Forster Dies

[Pheroze]

Has anyone ever noticed a different in accuracy for hunting by switching from RCBS or Lee to one of the more expensive dies? These dies look interesting but wonder if the technology really makes a difference for hunting accuracy as opposed to competition.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I was given some Lee dies and I have never changed die manufacturers.
Accuracy has not been an issue.

 

[lcq]

I was given some Lee dies and I have never changed die manufacturers.
Accuracy has not been an issue.

I have Lee RCBS and Redding and frankly I can't tell the difference. I suppose if you are using a heavy benchrest gun it matters but not for a hunting rifle

 

[JimP]

Given the tolerances that the die manufactures use I doubt that there is a difference in any of the dies. Now there may be a difference in the bullet seating die or a crimp die but that is all that I can think of.

 

[Pheroze]

Lee, in his manual, is quite disparaging of the dies that promote a sleeve to reduce bullet run out. I do like the way the RCBS have a lock nut on the bullet seating die. Just a little added certainty.

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

I used to have RCBS dies for my Tikka T3 chambered in a 25-06. As most people will tell you the 25-06 is very fussy when it comes to grouping and i tried many things to get the calibre shooting accurate. I think the biggest performance jump i got was to use competition dies from forster instead of the normal dies from RCBS

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

I like the Forster competition dies. I think the main benefit of premium dies, in theory, would be reduced case run-out. But I've never tested this theory enough to have any conclusions.

 

[Shootist43]

In the past I've had trouble with RCBS Dies including supposedly custom made ones. I switched to Dillon & Redding and my problems went away. I have a set of Lee Dies for loading 35 Whelen on a press away from home. Recently I purchased a Hornady Concentricity Gage that will check and CORRECT bullet run-out. Minor bullet run-out may not effect hunting accuracy for short ranges, however hunting at longer ranges requires the most accurate bullet possible. IMO that means better dies coupled with concentricity checks. Improving your reloading technique by partially seating the bullet and then rotating the case to finish seating the bullet will reduce run-out issues. There is a book titled Practical Reloading by Nathan Foster a noted Long Range Hunter that is the most informative treatise on reloading I've ever read.

 

[gillettehunter]

For general hunting rifles that you are happy with MOA then almost all of the dies will do that. That is all most hunters really need. If you are into competition or long range shooting beyond 600 yards then there may be some benefits. Match dies are usually made to tighter tolerances and as mentioned above can reduce runout. That is one factor that can help a 1 MOA rifle become a 1/2 MOA rifle. Bruce

 

[JGRaider]

Along those same lines, if wringing out ever last bit of accuracy is your huckleberry, I'd suggest using a Lee collet neck sizer instead of full length resizing. I had a drastic decrease in runout when I switched.

 

[Clayton]

For a lot of years I've only neck sized every thing. On my hunting ammo I set the die to barely bump the shoulder. A mentor felt that it's a little insurance against feeding problems that could occur at the worst time. Must say I've never had that happen.

On my bench/varmint guns I do use Forster Seating Dies & recorded the setting for each weight & style bullet I use. That has made repeatability easier for me.

As always, this is just my $0.02 worth.