Die choice

340Shooter · #1 08-25-2012, 09:37 PM

Just bought a .338-378Wby and was wondering what dies to buy. Too bad Redding does not make Competition.

dig · #2 08-25-2012, 11:07 PM

I started with RCBS that came with the rile a quickly changed to Redding with the VLD seater added. Prob get flammed but the RCBS are very difficult to work with. I need to sell them. I have switched most everything to Redding. Redding and Lee seem to be most robust, easy to work and consistent. You will get all kinds of opinions.

Robinhood493 · #3 08-26-2012, 07:03 AM

I haven't used anything but RCBS and Hornady. I feel the Hornady is way better than RCBS.

Trickymissfit · #4 08-26-2012, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 340Shooter

Just bought a .338-378Wby and was wondering what dies to buy. Too bad Redding does not make Competition.

first of all you gonna eventually need a better .378 full length die than the brands you mentioned (and others here). You'll need the die from Inovative Technologies as well as a regular full length die. Forster does the .300/.378 die, and it wouldn't be much of a job to open up the seater sleeve to the correct diameter. They also can build you a custom die set for your application that will cost you about the same as a Redding bushing die set. Just send them three once fired cases out of your chamber. But down the road you'll still need the Inovative Tech die to completely resize the case just above the belt.
gary

dig · #5 08-26-2012, 09:27 PM

Innovative does not make a collet die large enough for the 378 based Weatherby cases. Great product, wish they did, however if you set your dies up correctly you can work fine without one. Upgrade to Redding or Forster thats all, you will be fine with them. I like the VLD seating stem with Redding better than others. Polish your expander that helps as well.

SidecarFlip · #6 08-26-2012, 09:34 PM

I'll jump into the fray and say Hornady dies bite. I like Redding better. Hornady makes good brass except for the .338 caliber....

Trickymissfit · #7 08-27-2012, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dig

Innovative does not make a collet die large enough for the 378 based Weatherby cases. Great product, wish they did, however if you set your dies up correctly you can work fine without one. Upgrade to Redding or Forster thats all, you will be fine with them. I like the VLD seating stem with Redding better than others. Polish your expander that helps as well.

a conventional full length die will night size the last quarter inch or so above the belt. It's just the way they work. You'll get maybe four or five firings at best out of a full length sized case, and those cases are not cheap.
gary