WTK: Selecting my 300 aac die set

[md66948]

I am getting ready to purchase a 300 AAC Die set. I will be making my 300 BO brass from 223/556 cases.

I am not new to Reloading. I have my New Chop Saw, Conversion Jig, and an L. E. Wilson 300 AAC Case Gauge. I will be ordering 300 BO shell case holder and maybe a .30 cal cutter for my Giraud Power Case Trimmer. I will also be using my MEC Single Stage Press and a Redding Powder drop to complete the reloading process.

My next selection will be the dies. Any suggestions?

[BobinNC]

In this order from best to worst based on 47 years experience with die sets:

Forster -
Redding - I current own this 300 BLK set, cause Forster was sold out
RCBS -
Hornady - I had nothing but trouble with this 300 BLK die set. Currently on it's way back for repair

You may want to invest in a LE Wilson case gauge that Measures min/max Headspace. Does not measure neck/body diameters
This gage is intended to be used with fired cases to determine a basis for full length sizing and case trimming.

Hornady also makes a case gauge but it does measure body and neck diameters. This can lead to much confusion, as a case will not fit into the Hornady gauge, but will fit in the LE Wilson gauge because they are measuring different things.

The Hornady case gauge is best used to determine if your fully reloaded and crimped case will go into your chamber cleanly.

IMHO and YMMV

[dtanner]

The cutaway Sheridan gauge is a fantastic tool.

[md66948]

Thank You!

How long has Forster been sold out on their Micro Seating Die?

[BobinNC]

Since July I think. I bought the Hornady as a stop gap waiting for a Forster set to pop-up. Never did.

I had many problems with the Hornady set, exacerbated by the Hornady case gauge. Until I realized it was measuring completely differently than the Wilson gauges I usually bought. It wasn't wrong, I was just using it wrong.

On bullet seating the Hornady seating die would bulge the case, and not fit into the Hornady case gauge indicating a problem. No matter what I tried, some would work and fit fine, but 50% would not. I bought a Lee neck expander die and this helped a bit to get the error rate down to 20%.

I was exasperated, over this entire set and then when resizing about 50 cases I stuck the 48th one in the sizing die, and tore it off & leaving just the neck stuck inside the die around the expander plug. Mutliple $#@8^ ensued that should make even this ex-sailor blush. Funny as I was using Hornady One Shot case lube as well.

Anyway it was the first case I've stuck in at least 30 years. Wrote Hornady and I'm sending them back to fix or destroy.

I went and bit the bullet and ordered a set of Redding dies, at twice the price of the Hornady's, and not a problem since in sizing or seating. Also bought a Wilson case gauge, which I should have bought in the first place, and figured out how to make the two case gauges (Hornady & Wilson) complement each other. Duh...

[md66948]

Last night I ordered a 300 aac Forster Micro Seating die and today I will be ordering a Mighty Armory 300 aac FL resizing die.

[jtaylor996]

...

[pj-schmidt]

Wilson headspace gage is worthless for checking formed brass since the rounded shoulder of newly formed brass doesn't sit against the datum diameter correctly until it has been fired once. I use mine as a paper weight. The Sheridan chamber gage is what you want since it will allow you to see how your formed case will fit in a real chamber.

Hornady One Shot case lube is great for resizing (I use it), but in my opinion it doesn't have enough lubricity for forming which has much higher forces and friction. I use generous amounts of Dillion case lube for forming and have no issues with stuck cases in any die.

I have previously used a Hornady resize die to form cases with acceptable results. I currently use a Whidden trim die with power trimmer as I got annoyed with the chop saw operation.

Good luck!

[md66948]

I want to Thank Everyone for their input!

[Netpackrat]

I have Hornady's set and also the RCBS small base set (a friend got out of 300blk and I bought his RCBS dies along with a bunch of factory ammo he had), and I wasn't totally happy with either of them. I found that the Hornady seating die wasn't dimensionally compatible with my Forster Co-Ax press at all, so I had to use the RCBS seater (which worked fine). Tried the RCBS size die and while it does size the base down a little smaller, it wasn't quite able to bump the shoulder back as far as I wanted per my case gauge, while the Hornady sizer could. But running the Hornady sizer with the RCBS seater and a Lee factory crimp die worked fine for me, single stage.

Bought a Dillon XL750 earlier this year and wasn't really happy with either the Hornady or RCBS dies on that press... Most 300blk dies are short enough that you end up having to put the lock ring on the bottom of the Dillon toolhead, which is kind of a pain in the ass when you want to adjust the die and it also looks stupid. I bought Dillon's size die thinking that it would be made to work with their press, but nope, I still had to put the lock ring on the bottom because the die is short and you run out of threads at the top when it is adjusted properly. It does seem to run a little smoother on the progressive and no issue resizing as far as you want; in fact using the case gauge to adjust is pretty much mandatory with the DIllon rifle dies. I also found that the Hornady seater would get out of adjustment after loading a while on the progressive, so I bought Dillon's seater which I have not tested yet. There was some reason I was unhappy with the RCBS seater on the Dillon but I don't remember what it was. Lee factory crimp works well as usual.

Hindsight being 20/20, if I had it to do again knowing I would be buying the Dillon press, I would have bought their die set in the first place. For a single stage press, definitely something other than what I have, maybe Redding or Forster, or possibly Lyman and the LFC of course.

Another die I can recommend wholeheartedly is the Lyman "M" neck expanding die. If you are loading single stage, it does add another step, but you can adjust it to provide a very slight neck flare, and eliminate any chance of shaving flat base or cast lead bullets during seating. I do resizing as a separate step on the Dillon, and then use the "M" die in place of the sizing die in station 1 when I load.