster units. I also consider the RCBS to be overpriced.

Some people like the Hornady seaters as an economical alternative but in my use they really aren't on the same side of the street as the aforementioned units.

Mathman pretty much nailed it on all fronts.

I have used the standard Forster (& before it was Forster, it was Bonanza) benchrest seater since I began reloading.

I really don't have to have the micrometer head for the extra cost over a dozen or so die sets * I've never ever had an issue with the standard BR die.

MM

I bought a couple competition seaters last winter, one a Redding, the other a Forster Ultra. Love them both. And they sold me 100% on the micrometer for adjustment and have added a few Microjust stems to my Hornady seaters and like the heck out them. They're not the same thing, as noted, but seem to work well.

I especially like using the micrometers! Just dial to the COL you want, add .010, take off .020", or whatever, so easy, accurate and repeatable. Not necessary - but enjoyable nonetheless.

Thank you

Mathman, what difference in runout do you normally see between the RCBS seater and the Forester/Redding dies? I've got a bunch of the RCBS Gold Seaters and I love the way they work, but I still see a bit of runout from them. Some are better than others, but I can see up to .004-.005" sometimes (occasionally a few thou worse). Are you able to cut that down even more with the other two? I've been using the True-Tool straightener that JB recommends and I'm able to get consistent ammo, but it would be nice to remove that step.

With good case necks and my Redding or Forster seaters I load batches of 308 with .002" or less all the time.

Are you checking your case neck walls?

Yeah, I check the wall thickness when I get new brass and cull anything with more than .001" variation. My 300 Win seater is probably my best, and gets close to .002-.003 on average, but I can't hold it to .002" consistently.

That's pretty cool those seaters are doing that for you. I might have to give them a try. Which is your overall favorite for consistency? From above it kinda sounded like it was the Redding.

I get really good results from the Redding or either Forster.

Part of good bullet seating could be better chamfering.

The common Foster tool has a 30 degree angle.

The cutting tool my late dad gave me is marked 15 degrees.

Bullets seat smoother with it.

The steep inside angle with this Foster type is what I mean.



The angle on this lyman tool is more like it.

With turned necks that are centred in the case, and the Forster BR seater, I get 0.0015" runout or less.

Yep.

I dont use the micro head. Simply because one can back off the seater, run up a known loaded, concentric case with the same bullet, screw down the the stem and have the same seating depth based off the ogive, which often changes slightly with bullet lots.

Also deal with known quantities.
Odds are brass made by Norma, Lapua, Nosler or brass sorted for neck concentricity the first time eliminate the need to look for runout on every loaded round, especially after firing once and sized in a concentric die.

I don't use micrometer heads because they don't fit in conventional size die boxes. The Forster version is a bit more robust than the Redding. The Redding will not like seating on a compressed load.

What's wrong with the boxes they came in?

I too have one or two Redding Comp Seaters that are too long for their box. The first that comes to mind is my .264WM die. When I received it, the micrometer head was screwed all the way down to fit in the box. Loosening it at all made it too long to fit.

I really didn't care though. I don't know if it is our Southern heat and humidity or just dwindling quality, but I have yet to see a Redding die box that will not warp and stay closed after any amount of use. And if you Frankenstein die sets like some of us, you may end up with more than three dies per cartridge. I abandoned the original die boxes years ago and started buying Plano tackle boxes. Put a piece of adhesive-backed foam weather stripping in the bottom for a little cushion and protection and I am able to keep my seater, neck sizer, bushings, body die, micrometer allen wrenches, etc, all in one box...and not lose any of the parts any more. Might be overkill but it sure is nice to have everything in one box and not sorting through a dozen boxes trying to find the one die or piece you are looking for.

I personally love my Redding Comp Seaters but will admit I haven't used many Forster BR seaters. The sleeve system is the cat's ass for concentric loading but in my opinion, the micrometer is what makes the system so sweet. Especially if you fiddle with multiple bullets in your rifle. Being able to record and precisely dial to a bullet seating depth is priceless. No gentle, gradual adjustment and constant/repeated measuring until you hit COL...just dial to the number, verify the length and go.

If you are a one bullet per rifle kind of guy, then I wouldn't waste the extra money on the Redding or Forster Ultra...just get Forster's plain BR seater, set the depth and rock on.

The new large Forster box easily accept the seater with the micrometer in any position.

The Redding boxes are another story. There is no way to get it back in the box after setting the micrometer to your load. You can modify the box, however.

I cut a hole out of the top of the box to allow the micrometer to pass through. Then I was trying to figure out a way to seal the box from dust, etc. Well, being a father, I was watching my son playing with his Lego Duplo blocks and noticed that the green ones are the exact color of the Redding boxes. So, I took a single green one, dremeled the little circle protrusion out of inside of it, and glued it on the top of the box, over the hole. Perfectly sealed box, that accepts the Micrometer at any length.

Since it is a repeatable micrometer why not record the setting for the bullet(s) and screw the head back in to fit the box? Then when you take it out put it back to the pre-recorded setting.


I've used the Redding comp seaters exclusively for a few years now but recently bought my first Forster comp seater - the kind with the plain screw and lock nut setting. It eliminates runout every bit as well as the Redding and is a good deal cheaper so that will be the kind I buy in the future.

FWIW, once you know the tpi count it's not that hard to eyeball changes to the seating depth. E.g., 20 tpi one turn = .05", half turn = .025, quarter turn = .0125, eighth turn = .00625 etc. It's not as dead nuts accurate as a micrometer head for those last .001" changes (everybody seats to +- .001" right? ) but with just a little practice a fellow can seat long, take a caliper reading and even going down over a tenth get within .000 to .002" of where you want to be on the next try.

I manage to hold it a little tighter than that most of the time. I'm sure it matters a ton when I'm jumping bullets a long way in factory chamber throats.

Doe's anyone switch micrometer heads around from die to die or doe's that defeat the purpose? And how much of a compressed load can the Forster handle?

I saw some testing done on seaters and concentricity and it favored the Bonanza long stem type hands down. Pretty much split at long sleeved designs like Forster and Redding versus short stem designs like Vickerman, RCBS, Lee and others.

But precisely machined seaters can overcome the differences.

And of course the hands down winners were the inline arbor press seaters like Wilson, Sinclair etc.