Redding competition seating die

[R81]

I was curious about the Redding Competition Seating Die. Does upgrading your Lee or Dillon seating die
to the Redding die result in a noticeable improvement in accuracy? My main interest is in .223 Remington.
Thanks.

 

[Sticky]

I would venture to guess no, just changing seating dies will not noticeable improve your accuracy. There are many factors that lead to accuracy when working up loads for any weapon and I have loaded very accurate ammo using cheap $25 Lee die sets for years (yes, I have others as well).

Many of the competition seating dies are calibrated in some way with a scale for repeatability in your seating depth, some strive to seat the bullet straight inline with the case neck, but your load workup has far more to do with accuracy than the die set you are using.

I am a fan of their bushing dies, as I used a bushing die for my 300wsm loads and it has worked well, but I suspect I could load the same load with a set of Lee dies (or RCBS, etc.. ) and it would perform nearly as well.

 

[temccoy]

Hello - I load match ammunition (308, 30-06, and 6.5CM) and use the Redding Competition seater dies. The main advantage over standard seating dies is that they hold the bullet and case in better alignment and supposedly load the bullets straighter into the case. I have tested my loaded rounds, and have found that I do not add more than 0.001-0.002" of runout to the bullet with the Redding dies (you have to start by measuring the runout in your case necks, and then subtract that from the total runout to arrive at how much you picked up from seating tbe bullet). Per the USAMU shooting team, TIR (Total Indicated Runout) above 0.003" can have an affect on accuracy, so I try to keep it as low as possible.

Hope this helps, have fun

 

[holesonpaper]

Does it improve accuracy? I do not believe so - however with the micrometer allows easy and fine adjustments.. For me, I use their micrometer seating dies on nearly cartridge I reload.

 

[4g64loser]

Temccoy covered runout well.

The vernier adjustable seating stem is a big advantage in setting up the dies and in swapping between different bullets.

I own redding match dies among others. I actually prefer the Forster ultra mic seaters based on features and on measured results. Another bonus is Forster's service; I can talk to someone smart who knows about machine work. Right away. I had a minor issue with a seater and, while they were ready to take it back for repair, scott told me what was wrong and how they would fix it. Five minutes in the lathe and I had it done. Honesty is priceless.

 

[KRC]

An advantage not discussed yet is that if you go to a bushing die brand/type (like Redding S type) you will be able to adjust neck tension. I have found this to be a significant precision loading/tuning variable in just about every single cartridge I load for.

 

[4g64loser]

An advantage not discussed yet is that if you go to a bushing die brand/type (like Redding S type) you will be able to adjust neck tension. I have found this to be a significant precision loading/tuning variable in just about every single cartridge I load for.

OP asked specifically about seating die but yes, if he's buying a die set he should definitely go to bushings.

I neck turn most of my high quality rifle cases and thus I set neck tension externally with a bushing. No expander or mandrel. Major improvements can be found there. Especially in velocity spread control.

 

[Speed3]

OP asked specifically about seating die but yes, if he's buying a die set he should definitely go to bushings.

I neck turn most of my high quality rifle cases and thus I set neck tension externally with a bushing. No expander or mandrel. Major improvements can be found there. Especially in velocity spread control.

I expand .001" with the expander mandrel and then use bushing to close up. Trying to get as uniform as possible.

Expand to .268 and then use the 267 bushing.

Without getting into a ton of details, brass prep is the most important part of the reloading process for accuracy. More specifically the neck of the case. Anything you can do to improve/make the neck more consistent the better things will be.

 

[4g64loser]

I expand .001" with the expander mandrel and then use bushing to close up. Trying to get as uniform as possible.

Expand to .268 and then use the 267 bushing.

Also valid.

Once I neck turn, nothing ever goes inside the neck again except for bullets.

Edit for clarification: cases are annealed every firing thus I don't have to change bushings to get the same neck tension.

 

[Park ranger]

I expand .001" with the expander mandrel and then use bushing to close up. Trying to get as uniform as possible.

Expand to .268 and then use the 267 bushing.

Without getting into a ton of details, brass prep is the most important part of the reloading process for accuracy. More specifically the neck of the case. Anything you can do to improve/make the neck more consistent the better things will be.

Well let's wee how that works for you next Saturday!

 

[Speed3]

Well let's wee how that works for you next Saturday!

Fort hill or Reade? I haven't looked at the schedules for this year yet.

I've been burnt out for a few years to be honest. But id like to shoot more this year.

 

[Cuttyfunk]

Yes. Better seaters make a difference when chasing sub moa accuracy. I prefer foster but have had excellent results with redding as well.

 

[Park ranger]

Fort hill or Reade? I haven't looked at the schedules for this year yet.

I've been burnt out for a few years to be honest. But id like to shoot more this year.

Fort Hill, but our website isn't updated. Something wrong with the provider

 

[Speedluvn]

OP asked specifically about seating die but yes, if he's buying a die set he should definitely go to bushings.

I neck turn most of my high quality rifle cases and thus I set neck tension externally with a bushing. No expander or mandrel. Major improvements can be found there. Especially in velocity spread control.

I’ve been reloading a couple of years now. The art of reloading and chasing accuracy is interesting to me. I have Lee and Dillion seating dies. Help me understand the difference between dies with & without bushings?

 

[4g64loser]

I’ve been reloading a couple of years now. The art of reloading and chasing accuracy is interesting to me. I have Lee and Dillion seating dies. Help me understand the difference between dies with & without bushings?

Bushings are used as part of the sizing process, specifically to size the neck of the case, in an effort to (either or both) achieve very precise neck tension externally and work the brass less by just sizing it down the amount needed. If you cast a normal FL size die, you will see that all the off the rack options size the neck far below what is needed and then drag am expander ball back through the neck to set tension. This is to account for any possible variance in neck wall thickness as made by any conceivable manufacturer (and they usually hedge on the low side).

The downside to using such a die is that, even if set up for minimal body and shoulder bump, the necks of the cases will work harden prematurely and crack. Short case life sucks, even with cheap cases. The other downside is poor neck tension consistency; this leads to ES opening up and a larger number of flyers, even at close range. This can be somewhat mitigated by annealing cases frequently and by ordering custom FL size dies that have the necks honed for less "squeeze". Forster will do this service to any of their regular FL dies. And it's pretty cheap.

 

[Speedluvn]

Bushings are used as part of the sizing process, specifically to size the neck of the case, in an effort to (either or both) achieve very precise neck tension externally and work the brass less by just sizing it down the amount needed. If you cast a normal FL size die, you will see that all the off the rack options size the neck far below what is needed and then drag am expander ball back through the neck to set tension. This is to account for any possible variance in neck wall thickness as made by any conceivable manufacturer (and they usually hedge on the low side).

The downside to using such a die is that, even if set up for minimal body and shoulder bump, the necks of the cases will work harden prematurely and crack. Short case life sucks, even with cheap cases. The other downside is poor neck tension consistency; this leads to ES opening up and a larger number of flyers, even at close range. This can be somewhat mitigated by annealing cases frequently and by ordering custom FL size dies that have the necks honed for less "squeeze". Forster will do this service to any of their regular FL dies. And it's pretty cheap.

Thank you for the information.

 

[4g64loser]

Thank you for the information.

You are welcome.

On the seating die side of things, I own several different types but my preferred is the Forster ultra mic. Beats the redding competition in same caliber/same brass head to head test. For bulk loading of pistols in a progressive, Dillon seaters are good and nothing wrong with lee for that either.

 

[Speed3]

You are welcome.

On the seating die side of things, I own several different types but my preferred is the Forster ultra mic. Beats the redding competition in same caliber/same brass head to head test. For bulk loading of pistols in a progressive, Dillon seaters are good and nothing wrong with lee for that either.

I agree with the forster ultra micrometer for a seater. All of there stuff is super high quality.

Depending on caliber, i still use their bushing dies. Moved to Wilson seaters now.

 

[4g64loser]

I agree with the forster ultra micrometer for a seater. All of there stuff is super high quality.

Depending on caliber, i still use their bushing dies. Moved to Wilson seaters now.

I absolutely love the Forster bushing neck bump dies. My favorite sizing solution. Sort of a hybrid but it works for me.in multiple barrels very well. Brass longevity is markedly longer than when I used redding FL bushing dies or neck bushing die and body die.

Are you running an arbor press and wilson hand type seaters? I borrowed one from a buddy and tested it against the ultra mic in a conventional press and couldn't get a statistically significant difference between them on the runout tool, measured CBTO, or on paper when fired for groups.

 

[Speed3]

Are you running an arbor press and wilson hand type seaters? I borrowed one from a buddy and tested it against the ultra mic in a conventional press and couldn't get a statistically significant difference between them on the runout tool, measured CBTO, or on paper when fired for groups.

I'm seating using a 21st century hydro press. To be honest I'm not sure I notice a difference either lol. I would say if you are having inconsistent brass prep, the hydro press will show it. If your brass prep is good, you likely won't see a difference.

I have 3 batches of 75 rounds of brass, it has allowed me to sort/group them all with in a few psi of seating pressure. Id argue at best it saves me 1 unexplainable 9. More likely it just gives me more confidence that my loads are right and I missed a condition change.