Thoughts on buying used dies

[fyaman43]

I know properly maintained dies that aren’t subjected to overly dirty brass should last a lifetime, but is buying used dies a good idea?

I’ve seen some competition/high end dies for sale locally that supposedly have 1500ish rounds through them at a pretty nice price vs new. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Milo 2.5]

If you can find a set , why not. I usually buy new myself, and sell once I feel I am done with that case, so 2 barrels worth. If the dies show no patina, or marks from a channel lock, good guess they were taken care of. I don't know pf anyone who has wore a sizing die out.
Plus, even if the sizing die was dirty, not too tough to clean. Way easier than a used barrel with 1K rds down it w/o a clean job.

 

[sandwarrior]

I know properly maintained dies that aren’t subjected to overly dirty brass should last a lifetime, but is buying used dies a good idea?

I’ve seen some competition/high end dies for sale locally that supposedly have 1500ish rounds through them at a pretty nice price vs new. Thoughts? Thanks.

It's a kind of a gamble, but with serious shooters it's not like playing the slots in Vegas. After following the F-class crowd a bit, I find it's the next new fad is why they are getting rid of dies. Going from 6 BR to 6 BRA and then to BRX or Dasher. 6mm & 6.5mm Creedmoors were all the rage and now people have found they don't come with magic fairy dust that makes them shoot better than ALL other rounds. All the other stuff has to be in place before the rifle can be aimed correctly and magic groups appear. Some people find they just have no need to go to a mile or even 1k as they never get there from where they live anyway.

Ask questions about the rounds run through them, what their procedure was (tells you if the brass was run clean through them), if they cleaned and wiped or just 'cleaned'. Add some small talk in on what you plan to use too, that may help the seller wanting to divulge some info on the dies.

 

[mdmp5]

I’ve sold several sets of Redding dies over the years and bought a few. It’s a good way to save a few bucks, especially on the expensive calibers