Rifles Dies

[oddjob]

Which is better?? I saw where the three die sets like Dillon & Lee have a different die for the crimp. I was wondering if there was a difference between that and the two die process.

Thanks......

[George]

You want a seating die to just seat and a crimp die to just crimp. Never set a seating die to also crimp a rifle round. Real bad juju.

The Dillon standard (not carbide) .223 sizing die is the best choice IMHO. The Dillon seating die is OK but the Redding Micrometer Seating die is the real Shiznit because of the ease with which different lengths can be dialed in and for the longer contact area the die has on the bullet ogive (this prevents seating dents/rings).

The Dillon taper crimp die is also the Shiznit if you are gonna' crimp. It goes in the last station and is always a separate process after the bullet is seated.

Trimming the brass to a uniform length really helps uniform the crimp. De-burring the outside of the case mouth also helps provide a more consistent crimp over a sharp casemouth edge. You only want to crimp enough to tighten the case mouth a tad, not crush the mouth into the jacket.

[AlamoShooter]

I like the Hornady seat dies = the stem dropes down and pickes up the bullet at the mouth of the die to hold it in line untill it seats.