The Best Reloading Die Sets Available Today

Having the highest quality equipment for reloading will ensure you get better accuracy and reliability when you’re shooting. How much money have you spent on ammo since you started shooting? Are your eyes watering yet? Reloading your own ammo is a great way to save money, but make no mistake, it’s worth making an initial investment in the best reloading die to ensure you’re making the best rounds possible.

Our Guide to the Best Reloading Dies Today

Having the best reloading die will ensure that you’re avoiding mishaps like jams and poor accuracy. There are a few top brands when it comes to reloading equipment. These include Lee Precision, Hornady, and Redding. We’ve reviewed the best reloading die sets from these companies to help you make the right choice.

What Is A Reloading Die?

Reloading dies are the most essential pieces of reloading equipment you’ll come across. They’re the tools that are screwed onto your reloading press to perform actions like resizing, de-priming and expanding cases, seating bullets into the case, and crimping the neck of the case to hold the bullet in place more effectively.

The quality of your reloading dies will determine the overall quality of the rounds you produce while reloading. It should go without saying, then, that you want to buy the best reloading dies for your specific reloading needs.

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How to choose the best reloading dies

There are a few things to consider when choosing reloading dies. It’s important to know exactly what type of dies you need for your specific reloading purposes. Having this knowledge in order before shopping will help you to pinpoint the right reloading dies and save you a lot of time and hassle.

• Consider your needs: Make sure that you’re getting the right dies for your needs. Some are designed to reload rifle ammo, while others are used primarily for pistol rounds. On top of this, your shooting style will also come into the decision: are you a hunter, a casual shooter, or a competitive shooter?

• Stick with reputable brands: The big players in the reloading game – brands like Lee, Redding, RCBS, and Hornady – all have solid reputations and generally offer lifetime warranty and support.

• Make sure they’re compatible with your press: Most dies can be used on a variety of different presses. Still, it’s always a good idea to double-check that the die set you’re about to buy will actually work with your reloading press – not all of them are universal.
• Know your budget: This is an obvious one. Most causal reloading die sets are pretty affordable. If you’re on a budget, then definitely steer clear of match-standard reloading dies. They’re not necessary if you’re not a competitive shooter.

Carbide vs steel dies

Most reloading dies are made of either steel or carbide. Carbide dies are more expensive and are generally better than their steel cousins. That being said, if you’re on a budget then steel dies are still reliable and long-lasting.

Carbide dies

• Will last a lifetime
• Don’t require lubrication
• You don’t need to clean your brass after sizing
• More expensive than steel dies

Steel dies

• Have the benefit of being cheaper
• Will still last a long time
• Require lubrication before sizing
• You’ll need to spend time cleaning the brass after sizing

Types of reloading die

There are several different types of reloading dies. Some of them are essential, while others are optional but may increase the quality and accuracy of your completed rounds.

Resizing/depriming die

This die is for the first stage of the reloading process. The resizing/depriming die does exactly what it says on the label. It’s designed in the shape of the caliber that you want and reshapes the case back into this shape. It also pushes out the old primer to make room for a new one.

Case trimming die

The case trimming die is the second part of the reloading process. After a round has been fired a couple of times, the case tends to expand in length. The case trimming die chops some of the excess length off to bring it back to its original size. This die is optional.

Powder-through expanding ‘die’

This is another optional die. In fact, it’s not really a die. The primary purpose of it is to feed powder into the case. You would never need this in a single-stage press, as you’d be manually filling each case with powder. It’s only worth looking at these if you’re using a progressive reloading press with automatic indexing.

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Bullet seating die

This is the second essential stage of reloading, and you can actually get away with only having a resizing/depriming die and a bullet seating die. The purpose of the bullet seating die is to align the bullet with the case and then feed it into the case.

Factory Crimp Die

An optional add-on to the reloading process is the factory crimp die. When you insert your bullet into the case, it might end up being a little too loose, which will affect it’s velocity and trajectory when the powder explodes behind it. The factory crimp die strengthens the tension around the neck of the bullet, which ensures you have a more accurate finished round. This is usually used for pistol ammo, while rifle reloaders tend to skip it.

Resizing/depriming die

This die is for the first stage of the reloading process. The resizing/depriming die does exactly what it says on the label. It’s designed in the shape of the caliber that you want and reshapes the case back into this shape. It also pushes out the old primer to make room for a new one.

3-die sets vs 4-die sets

Reloaders commonly ask whether they should buy a 3-die set or a 4-die set. Three die sets are usually fine and have been used for years without any major hick-ups. The main benefit of 4-die sets is usually the factory crimp die, which, as outlined above, can produce more accurate and reliable rounds – especially for pistol shooters.

In general, pistol shooters should opt for the 4-die sets, while rifle shooters can settle for the 3-die sets as they won’t need the factory crimp die.

How to use your reloading dies

Using reloading dies is easy. You generally just need to screw the dies into your reloading press and then lock them in. If you’re using steel dies, then you should apply some lube onto your brass before using it, whereas for carbine dies you don’t need to apply lubricant.

With your seating die, you’ll also want to adjust your seating depth to determine how deep into the brass your bullet sits. Always read the instructions for your dies, as different brands do sometimes differ in their setup process.

Adjusting and Trouble shooting Reloading Dies

If the reloaded round of ammunition comes out of the final stage (usually crimping) with any form of distortion or deformation to the case, then there is quite probably something wrong with the depth settings of one of the dies. This will often be a seating or crimping issue, but may come from earlier stages in the reloading process. For single stage presses, it should be obvious which stage has caused the problem as each round is individually processed through each stage and can be inspected as it comes out of the press.

For turret and progressive presses, it may not be as obvious. The only way to determine which stage has caused the problem is to remove the round after each stage until the distortion is seen. The problem is then most likely with the die setting of the last processed stage.

Considering the possible variations in reloading systems, I am going to be very generic about the types of dies I am going to address. Some dies do a number of jobs in combination, and are thus quite difficult to discuss, e.g., combination decapping/resizing or seating/crimping dies. Let’s stick to single task dies for simplicity.

Decapping Dies

Decapping dies inevitably have a long thin pin running down the middle of the die (Figure 1), the sole function being to project through the primer hole and thus push the expended primer out of the case. The main risk here is that if the die body is set too low, it may impact the case mouth causing damage to the case.

The die body should be adjusted so it does not touch the case, and the decapping pin adjusted so that it barely pushes the primer clear of the case. Some decapping dies (Figure 2) have spring-loaded decapping pins and are pretty much self adjusting. Provided the body of the decapping die does not touch the case mouth, these types of decapping dies should only need a rough adjustment to get them in the ball park.

The other point worth noting about decapping dies is that with use, the decapping pin may become bent, or work loose in its holder. The pressure exerted by the decapping pin can be quite significant, certainly enough to damage a brass case. If the decapping pin is not correctly aligned with the primer hole, and hits the base of the case instead, there is a very good chance the case will be damaged making further use of the case impossible.

The caution here is, keep an eye on your decapping pin.  Make sure it is straight and tightly held in place. A routine check before each reloading session would be a good idea. The decapping pin often protrudes below the base of the decapping die (Figure 3) and thus can be visually checked for straightness. A simple push with your finger will let you know if it has worked loose.

Seating Dies

Seating die depth adjustment depends a great deal on the type of projectile in use, specifically, whether or not the projectile has a crimping groove or cannelure. The other major consideration is Overall Ammunition Length (OAL). As long as the OAL for a particular caliber is not exceeded, the chance of misfeeds, for semi-autos, and cylinder obstruction, for revolvers, should be minimal. Seating a projectile too low may cause excessive pressures in the case during firing, particularly if the load is towards the high end of the maximum powder charge.

Seating depth should be adjusted to make sure the OAL is less than the maximum for the caliber, and place the projectile at the correct depth for the crimping operation.

Crimping Dies

Crimping and seating adjustments are inevitably intertwined, and depend very much on the type of firearm and projectile being used. I covered the issue of crimping in some detail in my previous 3 articles.

The “Cliff notes” version: if you are going to apply a crimp, it should be just sufficient to hold the projectile firmly in place, and not allow the projectile to leave the case during firing until all the powder has been burnt. If the projectile has a crimping groove (cannelure), the crimp should be placed at that point. If there is no crimping groove, the crimp can be located anywhere on the last land (widest part) on the projectile.

Resizing Dies

The resizing die operates on the outside of the case to return the case to the correct diameter. This needs to be done for the full length of the case. The general procedure is to adjust the die so that it goes down to within about 50 thousandths of an inch of the case rim or groove for rimless cases. I have seen this expressed as “about the thickness of a dime.” For most presses, this will be expressed as a clearance between the bottom of the die and the case holder plate when the die is at its maximum depth. The exact measurement will depend on the thickness of the case holder plate, but an additional 20 thousandths of an inch above the case holder plate should work in most cases. For a die with an 18 TPI thread, this amounts to about a 1/2 turn of the die, i.e., screw the sizing die down till it touches the case holder plate, then back it off by 1/2  a turn. Figure 4 shows this clearance for a .357 S&W Magnum case in a Dillon 650 press.

Case Belling Dies

Case belling (expanding) should be as little as necessary to keep the new projectile in place during the seating process. Too much belling not only excessively fatigues the case mouth causing premature case splitting, but may also cause the case mouth to catch on the edge of the seating die causing case damage. Figure 5 shows  a .357 case/projectile with too little belling and another with just the right amount of belling of the case mouth required to suit most applications.

What is the Best Reloading Die?

Overall, I think that the Hornady Custom Grade Rifle Full Length Die Sets are the best value for money. If you’re looking for precision and accuracy, and you want something that will last a lifetime, then Hornady is the brand to go with.

Lee’s die sets will save you money and they’re certainly formidable, and if you want the absolute best of the bunch, then I’d say the Redding Competition Bushing Neck Die Sets are a solid bet – but for the steep price tag this set isn’t really necessary for the average reloader who isn’t going to be competing.