Hornady click micro seater vs Redding

[Sigfla]

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011035763?pid=191667Found one on the first try?

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011035763?pid=191667Found one on the first try?

Must have missed it last night. Either way looking forward to the Forster

 

[NorCalMikie]

Might consider RCBS Precision seater. Clicks and the guts can be swapped to just about any caliber you might want.

 

[Sigfla]

Yeah I was going to say it was pretty surprising he couldn’t find a Hornady .243 seater. They are all over.

And OP if you plan to use only 100 rounds in 10 years then use what you like but I know groundhog guys and they shoot 5x that in a day. lol

I have my .204’s for out west volume shooting. Groundhog/Prairie dog shooting isn’t a regular event for me. I go if and when my father in law and brother in law bring it up and I am not busy. It’s a few and far between event for me. That’s not to say once I start loading for the .243 I might go more. Adding a body die or going to a FL Type S isn’t an issue. My main interest these last few years is quail hunting the red hills of north FL and south GA. Having bird dogs has taken up my time and house the last 15+ years.

 

[209jones]

Bird dogs do tend to skew things away from rifle stuff, now that my dog is gone, debating on selling off all the shotguns.

 

[neckturner]

RCBS, Forster, Redding and Hornady. My preference is the Forster.

What is it about the Forster that stands out to you?

 

[Bill Norris]

No experience yet but have the Hornady on order. Have used the Redding Comp seater in the past with good results.

Received the die and put it to test last nite. Seated 40 rds. for my 6 X 47 Lapua and all went well with it. Will continue to use it and see if it holds up the the claims by Hornady going forward. For now, I expect it will but need to get more miles on it to be sure.

 

[NF1E]

What is it about the Forster that stands out to you?

Ease of use and repeatability. Numbers large enough for a bat to read. Whatta Hobby!

 

[Sigfla]

So I went ahead and got a Type S FL die for the .243. I’ll end up returning the neck die. I added a Hornady setup in .308 I found online. I couldn’t resist that big red knob. Next up I think I am gonna look for a .280 setup. I hunt with that and there have been times it wasn’t super easy to find in stock.
I think my trouble finding the Hornady was figuring out which model die went with the new micrometer. They seem to have an older setup that uses a thin silver micrometer. I know for sure now the New Dimension dies fit the big red micrometer. In any case the setup I bought was the 2 die set with the micrometer included.

 

[Bill Norris]

Received the die and put it to test last nite. Seated 40 rds. for my 6 X 47 Lapua and all went well with it. Will continue to use it and see if it holds up the the claims by Hornady going forward. For now, I expect it will but need to get more miles on it to be sure.

OH well, different story tonite. Case getting stuck inside the alignment sleeve. Sending it back to Midsouth as soon as they will issue an R A. That nice red thang on top don't mean anything if the quality of the job ain't in it. Guess I will stick to the tried and true F/A Universal die. Seats anything I put in it with no hassle.

 

[Rob01]

OH well, different story tonite. Case getting stuck inside the alignment sleeve. Sending it back to Midsouth as soon as they will issue an R A. That nice red thang on top don't mean anything if the quality of the job ain't in it. Guess I will stick to the tried and true F/A Universal die. Seats anything I put in it with no hassle.

No other reason it would be sticking? Never had that happen in any Hornady die I have used.

 

[Murray Brook]

Guess I will stick to the tried and true F/A Universal die. Seats anything I put in it with no hassle

I have one of these dies also Bill. They are a very good and versatile die and load very straight ammo. JMO

 

[Bill Norris]

No other reason it would be sticking? Never had that happen in any Hornady die I have used.

I actually took it out of the die and pushed the case inside of the guide to make sure thats what I was feeling.

 

[dstoenner]

I have not tried the Hornady but the old Hornady seater with the micrometer stem couldn’t seat ammo as consistently as the Redding Competition seater. I believe that the reason the Redding is so consistent is the spring pressure holding the chamber firm on the brass as it rises.

David

 

[Kracken McGraw]

OH well, different story tonite. Case getting stuck inside the alignment sleeve. Sending it back to Midsouth as soon as they will issue an R A. That nice red thang on top don't mean anything if the quality of the job ain't in it. Guess I will stick to the tried and true F/A Universal die. Seats anything I put in it with no hassle.

Bill just to reply to your problem, it does happen. I have had four of Hornady’s seaters that have all worked perfectly. Now I have a new one for the 25 Creedmoor and it is just a hair sticky right at the last when the case is coming out with a seated bullet. I’m not sure but it may be that little clip that holds the alignment sleeve in place dragging a little bit. If I don’t get it figured out I’m going to have Hornady replace it.

 

[Gray420]

I have one of the new Hornady red seaters and it’s a nice unit. I am not loading my match ammo with how ever. For the every day reloader I think the hornady dies are great.

 

[Rob01]

They load match ammo just fine too.

 

[gdbleb]

For a sport that we are told is shrinking there seems to be a significant increase in the number of reloading die manufacturers.

 

[ronsatspokane]

I have a variety of micro-seater dies in various cartridges. The brands I have are RCBS gold, Whidden, Forester, Redding and Wilson (used with arbor press). I like them all but recently I was looking for one for a 7 SAUM and the only thing available was the new red top Hornady clicker die. I decided to try it. It came with a bushing full length sizing die. They make ammo that in some loads during load development shoot one hole groups. I like the clicker as well. I give it a thumbs up.

 

[Sigfla]

So I got the Hornady dies but forgot to order a bushing. Anyway I screwed them into the T7 like my reddings with the thought that I will remove and reinstall when I get the bushing just to see how they look. The alignment sleeve on the seating die is crazy long. It’s not spring loaded like my reddings either. Overall I like the die and it feels like a club in my hand. The clicks are very loud and nice. The retaining wire for the sleeve sticks out into the body and I am not sure I love that. I initially saw it and thought I had a huge burr in there. I do not have any fired .308 cases so I am not sure how deep this thing installs. If I do it like my Redding it jams against the back of the turret base. I used a loaded round following the instructions bc I don’t have a fired case with the die micrometer backed out all the way and it clears then by a little bit. I assume the die body will remain around that deep in the head and I can seat deeper with alot of travel left in the micrometer. I also used a fired .243 which is as close to a .308 case as I have in the house. It also cleared by a bit. Hopefully it works with the T7. I’ll have to search and see if anyone else is using the same setup without issue.

Update: so apparently after some YouTube views and forum reading that’s all normal for that style die. Reading the instructions is required lol.
Hopefully it will still clear fine when I put a fired .308 case in there. Anything shorter and I am gonna wonder if it would work.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

So I got the Hornady dies but forgot to order a bushing. Anyway I screwed them into the T7 like my reddings with the thought that I will remove and reinstall when I get the bushing just to see how they look. The alignment sleeve on the seating die is crazy long. It’s not spring loaded like my reddings either. Overall I like the die and it feels like a club in my hand. The clicks are very loud and nice. The retaining wire for the sleeve sticks out into the body and I am not sure I love that. I initially saw it and thought I had a huge burr in there. I do not have any fired .308 cases so I am not sure how deep this thing installs. If I do it like my Redding it jams against the back of the turret base. I used a loaded round following the instructions bc I don’t have a fired case with the die micrometer backed out all the way and it clears then by a little bit. I assume the die body will remain around that deep in the head and I can seat deeper with alot of travel left in the micrometer. I also used a fired .243 which is as close to a .308 case as I have in the house. It also cleared by a bit. Hopefully it works with the T7. I’ll have to search and see if anyone else is using the same setup without issue.

Update: so apparently after some YouTube views and forum reading that’s all normal for that style die. Reading the instructions is required lol.
Hopefully it will still clear fine when I put a fired .308 case in there. Anything shorter and I am gonna wonder if it would work.

Just in case anyone wonders, don’t put the rubber washer between the die and the click adjuster top.