Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters RCBS quality going downhill?

Before all of us start pining for the old days, some of the old RCBS wasn't very good. Well into the 1970's many of their dies were made by reaming out just the case body, then reaming the neck later. This saved money when making dies for the .243/.308/.358 Winchester and the .25-06/.270/.30-06 and any wildcats based on those cases.

I had both a .358 Winchester and a custom (and expensive) .338-06 die set made that way, both purchased new, and it wasn't until I bought a Casemaster that I figured out why I never could get better than mediocre results from those dies: The necks of resized cases were out of alignment with the case bodies. Replaced them with good dies and accuracy improved considerably. RCBS quit making dies that way around 1980, and I've had good luck with their dies for quite a few years now.

Initial quality may be suffering due to foreign manufacturing, but RCBS' service is still first rate. I have never, EVER had an issue that was not taken care of quickly and FREE OF CHARGE with a simple phone call or email, and sometimes mailing back the defective part. I don't like foreign manufacture any more than anyone else, but as long as they care enough to ensure my satisfaction with top-notch service, I'll give them business for things I cannot get for less money elsewhere. If Lee doesn't make what I want for less money, then it's RCBS for me.

John, that was my experience as well. Cockeyed dies = mediocrity. I won't live long enough to wear out the new dies and give them a second chance. First clue came after I bought the Case Master. Second came from a cerrosafe cast of a couple size dies, prompted by the first. Being naive and trusting at the time it was a harsh lesson. I doubt they will ever surpass the quality available from other manufacturers, so it's a "once burned, twice shy" kinda deal.

China: Taking over the planet, one Yuan at a time.

Redding and Forster gear is as good as ever, made in the USA, the service is good and their prices are only slightly higher than RCBS: end of argument.

If you are still interested in a RCBS 5-0-5 scale I have one that came in the Complete RCBS reloading package I purchased about 15 yrs ago. A friend gave me a digital scale when I started reloading so I never used it. It is still in the box. It does not have the instruction card with it though. The underside of the base says Mfgr by Ohaus Scale Corp. Union, N.J. USA. I will let it go for $50.00 plus actual shipping cost.
Regards,
TJMGA

My buddy just got some RCBS dies in 45 Colt and paid 45 bucks for them and they came with and extra sater plug for wadcutters.
They look great and work fine.

The Redding 45 Colt dies I bought cost 72 bucks and the wadcutter costs 10 buck extra. I am a big Redding fan so the extra cost was worth it to me, but I sure was impressed with those RCBS dies (and thier price).

As far as scales go, I have a Chargemaster and a Redding beam scale and I am very pleased with both of them.

My RCBS press is old, my scale is old, hell, I'm old. Every time I buy a new caliber these days its Redding I look to. RCBS may have the best customer service in the business but dealing with crap products is still dealing with crap products. Sending you a new scale is just swapping one turd for another.

And Americans can't figure out why the economy is not recovering? STOP shipping jobs overseas. We are all going to have to pay a little more, but it will be worth it in the long run.

+1 and RCBS will bend over backwards to make their customers happy.....

I found this thread through a Google search about RCBS and thought I might bring it up to date.
I looked at a new 505 scale yesterday in a gun shop and on the bottom of the box was printed, "Made In China"
I have bought a lot of RCBS products over the years, but no more. I have heard people talk junk about Harbor Freight for selling Chinese goods, but at least they aren't trying to pass their stuff off as being made in the USA unlike RCBS, and their prices reflect where it came from,

But, do you know for sure that the steel they use wasn't sourced from Korea,.... or China, etc? The 'good ol' USA' has been outsourcing stuff for a long time. The 800-mile pipeline which brings oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez - built in the '70s, is constructed largely of Korean pipe if my memory serves. I would be most concerned, if actual performance matters, with how an item was constructed, not where. Plenty of stuff, for various reasons, simply isn't readily available domestically.

RCBS scales were made in Mexico prior to moving to China. I've read plenty of reports saying the ones from Mexico were junk. Looks like they are gonna give China a try now.
Strange thing is, the price never comes down.

It's sad that today it seems the marketing strategies for many companies are to give you less(quality/quantity)than in the past and charge you more. A price increase over time to cover inflationary costs is understandable but the decrease in quality/quantity in conjunction with a price increase is a rip-off.

270

There's an older model Ohas 10-10 in the classifieds on AR right now going for $65.

Link


Phil