Who makes the best 260 Remington dies for reloading?

Meat or paper?

I am pretty damn happy with my Reddings.....

Kaiser Norton

Redding.

Type S bushing size dies and the Competition bullet seater make cartridges with amazingly low run-out.

Will be mainly paper..

Midway has Forester .260 dies. Just paid $68 for the set.

Who makes the best pick-up trucks?

They are all good. Difference is in personal likes and luck of the draw with individual units. Ditto dies, but dies are much simpler and there are no secrets to making them.

No offense intended but if you ask that question you must be new to reloading. It will take years of experiece before any user feature differences make any difference at all and then it's mostly a matter of personal preference.

I'm a Forster fan. .002" runout or less with my BR set.

Redding FL bushing,wearing TiN. I like .003" constriction in everything.............

Well, I haven't been doing this that long compared to others around here, but I'll still choose Redding over Lee, and I'm pretty sure I did well in my choice.

I'm using RCBS sizing dies (they came with a gun I bought and I just kept using them) and a Wilson seater.

Mine are the Redding 3 die set. I`ve no beef with how they work

I have to respectfully disagree with this statement. There are without a doubt die sets that are easier to work with, produce better quality results and are overall better investments. Not just personal preference. I have used dies from all the top makers and I don't see anything wrong with poster asking his question.

"Well, I haven't been doing this that long compared to others around here, but I'll still choose Redding over Lee, and I'm pretty sure I did well in my choice."

You did indeed do well. You would also have done well with dies from RCBS, Forster, Hornady, Lyman and ... Lee! They all work or they wouldn't have lasted for several decades in the market. ?? You'll learn more about that as you add years to your experience.


"Not just personal preference. I have used dies from all the top makers and I don't see anything wrong with poster asking his question."

It is personal preference. I have used dies from ALL makers except Dillon over the last 35+ years, most of whom are no longer in business but that was due to management and market influences, not a lack of quality (Well, except for a brief run in the market by Savage Arms in the 70s). I've measured the end product of both sizers and seaters of a LOT of dies and have found as much variation exists between dies of the same brand as there is between brands. They are all made to SAAMI standards and that's a range of dimensions, not a point, and anything inside the range is as fully "in tolerance" as anything else in the range. So, it comes down to luck if a given set of dies fit a simular dimensioned SAAMI cut chamber very well and the users preference for the lock rings, pretty polish, neat knurling, expander design, etc.

Forster's dies are excellant. So are Reddings copies of the Forster seater. (Don't care for anyone's bushing sizers, much prefer Lee's collet neck dies but that's just personal preference, right?) Both the Forster and Reddings load slightly better, on average, than more common dies but that's due to their designs, not better tolerances. (No other brands or model of dies deserve to be called "competiton", etc.)

There was indeed nothing wrong with the OP's question nor, personal opinions aside, with my correct response. They all work quite well, do they not? So, everyone can pick a price and finish they like and buy but consistantly good ammo comes from how we use our tools - skill - not what color box they come from. And that was the point.

(And, who are the bottom die makers?)

I'd not even hang Lee dies,on a good duck decoy.............

snicker...

back on topic...

I have a set of RCBS, LEE, Hornady and Redding... each has their features.. which are handy.. If I was going to give away a set tho, it would be the Hornady.. use that one the least....

Competitions dies etc, would be better.... but with a Redding Body Die and a Lee Custom Collet Neck Die...I really don't give up a whole heck of a lot...

I handload 19 Badger, .222 .223, 22-250, 6mmBR, .243, 25acp, 25/35, 250/3000, 257 Roberts AI, 260, 6.5x55, 270, 7x57mm, 7mm Rem mag, 32acp, 32sw, 32S&WLong, 32-20, 7.62x25mm, 30-30, 303Sav, 300Sav, 7.62x39mm, 308, 7.5Swiss, 30-06, 300WM, 303Brit, 7.62x54R, 8x57mm, 338WM, .380, 9x19mm, 9x23mm, 357 Sig, 38 sp, 357 mag, 38sw, 40sw, 10mm, 10.4mm, 401power mag, 44mag, 45acp, 45Colt, .410, 45/70, and 12 ga.

I have lots of die sets.
In some cartridges, like 223, I have a dozen different dies.

I recently started 260 Remington, so I could follow my preferences.

So I got a Set of Forster dies and a Lee Collet die.
I take off the Lee "O ring and lock ring" and put on a Forster "Cross Bolt Die Lock Ring" so it will slide in and out of the co-ax press. I take the Lee Collet die apart and polish in the lathe; the tapered outside of the collet, the mandrel, and the collet sleeve.
I usually send the Forster sizer die body back to Forster and get the neck honed out a few thousands to my specifications for $10 + shipping. Their Hardinge collet lathes are faster to get the die centered than my gunsmithing lathes.
Most any new bottle necked rifle cartridge I might start reloading, 260 or anything else, this would be my choice.

There is probably someone out there that can reload better than me and shoot better than me with ANY dies he uses vs me with my favorite dies, but I know what I like for concentricity, brass life, avoiding trimming, avoiding annealing, and convenience.

For a resizing die, I prefer the Redding type S bushing die. For a seater die, I use either the Redding competition, or the Forster competition dies with the micormeter adjustable top. Both load ammo with very little run out.

PaPa260

Gee Clark.. I should come up for another visit to see all your new shop toys... I'll be up in Seattle actually on Thursday picking up Seafire Jr from the airport.. he is flying home from the Boy Scout 100th Anniversary National Jamboree...

thinking of hanging up there Friday and taking him to Mt Rainier... he has never been up there...and since we were in the neighborhood...

Some swear by the Lee Collet Dies.

I asked the question "How does one check the quality of dies" here. The answer was by run out and fit to Your chamber. Before and after measurements. I posed this question because in an almost senior moment I now have three sets of 308 Norma.I usually have spare sets any way.I have screwed up dies and dies have screwded up.

At Ar there was a thread on die quality,as in most returns. Honady and Redding were one,two in that questionable race.

My .260 dies are Hornady. They make good ammo. I haven't used any others and so can't talk about any others being junk.
That said, overall, I have a pretty diverse collection of dies. They all make good ammo even the Lees. Some have a little something that makes them handier than others but as far as basic equipment, I haven't found any difference. Maybe if I was a better shot........?

Boomtube makes a lot of good points.Sometimes our loyality to a brand name clouds our thinking,probably from spending our hard earned money.You should be able to load ammo thats better than factory ammo with most any brand of die set.If you have the extra money,Redding or Forster competition dies are nice.If you have a tight neck chamber or turn case necks,Wilson dies and a arbor press work great.Attention to detail and good technique are probably more important than the brand of dies that you choose.Good Luck with your choice, Lightman