Redding Comp dies vs Forster Ultra Seater Dies

[Patton243]

Title says it all. Which do you folks prefer? The Redding Competition dies are about 30-40$ more over the Forster Ultra micrometer seating dies. Is the extra money worth it? I hear good things about the Forster dies too. Input is greatly appreciated. I have a few RCBS seating dies that need to be replaced that give inconsistent OAL and occasional flyers. I'm not a competition shooter, but I do a lot of long range shooting and varmint hunting. Thanks,

Chris

 

[Michael C]

I own both and prefer Foster for the more easily read dial, and better locking ring. I would say the Forster feels a little more robust in materials used, but both make great ammo. But, I believe Redding has better bushings if your looking at those type of dies.

 

[Big Mc]

Title says it all. Which do you folks prefer? The Redding Competition dies are about 30-40$ more over the Forster Ultra micrometer seating dies. Is the extra money worth it? I hear good things about the Forster dies too. Input is greatly appreciated. I have a few RCBS seating dies that need to be replaced that give inconsistent OAL and occasional flyers. I'm not a competition shooter, but I do a lot of long range shooting and varmint hunting. Thanks,

Chris

Put both in a hat. Draw one, you can,t go wrong.. Just my two cents.. Tommy Mc..

 

[snakepit]

I own both and prefer Foster for the more easily read dial, and better locking ring.

I also own both and agree with these above reasons. I also use the Hornady Lock-N-Load Die Bushings and when these are installed on the Redding dies the dies will no longer fit in the Redding die boxes but when installed on the Forester dies the dies will still fit in the larger Forester die boxes.

 

[msinc]

I guess I am odd man out again...I always buy the Forster bench rest seater...I really have no use for a micrometer dial on the depth adjustment. I check it with calipers and lock the nut when it is right. I generally find the bullet that is most accurate and stick to it for a given caliber...just don't have any reason to bounce around with different bullets.

 

[Half Scale]

I have to agree with snakepit! I have both and like equally but use Lock-N-Load bushings too and they will not fit in the Redding boxes with the bushings installed but do fit in the Forster box. I thought I was the only one with that problem!!

 

[Joe Salt]

Patton243 Do you clean the insides of the neck with a brush then lube the inside of the necks with Molly? That will help Give you a more consistent seating Depth!
I like the Redding Competition Dies.

Joe Salt

 

[dkhunt14]

If you really want great seating go with a Wilson die and arbor press. I believe they give better control and you can feel differences in seating. There is a reason the BR shooters use them. Matt

 

[1lnbrdg]

Forster because they have a hardened seating stem. If you are ever going to seat a compressed load, the stem needs to be hardened.

The Redding isn't hardened and will swell and then it doesn't slide in the sleeve as it should.

 

[Shynloco]

If you really want great seating go with a Wilson die and arbor press. I believe they give better control and you can feel differences in seating. There is a reason the BR shooters use them. Matt

I have to agree with Matt. Of the two mentioned plus the Wilson, my best and most consistent results downrange come from seating my bullets using a Wilson In Line Seater Die and an Arbor Press.

Alex

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I like the whidden over the rest but best bet is having your gunsmith chamber a micrometer top newlon blank with the same reamer. If you prefer an arbor press do the same with a wilson blank

 

[Patton243]

If you really want great seating go with a Wilson die and arbor press. I believe they give better control and you can feel differences in seating. There is a reason the BR shooters use them. Matt

As I stated above, I'm not a bench rest shooter. I have a Redding T7 press and that functions well enough. I'm not going to dump more money into a press that's not necessary for what I'm doing. And for the Wilson dies it looks like they're exclusively used for an Arbor press, so they're out of the question as well.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Looks like a whidden would be my choice in your case then

 

[savagedasher]

Looks like a whidden would be my choice in your case then

I like Forster I have many of caliber sleeve . Easy to change . Larry

 

[ireload2]

I have some of 4 different designs.

Wilson's are my preference but they do not work with a 7/8-14 press

I also have a RCBS Competition die. I don't think it guides as well but it is more convenient to use with the side window. It is capable of being converted to many different cartridges by changing the seater plugs and the inserts. I rate the RCBS dies as a significant convenient up grade. If it had more alignment for the case base it might be a better die.

I have the Redding Competition die for several BPCR calibers and the 6.5X55. It is a very high quality engineered die and it very convenient for working up loads since you can easily adjust the seating by .001 increments. You can also zero the mircometer head to give direct reading on the seating dept.

Notice that I mentioned BPCR for Redding. They are available in a number or BPCR, common centerfire rifle and some handgun rounds. The Forster dies are not available for the older straight case BPCR rounds unless you make one yourself

The Forster dies are limited in availablity but if you consider the older Bonanza labeled dies (same exact die but different brand name) you can pick up some older calibers that are not listed in current Forster catalogs.
There are also 2 versions of the Forster die
1. This is the Ultra seater which has a micrometer head that is very convenient to use, it is expensive and is a very nice seater. It is not really necessary to have the micrometer head but it is a joy to use.
2. The plain vanilla version of the Forster and Bonanza die is the Benchrest seater. This die is more common in a wider variety of calibers. It is easy to use but does not have the super convenient Micrometer head of the Ultra seater.
The Bonanza/Forster design runs the gamut of .218 Bee, .22 Hornet, .250 Savage, .303, 7.62X54R, and a host of standard sporting and military rounds up to the .375 H&H.

If you have a need for a custom BR die is it not too hard to make a BR die by modifying an existing die in the Forster line.
One of these die sets will set you back about $15 to $25 more used than a set of Lee's or RCBS dies when bought on ebay.

I have Forster in .270 Win, 7mm Rem Mag (Ultra) was a BR, 7mm Weatherby (was a Ultra and switched to BR), .222 Rem, 6mm Rem, 6.5 Jap, 6.5 Mannlicher Schoneauer (also used for 6.5 Dutch), 7X57 Mauser, 8X57 Mauser, 7.7 Jap and 6.5 Rem Mag.
I list these just to show some of the odd balls out there.

 

[Jammer Six]

What is "BPCR"?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

What is "BPCR"?

Black powder cartridge rifle

 

[Dusty Stevens]

http://www.whiddengunworks.com/product/reloading-die-set-2/

All you need right here

 

[Patton243]

Thanks for the input folks.I'm going to be ordering some Forster Ultra micrometer seating dies. I don't see any purpose paying Redding an additional 30-40$ each on their dies when Forster is just as good or better. Furthermore, Forster has a lifetime warranty on their products which means something too. Again, I'm not a bench rest shooter, but I'm always looking for small ways to improve accuracy and consistency if possible. Either of these dies mentioned are an upgrade over my regular RCBS seater dies.

 

[TRG300WM]

I have a set of custom Foster dies with ultra-bullet seating die, they are well made and the only thing I didn’t like was the supplied alumina locking rings but that was an easy fix with a couple of Sinclair ss Lock Rings.

I have 2 sets of Redding Competition Dies the only problem I ever had was when I bought a 3rd set in 220 swift, both of the sleeves that are encapsulated in the die had a little too much runout for my liking compared to my other Redding comp dies, which had nun. So I returned that set even know they explained it would not affect accuracy of the loaded rounds in anyway. Wilson stainless micro dies are my preference