QUERY 'BOUT THE BEST .308 RELOADING DIES

[RaymondMillbrae]

Hey folks,

I have a complete Dillon toolhead set up for .357 magnum. But now that I sold my SMITH & WESSON 627 V-COMP, I am not loading this caliber like I used to.

So now I am considering swapping them for a nice set of Win .308 dies for high power.

I have been looking around, and I was curious to know which Win .308 set of dies would be the best to have.

I will sell or trade my Dillon .357 magnum dies, and continue to use my current Dillon toolhead. The reloading process will be similar to my .223 reloading process. Two Win .308 toolheads will be set up...

One toolhead will include the deprimer/sizer die, the case trimmer, and the belling die. The second toolhead will include the powder charge die, the bullet seating die, and then the crimp die. (Although since it will be specifically used for one rifle, I may not need the last crimping die).

So anyhoo...what are your recommendations, AND WHY?

Please be specific, and talk me through your decision-encouraging comments.

Thanks, and I will follow this thread until I make my decision.

In Christ: Raymond

[Rwnielsen]

I have 2 sets of 308 dies. One is a RCBS competition set, 2 piece, with the micrometer seating die. I use these when I load, small batches, single stage, for consistency. These are all sorted, hand primed and trickled up to as close to perfect as I can make them. The seating die will not work on a Dillon as it has an extended shell holder that raises up inside the die.
The other set is a standard RCBS, 2 piece, set that I have on a tool head for my 650. This setup works well for range ammo. The powder drop is +/- .2-.3g on the 3 powders I have tried (IMR4064, H4898 & Varget). I just stay midrange on the load charts. The velocities vary by 100fps or more (usually more) but they're good for plinking.
I tumble the brass, lube, decap and resize on the single stage press, and trim by hand so I don't gunk up the Dillon. My next step will be adding a neck size die as I only load for one rifle and all my brass is fire formed to that chamber.
Hope this helps a little
Take care
Richard

[RaymondMillbrae]

Rwnienson,

could you, specifically, tell me which RCBS die set you have on your Dillon XL650?

What, specifivcally, do the RCBS dies do when installed onto your Dillon?

And also "KUDOS" for letting me know that the RCBS seating die will NOT work on the Dillon XL650!!! (Can you tell me which seating die will not work...or is it all of them)?

Thanks, bro-har!

In Christ: Raymond

[Rwnielsen]

Dies

Rwnienson,

could you, specifically, tell me which RCBS die set you have on your Dillon XL650?

What, specifivcally, do the RCBS dies do when installed onto your Dillon?

And also "KUDOS" for letting me know that the RCBS seating die will NOT work on the Dillon XL650!!! (Can you tell me which seating die will not work...or is it all of them)?

Thanks, bro-har!

In Christ: Raymond

Hi again
The RCBS Competition seating die will not work on a 650. It has a window in the side where you insert the bullet and an extended shell holder that runs the shell up inside it. It seats the bullet square to the case. It came with a standard, full length, resize/decap die. RCBS#37801

The standard RCBS set (#15501) works just fine on a 650. It also came with a standard FL resize/decap die.

You might check out a Dillon set

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/24498/catid/4/Dillon_Carbide_Rifle_Dies__Individual___Three_Die_Sets_

I use Dillon dies on all the handgun stuff I load for (carbide dies, no lube) but was interested in a little more precision with the rifle. The powder drop is the weak link.

If you set yourself up with 2 tool heads like you stated, you should be able to crank out a lot of ammo but you're going to make a mess with lubed cases and a trimmer. Just my $.02

I have a bolt gun and don't really need the volume but..... if I had and auto-loader it might be different.

[RaymondMillbrae]

Thanks, brother...or sister. Ha ha ha. (Looking at your avitar).

As for the two toolheads..naw...no problemo, whatsoever.

The lubed cases have nary an effect on the trimmer, nor does it create a mess whatsoever. As a matter of fact, my .223 ammo is pretty nice.

Below are my steps. (But you probably already knew this).

1) Drop spent field brass into tumbler
2) Remove brass from tumbler and lube
3) Place brass in "prep toolhead," which consists of:

a) deprime/full length sizer
b) trimmer
c) neck expander

4) Drop into tumbler to remove lube
5) Take to living-room, in front of TV to swage
6) Run again through Dillon toolhead which now consists of:

a) Powder charge
b) Bullet seating die
c) crimper

7) Ready to shoot. Nothing else is needed.

Thanks again.

In Christ: Raymond

[Sunwolf]

There is no "belling" die,just go with the Dillon die set.

[RaymondMillbrae]

On my .223 set-up, I use the Lyman neck expander die to slightly "bell" the inside of the neck, and to make sure the neck "innerds" are clean of slivers after trimming, so they don't scratch my boolits when seating them. (Belling, schmelling).

LYMAN NECK EXPANDER DIE (Click on link).

But I am still searching for the best Win .308 die set for bolt action, high power, match reloading.

Dillon is the obvious choice for me. (As all I have are Dillon parts). But if there was something different, I wouldn't be afraid to open my eyes and take a look.

In Christ: Raymond

[Rwnielsen]

Nice setup. I'm never going to be that organized.
Here's a shot of the comp seating die with its shell holder:



There is a close tolerance, floating, sleeve inside that the bullet centers in




This is a standard set in a 650 tool head

With your setup and skills you may want to just use the 650 for brass processing and then weigh charges and seat on a single stage.
You'll get much more consistency in your finished ammo. I take a chronograph to the range with me and the extreme spread is over 100 with the Dillon large powder bar and under 20 when I weigh by hand.
Makes a huge difference if you're going to shoot any considerable distance. The BIG guys try for single digit ES.

[Ahhnother8]

I have been looking around, and I was curious to know which Win .308 set of dies would be the best to have...for highpower.

Best - Redding type 'S' sizing and a competition seating.

Lane

[ar15barrels]

Best - Redding type 'S' sizing and a competition seating.

Another vote for this.

[RaymondMillbrae]

Yea...

I've been doing a lot more searching, and it seems like the REDDING A COMPETITION SEATING DIE is the way to go.




Thanks, guys.

In Christ: Raymond

[phish]

don't forget bushings, .334"-.336" bushings will size just about all the .308 brass you may encounter

[ar15barrels]

I use 0.337" on federal gold medal cases.