Hornady Rifle Sizing Dies ?

[SteveW-II]

I need to pick up a 2 die set for both 308 and 223 and thought the Hornady dies might be a good choice. Looking at the reviews on MidwayUSA's pages several people comment on how 'tight' the dies are. I.E. amount of effort to insert and extract brass from the die.

I remember several threads about that subject on this forum, but don't seem to be able to find them with the search function. I also seem to remember that 'One Shot' lube always seemed to be involved with the problem as well.

What is the general opinion on these dies ? Good, bad or indifferent ?

I guess I am focusing on the FL sizing die as I have several Hornady seating dies and am very happy with them.

Thanks !

S.

 

[Walkalong]

Hard to beat Redding or Forster for rifle dies. I have no clue about the Hornady rifle dies.

I like the Hornady seaters in pistol. The design is good. I assume it is the same for rifle dies.

Still, Redding or Forster for me.

 

[redneck2]

I've got several sets of Hornady. Going to get rid of all of them. For whatever reason, when I seat with the Hornady, it leaves a rather deep ring around the tip of the bullet. My friend has another set that does the same thing.

Currently, I'm going with either Redding or Forster.

If I can't sell them, I'll pitch them out. They're that bad. If anyone wants a set for 204 or 22-250, let me know. My friend's are .223. If you want them, you could most likely get them for cheap.

For lower cost dies, I'd recommend Lee.

 

[SteveW-II]

> For whatever reason, when I seat with the Hornady, it leaves a rather deep ring around the tip of the bullet.

Assuming (always a bad thing) that you sized with the Hornady FL sizing die, I would guess that the sizing die is leaving the neck of the brass undersized and the ring is the result of the seating die having to work too hard to put the bullet in place. You are using a decapping stem with an exapnder ball, right ?

 

[Walkalong]

The seater stem does not fit the bullet just right as well. Redding seaters will do the same thing to some extent. Rounding slightly and polishing the seater stem will help.

 

[FROGO207]

I started out with a set of RCBS in 45 ACP and a set of Lee in223. Now In have 5 sets of RCBS and 27 sets of Lee and 2 sets of Lyman Dies. I find unless you need a micrometer the Lee sets beat all others for my uses. Some sets are 22 years old BTW.

 

[Ol` Joe]

I`ve got a couple sets, a 6.5x55 and 270 Win.
They are fine IMO and seat bullets straighter then some of my RCBS dies. I don`t think they are the quality of my favorite, the Forsters, but they are light years ahead of Lee and on par with RCBS. The tapered expander makes for very slick expansion of the necks. That and the seaters collar that guides the bullet while seating are nice options
Again, my opinion.

BTW the ring around the tip of the bullet some get when seating is common to all brands from what I`ve seen. I had RCBS, Hornady, and Redding do it. Some brands/shapes of bullet work in one die and another is beter in the next. Polishing the edge of the seater cup as already mentioned cures it 99% of the time.

 

[lgbloader]

hard to beat redding or forster for rifle dies. I have no clue about the hornady rifle dies.

I like the hornady seaters in pistol. The design is good. I assume it is the same for rifle dies.

Still, redding or forster for me.

yup

lgb

 

[flashhole]

I have 4 sets of Hornady dies, 221 Fireball, 223 Remington, 7mm Rem Mag, and 45-70. I bought all of them with the free bullet offer so the out-of-pocket expense was minimal. That being said, I also have other die sets for all the same calibers. I mix and match as needed depending on the job at hand. Hornady does not make bad dies but they are not on par with Forster or Redding.

 

[ranger335v]

"What is the general opinion on these (Hornady) dies ?"

As good as any, on average. Best choice of most reloading tools depends more on the features each user prefers more than anything else.

Actually, all brands meet SAAMI specs and that's about all. Talk of any one being "tight" or "loose" means nothing of itself. What matters is how well the sized cases match the weapon it will be used in and that's a crap shoot.

Forster and Redding dies are indeed (slightly) better, and more expensive, than others due to their superior design, not better machining tolerances.

No dies can seat all bullets cleanly, our choice of bullets varies too much. But anyone can easily polish the edges of his seater plug to prevent or reduce any bullet ogive ringing he may get. Actually, those rings are strickly cosmetic, they have no effect on the bullet's trajectory.

 

[SteveW-II]

Now that is a good answer !

 

[Canuck-IL]

+1
Hornady dies are fine but that makes them no better than other common brands. If the 'tight die' issue was specifically related to the use of One-Shot as a lube (per the OP), that may be what they call a clue. I use One-Shot for pistol cases since it makes the resizing so much smoother but you need Imperial or a similar lube for bottle-neck cases. With the spray on lubes, it's only a matter of time until you stick a case in the die.
/Bryan

 

[mongoose33]

I added the Hornady .223 dies, even though I'd read the reviews suggesting stuck cases and other difficulties.

First time, guess what? Stuck case, and I broke (broke!) the expander ball (not really a ball, more like an oval thing).

Hornady, w/ their usual great customer service, immediately sent me a new expander ball, and sent a tin of sizing wax, which the tech said would work much better than either the RCBS lube or Hornady One-shot I was using.

And darned if that tech wasn't right. That wax made a huge difference.

I've got Hornady dies in 9mm and .45, and I think they're great. But you may or may not have trouble w/ the .223 dies. Can't speak to any other caliber.

 

[ranger335v]

"And darned if that tech wasn't right. That wax made a huge difference."

I haven't used Hornady's "Unique" case lube but it looks like Imperial Die Wax and that's some VERY GOOD stuff!

In some 45+ years of reloading I've made it a point to test every case lube and every potential substitute lube I could find. Some of the subs work well but, since obtaining a can of Imperial a few years back, after all that experience - and a lot of stuck cases - I knew I had found a lube as good as it gets. Unique should be it's equal. Cheap, clean, easy to apply and works great, what's not to love about the waxes?

 

[crowderdog]

I have Hornady die sets in .41 Rem. Mag., .222 Rem.,.223 Rem, and 6mm Rem.. The seating dies are well designed and function for my needs flawlessly. The only sizing dies I use are for the .223 and .41. I use RCBS neck sizing dies for my bolt actions (.223's are AR-15s) That said, I have never had a stuck case in the Hornady dies. I do lube with Hornady One Shot lube. Also, I have never had a reloaded round fail to chamber or extract after being re-sized in Hornady dies. IMO Hornady dies are a very good value.

 

[WV_Vizsla]

Hornady dies are the ones i went to when they changed seater style 20?? years ago. Just seemed to work great. Yes some bullet styles seem to get the ring. No accuracy problems noted from rings. Have 7 sets of Hornady, have also used Lyman, RCBS. Will buy more Hornady when needed. I use and like the One Shot Spray Aerosol since it can out. Gave away the old pad and grease. Spray your dies inside a little and over lube the first five cases.... never a stuck rifle case. Now feed the LNL-AP a lubed 9mm case ~ every 25-50 rounds. Really reduces loading friction.