Need 100% honest fact based answers.

[quigley257]

Imperial lube and Hornady Unique are great lubes, but not as conducive to high volume reloading as sprays are. Irrespective of die brand, the most common mistake that I see with people using One-Shot is not RTFD. They don't allow enough time for the carrier to evaporate before proceeding to run a shell into the sizing die, resulting in a stuck case. I have stuck a few(out of 10s of thousands) of cases using One-Shot and it has always occurred from me being too impatient and not letting the carrier evaporate.

 

[Stammster]

The other issue with One Shot is you must shake the can properly. If not, the "lube" settles to the bottom, and all you are spraying is the accelerant. I learned the hard way.

If you let it dry, as per the instructions, there is no way you are going to dent a case.

I just bought some Blaster dry lube with Teflon from Home Depot for $4.80 per 9.2 ounce can. I'll let you know how it works, but believe this with be the same as a $15 can of One Shot for less than 1/2 the price (per ounce).

 

[P7M13]

My Forsters are all flawless.
Out of >15 sets of rifle dies, I have one Redding FL sizer that will crush the case if my neck is >~10 mils too long over max, one Hornady FL sizer that doesn't touch the last 30+ mils of the case head (will crush case if I set die up to cam-over), and one CH4 bullet seater that will also crush the shoulders if I cam-over (how I was taught to set up seater dies). I also have Redding dies in the same caliber as the CH4, but the CH4 pair produce better TIR in my simple QC tests.
The Redding issue is my fault and for the other two I adapted my die setup -- that's what locking rings are for. All of them have produced ammo that delivers 1/2 MOA or better, which I believe is the limit of my skill.

 

[Wolf76]

I use Forster dies whenever they are available. My runout is very low with these dies. My biggest gripe is they won't do any custom work (like 338 edge). The bump neck die is my favorite. I won't use RCBS/Hornaday/Lee (minus collet die) dies. Have horrible runout with those. Never had much of an issue with ONE Shot.

 

[Wv shooter]

I have been reloading for over 50 years and have 65 sets of dies and most are Forster BR I have never had any problems with their CS because I have never had to use them and I like one shot as a case lube as well as imperial wax problem may come from not cleaning vent hole in resizing die I suspect poor die set up but what do I know

 

[RYEWSKY25284]

Was over at Precision reloading and just looking around for nay new threads that could increase my limited reloading knowledge when I came across a thread that really shocked me.

I have branched out my shooting and now are trying to become proficient to 700 yards, the max range within a frequently acceptable drive . I have invested in better optics and higher quality reloading components (Norma Brass namely) as well as Forster reloading dies.

While at Precision reloading saw a thread about a guy having issues with his Foster BR resizing die crushing or bulging his necks and all he went through in trying to solve the issue. He was VERY critical of Forster's CR service and eventually gave up and disposed of the dies. He said he fallowed the directions exactly but to no avail. Even sent the die back, and the returned one still bulged his case necks. He said he was using Hornady spray case lube as do I. I have reloaded well over 2k cases both bottle neck and straight walled brass with absolutely zero problems, on both single stage and progressive presses.

Now one persons bad experience is of course is no where near enough reason to think any product is no good, but the number of people who responded negatively about Forster sizing dies and Forster's CS frankly shocked me.

I have spent 100's of hours on line trying to learn how to become the best reloader I can and based on HUGE numbers of positive reviews choose Foster BR bullet seating dies over Redding or RCBS.

My reloading of bottle neck cartridges now is essentially body sizing with a Redding body only sizing die and sizing the necks with a Lee Collet die and seating the bullets with a Forster BR bullet seating die. So far it has given me excellent results.

So has anyone else here experienced issues with their Forster BR sizing dies crushing or bulging the necks of their brass, or any issues with Forster sizing dies and anyone received poor CS from Forster in dealing with a die problem?

Like I said i was shocked. I was lead to believe Forster dies were a cut above.

They ARE excellent dies. I can't respond about poor CS because their product has always performed as expected......I really haven't EVER heard of anyone having trouble with Forster dies. I use Hornady One Shot, and have for many years, no trouble there either.

 

[antelopedundee]

I know if you have the expander too high in the die it will crush/bulge the neck.
All you need to do is lower it and the problem goes away.
It is much different in position on the shaft compared to other brands. A lot higher actually.
Really should be common sense not to have the expander so high...but people are oblivious to the problems THEY cause at times.

Cheers.

I have/want to believe that Forster CS would have splained this to him, but who knows. Per their website if you buy a decapping unit separately it is "properly adjusted" so it might be fair to assume that it was properly adjusted when inserted into the die. Personally, I would remove the expander ball and do that separately using a mandrel.

 

[Viking264]

+1 for Forster being a great product. As others have stated, no issues with their dies experienced. The only time that I contacted CS was during the past year when you just couldn't find their products anywhere. I was looking for a specific one, and no one had it. They were quick to reply to my inquiry regarding future availability.

 

[CTK]

My small tub of Unique might last the rest of my life. A little dab seems to work perfectly. I love the stuff.

 

[Ranger Rick]

I use forster benchrest dies for every cartridge I own, I don't however use spray lube. I prefer to use them without the expander and spindle, and follow with a lee collet mandrel neck die to keep runout minimal. Their bullet seater with long sleeve is the best in my opinion as well. Can't comment on their CS as I've never needed to use it to this point for any reason. 17 year benchrest die user.

Romans 3:21-24

 

[nt7332]

Never had great luck with one shot but have about 12 sets of Forster dies at the moment and prefer them now. One quick test could have been done and it would have answered his questions with the bulge. I bet a dollar to a doughnut if he would have completely removed expander for one case I bet that bulge would not have happened. I buy Forster but the first step is pull the internals out of the sizer and throw them away. Size with internals removed and olen necks up with mandrel. As someone else mentioned the lanolin mix is absolutely great or the old tried and true imperial.

 

[RockyRandy]

I had problems with the one shot until i started spraying it on my necking brush and run it in and out one time. Boom problem solved!

 

[antelopedundee]

Never had great luck with one shot but have about 12 sets of Forster dies at the moment and prefer them now. One quick test could have been done and it would have answered his questions with the bulge. I bet a dollar to a doughnut if he would have completely removed expander for one case I bet that bulge would not have happened. I buy Forster but the first step is pull the internals out of the sizer and throw them away. Size with internals removed and olen necks up with mandrel. As someone else mentioned the lanolin mix is absolutely great or the old tried and true imperial.

Does Forster warn about the bulge issue in the instructions that come with the die sets; assuming that most people even bother to read them?

 

[nt7332]

There is a notice on the back page stating if expander ball is to high it could crush necks.