Worst Reloading die brand?

[Lennyjoe]

I have a mixed blend of Lee, RCBS and Hornady dies and they all work as advertised

 

[Walkalong]

We generally dont get I to bad mouthing products. All major brands work well, and even the least expensive Lee does a fine job.

Pretty much

 

[Constrictor]

Okay, what are the worst die set brand that I should avoid? Or dies that won’t do as advertised?

I try to buy anything but Lee

 

[TEXASJD]

I have found that there are things I like and dislike about all of them, but my go to best dies are still Wilson on guns that shoot.

 

[jmorris]

I have had issues with dies but abuse or improper use is often the cause and not all I have were new when I became their owner.

Sometimes, I actually prefer Lee dies over others. I can’t think of any brand I avoid altogether because they are consistently poor quality.

 

[kerreckt]

I have dies from the 1950's and 60' that, I received in trades. They are of different manufacturers. I have newer dies of different makers. I probably have dies from all makers. I mix and match because I like some for specific applications. They all do their job. I think it comes down to personal preferences. Best wishes!

 

[johnjohn]

I have Lyman,Lee,RCBS,Hornady all of them work as intended.

 

[cfullgraf]

I have both and also like Forster

I have one Forster die, a micrometer seating die. Works great but the die is too big to fit in my preferred method of die storage, RCBS or Lyman die boxes. My die idiosyncrasies are not a reason to not try or use Forster dies.

 

[bigpower491]

Any set you come across thats made in China

 

[mdi]

Lee is often mentioned for two reasons; first is the reloader that has used Lee tools, quite successfully for many, many thousands of rounds (most often experienced, conscientious, reloaders that can read and understand instructions and use the products as they are designed.). Then there are the Lee Haters ("reloaders" that either are tool snobs, unable to read and understand instructions, and expect good handloads from their sloppy reloading methods, or just need something to blame for their shoddy methods).

I started using Lee products in '69 with a Lee Loader and soon went to a Challenger press. As I developed my methods and techniques I began trying other manufacturer's products, mainly out of curiosity. I now have a "rainbow bench" meaning I have products from many different manufacturers, and all are designed well. I believe the quality of handloads produced is 90%+ the operator, aka the nut behind the handle...

 

[doubleh]

Appendix IWB.

gun up front.
View attachment 987155

Funny that everyone immediately assumes Lee....................................

I would assume that it's because of their price compared to other brands. I have several sets of Lee dies and they do just as good as my more expensive brands. My one complaint is the o-rig on the nut. In my spare time I removed all these rings and drilled an tapped them for allen set screws. You could buy rings with this feature and still be well ahead in cost but since I had the know-how, time, and tools, I did my own.

 

[Viking357]

I use Lee and Hornady dies, works good for me.

 

[GW Staar]

I have had issues with dies but abuse or improper use is often the cause and not all I have were new when I became their owner.

Sometimes, I actually prefer Lee dies over others. I can’t think of any brand I avoid altogether because they are consistently poor quality.

My experience with dies is similar to that, but interestingly, the only die set I ever bought, that wasn't acceptable was a Redding.....the only Redding set I own. But that's only because I'm usually too cheap to pay extra when cheaper dies work fine.

What was wrong with the Redding set? Well it was for a wildcat caliber....22-243 Middlestead.....and they forgot to polish the inside. Scratched the hell out of any brass that went in. Only goes to show that even the "best" companies have bad days. I have only been that unlucky once....All my cheaper Lee's and RCBS's are fine. Would I hesitate to buy Redding again? Only over price.

But then I also prefer Chevys over Caddys for the same reason.

 

[JFrank]

it is about fit and finish, and there are some nuances of how some of the various die brands work, so - personal preference. this thread might be more valuable if it morphs into why people prefer one brand over another, or - say, for single stage, turret, or progressive press use. I just use an old singe stage, so - all the same to me there, but think there are nuances people prefer for different uses. for whatever reason I kind of like the floating Hornady seater stem, but - no idea if it actually work better, but it makes sense it would help keep the bullet aligned as it feeds up into the die. RCBS in my few expreiences, has just sent me pieces when I got stuck and asked them a few questions, they just sent me differerent expanders to try them and I didn't even ask, so - was pretty impressed with that.

At one time I bought the inexpensive sets but routinely had dissatisfaction with unnecessary sizing beyond my expectations. Rather than contacting the company for honing or questions I would just move on, now I look for a die cut with a reamer that closely matches my chamber especially on competition guns.. Hunting or plunking I just want smooth and not overwork the brass so my advice is for those interested to refine your needs and expectations because there are very good inexpensive dies some just size more or less than others.

 

[Kaldor]

I have a few different dies, and none of them really suck per say, however there are things I dont like about them.

Hornady seaters sometimes have issues seating out at very extreme OAL with the seating stem jamming in the die. Adding a micrometer seater is a great tool for not alot of cash.
RCBS seaters on their normal dies are very imprecise to adjust Ive found. The expander balls are really abrupt.
Lee sizers are not great for forming brass, and I dont care for the seating dies. The FCDs are great when used properly.
Redding dies are crazy expensive and offer no real advantage that Ive found over Hornady in the run out department. I do like the micrometer seating dies.
Lyman Mdies require locktight on the mandrel or they back off in use and the locknut is cheesy cheap.

Overall they are all capable of making good ammo, some are just better in certain areas than others.

 

[Otto]

My experience with dies is similar to that, but interestingly, the only die set I ever bought, that wasn't acceptable was a Redding.....the only Redding set I own.

Yeah, the only die I’ve ever sent back due to defects was a Redding. The carbide ring pulled out. But Reddings’ are still one of my favorite die makers.
I like vintage RCBS dies too. I gave away all of my Lyman die sets 20 years ago.

 

[lightman]

Most of my dies are RCBS followed by Redding and then Dillon. Then there are single sets from Lyman, Bonanza and C-H and maybe Pacific. I've only ever had 2 sets that just didn't work and neither are in business anymore.

There was a set from Herters that were machined wrong for the cartridge they were meant for, or mis marked. The other was from a company called Minnesota Shooters Supply that would not size 45 ACP brass enough to hold a bullet. This was with all brands of brass. You would have to go back several decades to remember either of these but might see these brands for sale as used.

 

[maxxhavoc]

I don't usually snub one brand or either - any of them have their place.
I usually use RCBS for all of my autoloader rifle cases, because they make readily available Small Base dies. I find the RCBS rifle seating dies to be a little more accurate than Lee, but harder to adjust. But not a deal breaker.

If Lee made small base dies, I would probably use them instead. To me, their decapping pin design is far superior to RCBS. Like not even close. I have replaced at least 20 RCBS pins, and 3 resizing stemm/ball assemblies.I have broken 1 Lee pin, and they sent me 2 new ones for free.

For bolt rifles, I like Lee neck sizer with RCBS seater. If I can't get them separate, I buy the one I can get.

And for stuck shell cases, Lee wins again. I also like the Lee FCD for separate crimping, or for sizing 9mm for a revolver.

The RCBS storage boxes win hands down. I buy extras for my Lee Dies.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

Any and all American-made dies work just fine. If they did not, no one would buy them.

 

[BBarn]

Worst I've owned were Lee. The decapping pin "collet" design is poor and the thread strips easily.

 

[Eagle103]

I've had Lee, RCBS, Redding and Hornady dies and never had a problem with any of them except a Hornady 6.5C that sized the neck down so far it was difficult to pull the expander back through. Love their seating dies though.

 

[WestKentucky]

Old Lyman was pretty terrible. I have had several sets over the years and I despise them. They also bring a LOT less money on the used market so they must have had a similar impression on other folks.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I can't think of any brand I wouldn't use if I needed to. I have Lee, RCBS, Redding, Forster, C&H, and Lyman. I have no problem with any of them.
If I were to complain about a set of dies, it would be the old RCBS dies where they use the depriming stem on the neck sizing die, mostly because I use progressive presses to load on.
That messes up my die arrangement and where I can deprime at.

 

[reddog81]

The only dies that I don't prefer are the lee expander dies. I have lee dies for every cartridge I load and they work great, I have some rcbs dies too. The expander plug on the rcbs is good and I've heard the Lyman m dies are even better. The lee expander can really over expand if the case length isn't consistent , not the end of the world especially of you're lengths are consistent. That's really the only gripe I've got with any die I've used to this point.

I've replaced the expander die or bought an NOE insert for every Lee set that I use. Their lock rings were well known to loosen over a short amount of use. I think they use a new system now but I'm not sure... The seating stem on my Lee sets is also an issue. The threads they use a very coarse size and the tolerances are sloppy. It's not uncommon for the OAL to start to vary when doing large quantities.

 

[Walkalong]

The carbide ring pulled out

Have had them come out in two different high profile brands.

Here's one of them. The other one was a Redding .45 ACP