223 Rem. dies.

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Buck Snort

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Should I get a three dies set or is that a waste of my hard earned cash. Also, are the high priced models appreciably better than the low end stuff?
 
jcwit said:
What are you shooting .223 in and what type of shooting are you doing or perpose to do?
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I've got an AR 15. Mostly I'll be target shooting but I'd really like to find a place to shoot ground hogs or even yotes.
 
Three die set would be fine, any of the name brands, everyone has their own favorite for whatever reason and many will be quite adamant about it. Bottom line is any of the major brands have been in business long enough that if they were selling trash they'd been gone long ago.

You will need full length sizing dies tho of course.

Hey folks hows that for tiptoeing around the subject without bringing up a brand name?
 
The standard full length die set from Lee is all you need unless you are looking for competition types. The Lee is well made and innovative and will do everything that you want to do.
If you have a bolt rifle, you might want the neck sizing die too, but you will always need a FL die at some point.
I've had all types and the Lee is all that I buy now for standard calibers.

I would like to add that you do not need to crimp your bullets. If you have the proper neck tension on the bullet, it's not necessary, even in an AR.


NCsmitty
 
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Buck Snort said:
I've got an AR 15. Mostly I'll be target shooting but I'd really like to find a place to shoot ground hogs or even yotes.
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For an AR, you will need a full length sizing die. If the third die in the set you are looking at is a neck sizing die, it will go unused until/if you buy a bolt rifle.

If you are using a conventional press where you thread the die into the press, you may find the o-ring lock nut on the Lee dies lacking. They work great on Lee's turrets, Lee's breech lock bushings, Hornady's L-N-L bushings, or other turret presses where you don't remove the dies. The lock ring can be jammed against the bushing or turret.

Lee dies are well made.

For a press where you thread the dies into the press, you may want to buy some clamping lock rings for the Lee dies. Some disagree, but the o-rings on the Lee dies is just not a positive enough lock to retain your die settings when the die is removed from the press.
 
cfullgraf said:
Some disagree, but the o-rings on the Lee dies is just not a positive enough lock to retain your die settings when the die is removed from the press.
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Make a dummy round & it takes 2 seconds to set up & know it is right.

I don't have a problem with it moving but i like to check it anyhow.
 
I've got Lee, RCBS, and Hornady dies collected over the years. Any die set I buy new now is Lee...I'd get the Lee 3 die set. You never know when you might want to neck size only for a bolt-gun. The extra money for the 3 die set isn't that much.
 
I bought the Lee 3-die set for my AR. I also bought the Lee universal decapping die as I reload military brass. The standard decapping pin might work, but I've heard some people breaking the pin when trying to punch out crimped military primers. Then the neck-sizer for my Stevens 200.
 
Get a Redding body die, a RCBS competition seater, and a Lee collet neck die... and a Redding competition shellholder set. That's it.

These dies will produce the straightest ammo possible and will double the life of your brass.
 
"Also, are the high priced models appreciably better than the low end stuff? "


Well the more costly sets cost more. And they are prettier to look at. But they don't reload any better ammo.

I have lots of dies in lots of brands, no one can tell which reloaded cartridges were made with my Redding, Forster, RCBS, Hornady, Lyman or Lee dies and they all shoot quite good. Nor can anyone tell which of my three brands of presses I used to make 'em.
 
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