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Joined: Apr 2017
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This post is for those who enjoy a story ...
As a new reloader, I confess to having owned the naive attitude that once the decisions on caliber and other matters are made, one just dials-up Midsouth/Midway/Natchez/Brownell's/... on the ole' internet and orders the appropriate 3-piece die set in one's favorite "color" (RCBS green, Hornady red, etc.). Hoo-rah. What could be more simple? Die sets are die sets, right? The manufacturers are all pretty reputable, so pick one. Right?
While selecting my first reloading press, I wound up tagging-in with the "Red" (Hornady) team. I liked the lock-and-load thing -- keeps your dies all set up in their adapters so you just screw them in when it's their turn at bat. "Red" also has a good reputation and I had been using their ammo, so it was a natural that I would get Red dies, no?
So here came my very first reloading die set, a 3-piece unit in .338 Win Mag. Blissfully unaware of things like micrometer seating stems and bushing dies at that time, I went about joyfully preparing a recipe of 225gr Barnes TTSX bullets mixed with Reloder 19 powder. It worked out really well for a first attempt. I now have a pig-sticker load that makes 2845fps out my my A-bolt and leaves holes in paper nicely clustered at under 3" at 300yds.
With that positive experience, it was pretty certain my next die set would also be Red. Add to it that the new ELD-X in 30 caliber was becoming more available at that point, and off went my order for another 3-piece boxed set in .300 Wby. This is where my education in dies and die manufacturers actually begins.
In addition to the dies and the 200gr. ELD-Xes, I also picked up some Nosler and Barnes bullets to try. My wing-man was on a Berger kick at that time, so he gave me a box of 168gr classic hunters. If it sounds like he's a really nice guy, it's true, he actually is.
When I started the first loading session for the .300, I quickly noticed an un-advertised feature of the Red dies, they left a quite distinct ring around each bullet somewhere south of the bullet tip and north of the bullet bearing surface. They did this for the Berger bullets, the Barnes bullets, the Nosler bullets and, yes, on my brand new box of highly sought-after 200gr. ELD-X bullets. This ring was more than a smudge, and more that a mark, and even more than a scratch. It seemed to actually be a combination of cut and indentation into the bullet that you could easily feel and see clearly with the un-aided eye. If it were a smudge or even a scratch I would doubt that it would affect hunting ballistics, but this was something more. So, I went over to my friend's house that had spotted me the Berger bullets. He has every die set ever manufactured plus a few, and I borrowed his Green .300 Wby die set. It worked fine, and did not leave the toilet bowl ring around the bullets.
So, feeling like I had a clear indication that something was wrong with these dies, and also having lightened my wallet by one Red Classic 007 press, and one Red AP Progressive press (using for handgun) and many a box of Red ammunition and now two sets of reloading dies, I contacted Red customer service for the first time ...
When the courteous customer service representative answered the phone, he allowed me to tell him my short story. He was sad to hear that the Red dies were cutting my bullets, and asked me what bullets I was using. Here I made a mistake ... Thinking of Red in terms of a press/die manufacturer and neglecting to remember that they are very proud of their bullets and ammo, I said something like "well, popular bullets, like Accubonds and TSXes."
Hmmm. The customer service rep did not hang up on me. He did, however, say something quite irritating. He said, paraphrasing, "We cannot possibly manufacture dies that work with all bullets." As my brain was thinking something to the effect "I don't see anywhere on your boxes or promotional material that says your dies only work with Hornady bullets," I recovered enough to ask him "well, what about my nice new box of 200gr ELD-X bullets that are also being trashed?"
Red sent me a replacement seating stem. It did the same thing. Even to their ELD-X bullets.
My Berger-giving-RCBS-loaning friend does not have a Red .300 Wby Mag die set (I guess he missed one), but he does have another .30-cal Red die set that purportedly uses the same seating stem. That die is several years old and it had not cut his bullets. We pulled the seating stem out of it and tried it in my bullet-cutting .300 Wby dies. The dies then worked flawlessly. Clearly, there was something amiss with a batch of Red .300 seating stems.
Not wanting to sneak back in later to steal his seating stem that he apparently does not actually use all that much anyway, I decided to return the bullet-cutting die set to my very friendly favorite purveyor of reloading equipment (who operates out of Clarksville, TN. -- apparently that is considered to be in the mid-south portion of the USA ;-). I exchanged it for another three-die set in a green box (not RCBS, by the way, but another green box) and am now merrily loading Berger, Nosler, Barnes, Sierra and, yes, Hornady bullets for my .300 Wby.
I may someday buy another box of Red reloading dies, and I may not. But I was surprised by this experience and have since read other stories that indicate die manufacturers do not consistently turn out well-engineered and well-supported products. They do not consistently react in a timely fashion to real issues brought to them by their happy customers. This is not a refleciton on Red, it appears to me to be somewhat more-or-less the case, at least occassionally, for any of the current die manufacturers. So now, I view putting together a new die set for a new caliber as a process, one that perhaps takes multiple revisions and multiple orders to get right. Perhaps I have taken one step toward a less naive view of the reloading process.
Happy Reloading.
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 30,908
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 30,908 |
Just buy Forester dies and be done.
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,288
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,288 |
I am a seriously die hard Hornady Bullet guy.
I stear very clear of their reloading gear however.
Last edited by Higbean; 06/14/17.
Screw you! I'm voting for Trump again!
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the 24HCF.
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,128
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Bought one set of Horny dies. The new dimesion crap with the "floating" expander stem. The stem did not lock solidly into place and slid all over tarnation. Never again for me.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,970 |
another X hornady die user.
Ed
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 4,659
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2008
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The stem did not lock solidly into place and slid all over tarnation. Never again for me.
All you need is a 3 foot cheater bar on your end wrench to tighten it enough to not move, piece of cake.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 11,114
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 11,114 |
Laughing, because we all have gone through experiences like that.
One of the more humorous for me was a seating die that would put the bullet in place, and then on the upstroke pull it out again. The culprit was a surprisingly small burr around the edge of the seating stem. It grabbed the bullet with a surprising grip. A little bit of deburring put it right.
Be not weary in well doing.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7,263
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7,263 |
Redding and Lee Collet die and good to go. Redding is the only company I know of that comes standard with a VLD compatible seater add Wilson too. I went as far as glass bedding the seater when I first ran into this problem. What a PTI now it is redding all the way.
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 30,908
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 30,908 |
Bought one set of Horny dies. The new dimesion crap with the "floating" expander stem. The stem did not lock solidly into place and slid all over tarnation. Never again for me.
They oil the stems at the factory. Hit it a good degreaser, and the problem goes away.
Last edited by antelope_sniper; 06/18/17.
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,226
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Posts: 2,226 |
You haven't even gotten to the good part when the floater begins to fall out. Hornady bullets yes; Hornady dies no.
Murphy was a grunt.
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 24
New Member
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OP
New Member
Joined: Apr 2017
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Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I guess it's good to know it's not just me ... :-) I now have a Redding die set with a nice micrometer seater that seems to work just fine. I'm also trying a Forster seater on my .375.
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 647
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 647 |
I have a set of 300wsm Forster dies that scratch the hell out of my cases. Not having time to wait for a return, I in my infinite wisdom decided to polish them. Not very successful. Crocus cloth on a split dowel and felt bobs on a dremel tool don't do much. Any ideas??
Fourth Generation Border Rat
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Joined: Sep 2009
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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My Hornady pistol dies work fine, but for rifles I use Redding.
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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 24
New Member
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OP
New Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 24 |
I have a set of 300wsm Forster dies that scratch the hell out of my cases. Not having time to wait for a return, I in my infinite wisdom decided to polish them. Not very successful. Crocus cloth on a split dowel and felt bobs on a dremel tool don't do much. Any ideas?? I cannot offer any DIY suggestions for polishing the seating stem and understand you have a time constraint, but for what it's worth, I have had good experience with Forster customer service. They would likely be inclined to help you.
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