Why does Hornady do this?

[RabbitSlayer]

I dont have any problem with my hornady dies. The forster are fine too. Note that the seating stem in the hornady is just sitting there. If you jiggle the die around it can fall out of the hole. If this happens and you pull the press it will crush the seating stem. This happened to me, and hornady sent a replacement stem for free. Make sure you check it every time before you use it.

I suspect Hornady is better at making dies than their price suggests. I think the threading on the sizing die is better than the forster. They also offer custom die making service.

 

[SSchnd]

My Forster Ultra Micrometer Seater which I like has had more than one stem replacement due to the lower cone splitting, I get a snap when pulling the ram back up, I know its time for a new stem. Its very thin at the bottom edge and if too much neck tension over the course of many loadings I have had this issue.
I do have a 6.5CM Match die set from Hornady, Like the micrometer seater a lot. The bushing die is nice too. The die set came with the extra ELDM stem. Was right around $100-110 when I got it.
Have Green (dark and light green brands) dies too but not micrometer seaters from Big Green.

Hornady projectiles in my experience are a softer jacket than others, Hornady acknowledged that during a tech call once.

 

[DLT]

Lee is also the only company I’ve found that doesn’t make the neck ridiculously undersized.

I thought they was notorious for that ?

 

[wboggs]

I have asked them the same question many times and always got a BS answer that they didn't know what bullet was going to be used.
I just suck it up and spend $15 for the correct stem. After that the seater is quite good ad loads very accurate ammo, just as good as Redding and Forster.

 

[ebb]

Because they care nothing about you or I only our money.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Note that the seating stem in the hornady is just sitting there. If you jiggle the die around it can fall out of the hole. If this happens and you pull the press it will crush the seating stem. This happened to me, and hornady sent a replacement stem for free. Make sure you check it every time before you use it.

I don’t see how this is happening to you.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I don’t see how this is happening to you.

Neither did i until it did.

 

[coldboreshot]

Its why I don't use anything from the big "H".

 

[Dimner]

And here's why the micrometer works better for me.

Both the non-micrometer and the micrometer and about the same to adjust. But let's say I seat too far, then I need to pull the bullet and re-seat it. Having the micrometer takes me less tries as I can pretty much see how far it's adjusting, where the non-micrometer doesn't show me that. For that reason, it saves me time in the end, and if you consider that you need to pull and re-seat a bullet, that's a PITA, for me.

I have a 6.5 Creedmoor seating die from Hornady I got from someone else and it has a micrometer. It's their match grade set. This is what I have, not trying to fool anyone on price or product. This is not a bad die for free! LOL

View attachment 1589784


You can see I have several 6.5 Creedmoor dies, but 2 sets were traded for here on AS. I only have 2 sets of Lee Pacemakers, 6.5 Grendel and 300 blackout, both of which have been replaced with Redding equivilants.

One thing I do like about the Hornady seating dies is the seater portion which moves up/down, not sure why but I like the sound it makes...LOL

View attachment 1589786

Ha!! Half of my reloading equipment is on my delta unisaw. I saw your Inca gauge and thought I was looking in my basement for a second.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

Ha!! Half of my reloading equipment is on my delta unisaw. I saw your Inca gauge and thought I was looking in my basement for a second.

LOL, good catch! Yes, I have a SWAG Offroad portable bandsaw stand which functions as a die holder also, and it is on the end of the bench I reload on. This is my metalworking bench in my office. I rarely use the bandsaw, I mostly only use hand tools. BTW, a small portable bandsaw on a stand is a very useful tool. The reason I don't use too many power tools is that my computers are in here also, it's a detached 10x20 office with power only...and plenty of network cables going to the house...

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Note that the seating stem in the hornady is just sitting there. If you jiggle the die around it can fall out of the hole. If this happens and you pull the press it will crush the seating stem. This happened to me, and hornady sent a replacement stem for free.

I have bought several of the rifle cartridges type of Hornady seater dies lately to use with the new click adjustable micrometer top and just looked at the three seaters that I have. It is not possible for the seating stem to fall out of the dies on these. I guess if you didn’t have the snap ring that holds the alignment sleeve in, it could all drop out. But that’s not going to happen if it’s assembled back properly.

 

[GSP7]

I have one hornady die set its 9.3 x57 only because no one else made that cart unless custom made. All Redding and some RCBS

My first impretion was , I didnt care for Hornady dies.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I have bought several of the rifle cartridges type of Hornady seater dies lately to use with the new click adjustable micrometer top and just looked at the three seaters that I have. It is not possible for the seating stem to fall out of the dies on these. I guess if you didn’t have the snap ring that holds the alignment sleeve in, it could all drop out. But that’s not going to happen if it’s assembled back properly.

Im holding the 17 hornet seater and a 204 ruger in my hand. They both fall out if the sleeve remains in the down position while the die is turned over. If the sleeve moves with the stem its fine. If it falls out it can get wedged like the photo. Pull the handle it will crush the stem. To be clear it can't fall out onto the ground it can fall out of the sliding sleeve and become wedged in there.

 

[Rob01]

Im holding the 17 hornet seater and a 204 ruger in my hand. They both fall out if the sleeve remains in the down position while the die is turned over. If the sleeve moves with the stem its fine. If it falls out it can get wedged like the photo. Pull the handle it will crush the stem.

View attachment 1592293

If it's going that far out you need to reposition your die in the press and adjust the seater so that it's not allowed to be that far out. Screw die out of the press some and screw top of seater in more.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

If it's going that far out you need to reposition your die in the press and adjust the seater so that it's not allowed to be that far out. Screw die out of the press some and screw top of seater in more.

That is not true. On my 17 hornet die with the micrometer screwed all the way down it easily falls out. The 20 cal will do it when only backed out about 1\3 of the way.

 

[Rob01]

That is not true. On my 17 hornet die with the micrometer screwed all the way down it easily falls out. The 20 cal will do it when only backed out about 1\3 of the way.

It's falling out as you use the die in the press?

 

[RabbitSlayer]

It's falling out as you use the die in the press?

No, never. It happened after I moved houses. The die had been turned upside down during shipping causing the stem to fall out of the sleeve. I did not know that was possible. I went to seat a bullet, I felt the hard stop. Even though it wasn't much pressure, it deformed the tip of the stem. I now look inside the sleeve before I use the die.

 

[lhsako]

So, one day I jumped back into the boutique round/dumb guy pool and bought everything I needed for a 6mm ARC. As the title notes I have questions about what/why Hornady does what they do. The point is when I bought Hornady dies for the 6mm ARC the seating stem is just some kind of generic stem with a hole in it. It dents the bullets when I seat them. Hornady says if you plan to shoot high BC bullets you need to spend another $40.00 on a ELD stem. Considering the 6mm ARC is supposed to be a long range round from an AR, I would have thought that the dies would reflect that. And, not include a seating stem made for stumps.

They're more interested in profit as opposed to customer satisfaction.

 

[Rob01]

No, never. It happened after I moved houses. The die had been turned upside down during shipping causing the stem to fall out of the sleeve. I did not know that was possible. I went to seat a bullet, I felt the hard stop. Even though it wasn't much pressure, it deformed the tip of the stem. I now look inside the sleeve before I use the die.

Ok I thought you were having an issue with it in use. For your issue it's an easy fix. Don't turn it upside down. LOL

 

[Tommie]

Compared to the numbers of hunters and casual shooter who reload, hardcore shooters don’t amount to a fart in a whirlwind. We’re a fringe element in the big picture. Sorry if any bubbles got burst.

Dies are equipped for the vast majority of end users. Luckily manufacturers offer retrofit parts for “specialized” uses. Aint a big deal guys.