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RCBS/Hornady dies
nemesisenforcer
Member Posts: 10,513 ✭✭✭
I'm a Lee die guy (got the Lee kit) but I may have to buy some RCBS and Hornady dies due to Lee customer service's incompetence. I'm looking at a full length resizer for my 7.5XSwiss from RCBS and a neck sizer (the New Dimension series) for my 6.5 Swede from Hornady.
My question is: are they any good/worth the money? I have some old RCBS dies that work well, but they are at least 30 years old, maybe more. Is their new stuff just as good? I've never used Hornady's stuff, so I have no idea of its quality/value. Hornday says this particular die can be used on 6.5 Swede, Carcano, 260 Remington, and some others I think. Is it worth it or should I get a die specific to the 6.5X55 Swede rather than a "general purpose" 6.5 neck sizer?
My question is: are they any good/worth the money? I have some old RCBS dies that work well, but they are at least 30 years old, maybe more. Is their new stuff just as good? I've never used Hornady's stuff, so I have no idea of its quality/value. Hornday says this particular die can be used on 6.5 Swede, Carcano, 260 Remington, and some others I think. Is it worth it or should I get a die specific to the 6.5X55 Swede rather than a "general purpose" 6.5 neck sizer?
Comments
As to your question about neck sizing the brass, well it is all about the neck and you are not suposed to size down any farther so the rest of the die isn't suposed to touch the lower parts of the case. And I supose that as long as the assortment of cases to be neck sized about the same length then it should do ok. Personally I buy neck sizing dies that are cartridge specific and leave it at that.
Have fun with it, reloading can be precise as you want to make it....
Yes, you can use that neck sizer die for most all 6.5mm diameterbullets, and there some neck dies in the 7mm that can do most 7mm casings, same as there is with 30, 338, and many other cal. Some of the upper name brands even have dies that you can change the neck sizing bushing. Those are what a lot of benchrest shooters use.
I would ask this question in the reloading forum. I am sure that you will get some more info there.
Best
If you are reloading for a K-31 I would point you to Redding's die; it is cut specifically for the 31 chamber as opposed to the earlier 1911 pattern chamber. There were some very minimal differences between the two, but if you are going for exactness... just a thought.
I would second the opinion on get full length cal specific dies and just turn up the die if you don't want to full length resize. I find that I can't neck resize over 2-4 times without a lot of force needed to close the bolt.
Pay once, cry once(they're not cheap) and don't look back[:)]
Now I'm concerned that the LEE dtes I have on order for the .380 & .40 S&W are going to be junk. Guess I should cancel my order and go with yhe more costly RCBS that have served me well.
I'm a Lee die guy (got the Lee kit) but I may have to buy some RCBS and Hornady dies due to Lee customer service's incompetence. I'm looking at a full length resizer for my 7.5XSwiss from RCBS and a neck sizer (the New Dimension series) for my 6.5 Swede from Hornady.
My question is: are they any good/worth the money? I have some old RCBS dies that work well, but they are at least 30 years old, maybe more. Is their new stuff just as good? I've never used Hornady's stuff, so I have no idea of its quality/value. Hornday says this particular die can be used on 6.5 Swede, Carcano, 260 Remington, and some others I think. Is it worth it or should I get a die specific to the 6.5X55 Swede rather than a "general purpose" 6.5 neck sizer?
Although I don't at all care for their caliber specific die sets, I have to say their "caliber/case length" specific neck sizers are just fantastic. They have a highly polished oblong inside neck sizer that just glides through the case neck. I'd come fairly close to saying you don't even need to lube the case neck it's so slick. I wish all the die manufacturers used that same style same button. I've been reloading for about 35 years and currently load for 40+ calibers. I think it's the best die out there for neck size only.
The only possible down side I could see - and I really don't know if it applies or is needed - is that using a cartridge specific neck only die could be used to set back the case shoulder a bit in the event the shoulder moves forward a bit. I've not run into the problem at all, assuming that next sizing is used for bolt action or single shot guns only I don't see it as an issue.