I like/use the LE Wilson FL Sizing Bushing die too, and I do dig their machining/finish and their whole "old timer shtick"... but after trying all of the "non-ridiculously-priced-for-attention-and-to-fool-idiots" dies, I think next time I need another FL bushing die I'm going to pick up another Hornady Match Grade bushing die (which I stupidly sold since I wasn't using it anymore)...
...because the "best die money can buy" is just the die with the best design for what you're trying to do, and how you do it.
Example: I do not decap while I size, and I don't expand while I size, so I don't give a shit about how a given sizing die decaps or how its expander ball thingy performs at all. I decap first before I clean my brass with a $10 Lee Universal Decapping Die, all my sizing die does is size the outside of the case.
If you size as I do, then the LE Wilson has the same "drawback" as the Redding Type-S FL bushing die, in that, if you pull out all the decap/expander pin stuff and ditch it, you still have to use and re-insert that thinner pin retaining nut to use as a spacer inside the die body above the bushing, in order to get everything to tighten up to where that bushing is just floating ever so slightly (otherwise there's too great of a gap in there). So in both cases, you end up with these nice solid machined die bodies having this crappy little spacer in there, semi-floating much like the bushing, but wherever it wants in relation to the bushing it's sitting on (and likely causing just a cunt hair's worth of deflection).
I like the Hornady because if you size like I do, and ditch all the decap/expansion crap, the die's design enables one to snug up the die without any crappy spacer floating around in there. (Plus, the Hornady's inside-of-die finish is the best I've come across out of the usual suspects).
I'm not loyal to any one brand in particular, regardless of who makes it, I just try to grab the one from whoever's got the best design that'll jive with each step in my process.
For the record, I currently use (maybe not the best, but best for me):
Dillion 750/MBF (shitloads of 130pf 9mm awesomeness, easily 25,000+rds on it):
Lee standard/non-Udie size/decap (Squirrel Daddy hardened decap pin)
MBF expander/powder drop
Redding Competition Seating die
Lee taper crimp
(98-99% of the rounds pass a Hundo, the ones that don't see the taper crimp again and then they'll pass)
For rifle:
Lee Universal decap die (everyone should own one, best $10 ever spent)
LE Wilson FL bushing die (decap pin removed), Reddin TiN bushing
21st Century Expander Mandrel die with the widow (it's actually kind of shitty, the Sinclair is much better and I'll go back to that at some point)
Sinclair TiN turning mandrel (2 thou less than bullet diameter)
Forster Ultra Micrometer Seating die (as close to an in-line seater as you can get without having to use an arbor press IMO)
- A lot of guys have recipes that work when it comes to dies, only you can figure out what's best for you... but I feel like I can solidly come down on the side that when it comes to dies, price IS NOT a prerequisite for performance.
