Need some advice on a seating die

[CRNA]

I am going to buy up all of my reloading equipment and making my final decisions. I was just going to order basic die sets, but got to looking at the precision/benchrest seating dies to help with concentricity.
Question 1: Are these dies worth the added coin as far as performance goes?
Question 2: The Forster seating die says it is "non-crimping". Does that mean the bullets are not securely held in place by the case neck? Would I run into the bullet being pulled by ejecting an unfired round more readily with this type of die?

The set I am looking at is here: Forster Bench Rest 2-Die Set 7mm Remington Magnum - MidwayUSA

 

[flashhole]

Yes, the dies are worth the extra money, especially the sliding sleeve seat die that captures the shoulder and neck of the case to keep the bullet in axial alignment. Unless you are using bullets with a crimp groove there is no need to worry about not having a crimp feature in the die. The FL sizing die will provide the proper amount of neck tension to hold the bullet firmly in place. I have the exact same die set for my 7mm Rem Mag. They make very consistent and accurate ammo.

 

[Catfish]

I load on a Dillon progresive press and have several brands of dies and have never found a loaded round from my press that I could find the bullet that was not consentric. If your are just going to be loading hunting ammo I would save a few bucks and go with RCBS dies. I have never had bullets pull in the magizine with the 7 mm mag., but I have only fired a few 100 round of the round and I do have some rounds that definately will pull bullets if they are not crimped in, they are the only ones I crimp. Forester are some of the best die on the market and you can`t go wrong with them anytime if you want to pay alittle more eather.

 

[BigJakeJ1s]

The Redding Competition seater (the one with the micrometer top) is a copy of the Forster Ultra-benchrest, made after Forster's patent expired. The Forster Benchrest is the same design, just without the micrometer. The micrometer adds nothing to the ability of the die to seat straight and consistent OALs, but it is handy for dialing in the OAL. The Forster Benchrest is notably less expensive than the Ultra Benchrest, and both are much less expensive than the Redding Competition seater.

The Benchrest is certainly worth the extra cost over conventional seating dies, in terms of consistently low run-out.

If you need or want to crimp rifle cartridges, there is no better crimp die than the Lee collet style FCD for rifle cartridges.

Andy

 

[Trickymissfit]

The Redding Competition seater (the one with the micrometer top) is a copy of the Forster Ultra-benchrest, made after Forster's patent expired. The Forster Benchrest is the same design, just without the micrometer. The micrometer adds nothing to the ability of the die to seat straight and consistent OALs, but it is handy for dialing in the OAL. The Forster Benchrest is notably less expensive than the Ultra Benchrest, and both are much less expensive than the Redding Competition seater.

The Benchrest is certainly worth the extra cost over conventional seating dies, in terms of consistently low run-out.

If you need or want to crimp rifle cartridges, there is no better crimp die than the Lee collet style FCD for rifle cartridges.

Andy

just make sure you have a groove for the crimp to go in. Otherwise you just ruined a good bullet.
gary

 

[Topgun 30-06]

I love my Forster dies and am glad I spent the extra money for them!!!

 

[coyotezapper]

I use standard, redding competition, wilson hand dies, but my favorite are the RCBS Gold Medal Seating Dies. The bullet window sets these apart from all others.

 

[kdvarmint]

I am going to buy up all of my reloading equipment and making my final decisions. I was just going to order basic die sets, but got to looking at the precision/benchrest seating dies to help with concentricity.
Question 1: Are these dies worth the added coin as far as performance goes?
Question 2: The Forster seating die says it is "non-crimping". Does that mean the bullets are not securely held in place by the case neck? Would I run into the bullet being pulled by ejecting an unfired round more readily with this type of die?

The set I am looking at is here: Forster Bench Rest 2-Die Set 7mm Remington Magnum - MidwayUSA

I load 22-250, 243, 308, and 270 without crimping, never had a problem. Not extreme recoil here though. Heavy recoil can effect bullet seat in rounds in the magazine. I use a RCBS Gold Medal Seat Die in the 308. Don't regret the purchase.