Who makes the best carbide reloading dyes for 44SPL/44Magnum

[SMSgt]

RCBS have always worked fine for me. I managed to lose the expander ball for my .223 die and they send me a free upgraded version with extra primer pins.

Lee works, but I throw away the lock rings and use Hornady lock rings instead.

I have one set of Hornady dies for a wildcat cartridge and they seem to work fine also.

 

[Krogen]

Ivan covered the question perfectly. RCBS is my go-to supplier. Their dies are good and their customer service is impeccable. The few times I've used their customer service, I was extremely pleased. They earned my repeat business. Sure, Lee is cheaper, but I'll direct cost isn't the whole picture. As for Hornady, they should stick to bullets. I purchased a few Hornady die sets for some oddball calibers that others didn't stock. What a poor excuse for a set of dies.

Now I know the OP asked about 44 handgun cartridges, but for making itty bitty bugholes with a primo rifle, my money is on L.E. Wilson. The dies are beautifully constructed and look like jewels. And they work!

 

[patrol]

Redding is my first choice, with RCBS and Lyman very closely behind. Hornady makes good dies, but they do change occasionally, as noted earlier.

You couldn't melt a set of Lees and pour them on me.

 

[smoothshooter]

Hi,

I was just wondering who makes the best carbide Dye sets for 44SPL/44Mag. RCBS? LEE? And who has the best prices?

I think the term is " carbide dies ".

 

[Hasbeen1945]

I think I have at least one set of dies made by each of the manufacturers.
Redding is my first choice for handguns.
Forster for rifles.

 

[gregintenn]

Best price? LEE


Best quality? Redding


Good quality and reasonable price? RCBS


My least favorite have been Lyman. I'm always breaking a decapping pin in their resizing die. Not sure why.





Personally, although they are the cheapest, I prefer many features of the Lee dies to other brands. I've yet to have a set of dies from any manufacturer that didn't work as advertised.

 

[gregintenn]

Redding is my first choice, with RCBS and Lyman very closely behind. Hornady makes good dies, but they do change occasionally, as noted earlier.

You couldn't melt a set of Lees and pour them on me.

Would you care to expound upon that thought a bit? What do you dislike about Lee dies?

 

[Warren Sear]

My biggest complaint with RCBS dies are the brass set screws on the locking rings. They strip out almost immediately. Easy enough to replace with a steel screw and a small piece of lead under it.

I just tried to buy a Redding .41 Magnum carbide die set. Has to be made to order. Good stuff, but no thanks.

My favorite dies in order: Redding, RCBS, Lee, Hornady, Lyman. Lyman used to be equal with RCBS, but something changed. I have no opinion or experience with other brands.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm probably repeating much of what has been posted already.

The least expensive dies come from Lee and I see nothing wrong with Lee dies except they are not as pretty as most of the others.

As for the best, you will need to clarify what you mean by best. You can buy competition dies from Redding where each die is $100+. Some sets are $200 depending on the brand but most expensive doesn't necessarily mean the best dies IMO.

I see a lot of suggestions for RCBS and Lyman and they are top quality but for my money the Hornady dies with a Titanium Nitride sizing ring are excellent dies. They cost only slightly more than the Lee dies but size brass so smoothly it's amazing. You will need to buy the shell holder while Lee supplies one but it's still worth it. As a bonus the Hornady dies come with their sure-loc lock rings that some reloaded buy separately to use on dies they buy from other companies.

Hornady Custom Grade New Dimension Nitride 3-Die Set 44 - MPN: 546548

If you like to crimp in a separate step Lee has a Collet style crimp die for under $13 that works great. (not their factory crimp die) It really works very well.

Lee Collet-Style Crimp Die 44 Remington Mag - MPN: 90930

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[kennyb]

No question...RCBS

 

[The Norseman]

WC Dies best Bang for the Buck

Lee Dies.

The Majority of my Dies are Lee, the others are
RCBS and Hornady. They all work Great for me.

For what the Average Reloaders/Shooters do
Lee is the Best. Lee may not be Pretty, but they
do Make Accurate Cartridges.

And only the Serious Reloader will have a separate
Crimp Die. To me that separate step to put a Crimp
on a Cartridge is Wise and shows true Craftmanship.

The Best to You and your Endeavors.

 

[Warren Sear]

^^^ +1 on the Lee crimping dies, with crimping done as a final step.

 

[342ti]

Caliber doesn't matter when it comes to quality of the DIES you're using. Having owned Lee Carbide in the past, I only use Dillon/RCBS these days. I prefer the RCBS, as they don't lose their adjustments after prolonged loading, like the Dillon's do.

 

[Old&Retired]

Have used nothing but Lee since the mid '80s and have not had any issues.

The one time I went with RCBS was for a universal depriming die. Broke 4 pins in a row before it went into the junk bin. Have NEVER broken a Lee pin.

BTW...I reload for 9mm; 7.62x25; 9mm Mak; 45 ACP and 45 Colt as well as 223/5.56.

I also agree that the factory crimp die is a must for any reloader.

Finally, and somewhat sadly, a lot of people equate inexpensive to mean low quality. This is one of the reasons that some simply hate Lee, assumptions, not facts.

 

[fredj338]

Redding for sure, most of my rifle die sets are redding. Rcbs & dillon about equal. Then hornady then lyman lee on the bottom.

 

[johngalt]

I started out with Lee, then switched to Hornady. The only other manufacturer I've tried is the RCBS lockout die.

Lee dies are ok, but just barely long enough to work in my Hornady LNLAP. The sizing and expander dies are rough. The Hornady dies are far smoother. I've only used their pistol dies, don't reload rifle. Ive never broken a die or decapping pin, so they seem to be equally durable.

The Lee seating die seemed to be slightly less consistent with the searing depth, but for pistol I'm not sure if that matters even when shooting 50 yds.

 

[H Richard]

The very first sets of carbide dies I bought were Lyman, 44 Special/Mag and 38/357 Special/mag back in the early 80's and still using them and no complaints on them. The least favorite dies I have are the Hornady Titanium Nitride, as they are the only dies I have ever stuck case in. I found with the Hornady dies you still need to lube the cases occasionally.

 

[bigedp51]

The patent for the Lyman type "M" expander expired and Redding dies now have a Lyman type expander.

Below in the center is the newer type Redding expander, less case mouth flare and better straight inline bullet seating.

 

[sw282]

ANY die but RCBS... Their customer service is ZERO... Handle broke on

my recently purchased RCBS Summit press... Called them but could

get any help.. Finally found one on GB.. The problem with RCBS, SPEER,

CCI, and Federal Premium ammo and primers is VISTA outdoors... They

own all the above listed companies now plus Allient Powders

... Got 10 thousand Federal Match

LPP primers last year... At least that's what l thought they were.. 0utside

cardboard sleeve said they were Large Pistol. 0pened cardboard sleeve.

0ut pops 5 boxes each of 1000 Large Rifle Primers... Both sleeves were

the same... l had no use for 10,000 Rifle Primers... Called Federal/Vista

for a solid month.. Always the same phone tag/ dog and pony show.. We

will call you back:-( Finally tired of calling for a solid month...

From now on l check to see who owns the company BEFORE buying..

lf its owned by VISTA l will do without!!!!

 

[bigedp51]

A French company owns the Australian ADI powder that makes Hogdon's extreme powders. And the French eat escargot or snails but that doesn't mean that the Hogdon's powder is slimy or no good.

And do not forget that the RCBS manufacturing plant was flooded after a levee broke and was under water for a few weeks. And you will find thousands of reloaders who are happy with their help and service. Meaning after the flood RCBS was was behind in their customer service because of circumstances beyond their control.