Redding Premium Dies for 308? Lee Factory crimp die?

[Vance in AK.]

Forgive my ignorance here guys...
I've reloaded for 40 yrs & many tens of thousands of rounds. But 95%+ of it has been handgun on progessives & the rifle cartridge reloading was never really looking for precision. That's changing. I'm hoping to get into long range (1000 yd ish) shooting with my RPR in .308.
I have several hunfred rounds of factory Norma Match ammo that will supply my brass as I get started. Right now I'm looking at dies.
Specifically I'm looking at the 3pc Redding Premium Die set in 308. I'm sure there is something better out there, but is it a good set for the money to get me started?
Also, I love Lee's factory crimp die for my heavy revolvers etc. Any advantage to crimping my 308 loads with it or just crimp with the supplied seating die?

Thanks

 

[918v]

No FCD bad

 

[Howland]

Neck tension alone is sufficient to hold the bullet in the case, especially with a bolt action. Crimping a precision rifle cartridge just isn't done by precision or long range shooters. Uniform neck tension is something you'll try to achieve to aid in accuracy. You'll do that with bushings, mandrels, annealing, powder selection, dry lube, etc. Never with crimping. Most people back their seating die out to ensure they aren't crimping.

 

[Vance in AK.]

Ok & thanks on neck tension and crimping. Wasnt sure if there would be more consistency due to more consistent pressure.
Anyone with input on the die set i mentioned?

 

[spife7980]

Get the two die set and save your self some money on a neck die you’ll never use.

The premium seater is just a standard seater with a micro top added on, it’s not as nice as the competition seater with its sliding alignment sleev but it’s a far aight better than no micro top.

That said the carbide expander ball and a micro top make the premium line a fairly attractive set of dies for the price.

 

[Huskydriver]

Get the two die set and save your self some money on a neck die you’ll never use.

The premium seater is just a standard seater with a micro top added on, it’s not as nice as the competition seater with its sliding alignment sleev but it’s a far aight better than no micro top.

That said the carbide expander ball and a micro top make the premium line a fairly attractive set of dies for the price.

^^^This. With that said I have been pleasantly surprised with my Hornady match grade bushing 2 die sets. Figure out if your going to go expander ball, expander mandrel or just plain bushing for setting your neck tension in stead of any crimping die.

 

[MarinePMI]

As others have stated, crimping is usually not used in precision long range ammunition. As to it being inherently bad, I'm not sure I'd totally agree with that. Like most things in life...it depends.

Crimping is (IME) useful when the parent case has very thin brass, and/or the powder being used has erratic ignition issues due to case size/volume. The .22 Hornet comes to mind when used with Lil'Gun. Without a crimp, that load can be erratic and produce flyers (even when using pistol primers instead of rifle primers; which does improve the load slightly). When a crimp is used, the load becomes incredibly uniform. The key here is ignition combined with neck tension. The hornet case is very thin, so the crimp helps keep (however so briefly) the bullet in place until the powder column has begun to ignite fully. This is demonstrated by the cases ceasing to show erratic obturation and more uniform velocity measurements.

The other situation where a crimp is useful is in chambers that have extremely long throats. Again, the crimp helps with increasing neck pull, thereby delaying the bullet from leaving the case mouth before proper ignition has occurred. At least, that is the general consensus/theory by many.

Is a crimp necessary? Usually not, and can degrade accuracy (I would argue) not because of the crimp being present per se. But because it is yet another step, and variable, in a reloading process that can (and will) introduce variability. If the load is already accurate (consistent), introducing this variability is very noticeable (degrades accuracy). However, if the load is not exceedingly accurate, a crimp may help introduce more consistency from round to round, and be clearly demonstrated by the improved accuracy (really it's consistency) on paper. I haven't finished testing yet, but I think CFE223 shows this same behavior with heavy bullets (erratic ignition) in .223. I just haven't had the time (or desire) to determine if a crimp would help, since I just changed powders to achieve the performance and accuracy I wanted.

Just my experience, but it seems ball powders tend to suffer more from this ignition issue (and therefore require a mild crimp). BTW, the only crimp I've found to be consistent was the Lee factory Crimp die, and that in order for it to work properly, cases must all be trimmed to the same length.

Anyways.... Clear as mud?

 

[Vance in AK.]

Actually clear as day and i really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience and knowledge! Im lacking both in this but you shared it clearly and educated me!?.

 

[lightman]

I like the Redding Master Hunter set. A standard full length sizing die and a competition seater. I agree with the others, skip the crimping die.

 

[palmettoman]

I use a Lee crimping die only for my 6.5 CM AR10. It's probably not necessary, but its such a violent action with the larger calibers, I just feel better doing it. I agree with the others...your RPR won't need it.

I have the Redding (f/l bushing & comp seating) set for my .223 and use it for my AR's and my bolt gun.

I bought the Lee dies for the 6.5 (mainly out of curiosity since they were so cheap) but upgraded to the Redding bushing sizing die.

Still use the Lee seating die. It takes a little longer to find the exact seating depth since it doesn't have the micro, but it's so consistent, I haven't felt the need to change it.