less than pleasant one. I got a used set in 7MM TCU from some
guy at a table at a gunshow along with a barrel I purchased.
Looking at the dies they were in pretty sad condition. It was
obvious they had not been properly cared for, they were rusty
and the die box was busted and held together with tape. There
were no instructions for use with them. But I decided what
the heck, I'll give them a try. I found it impossible to do
the initial sizing of case to open the .223 parent case mouth
to .284" for the 7 TCU as the expander button and rod kept
slipping upward and no amount of tightening would prevent it.
I thought to myself, what a piece of junk and for then wrote
off Hornady dies as of no value to me in reloading. WHAT A
MISTAKE!
My next experience with them was far more pleasant. When I
send off my old blue .35 Remington 14" barrel to JD Jones of
SSK for conversion to a .358 JDJ I paid him for a set of dies
for it also. The dies he sent were Hornady. That bother me
because of the previous experience but I decided to give them
a try. Was I ever pleasantly surprised. These were old worn
old and abused dies like the first set was and I found out
the problems weren't problems of Hornady's equipment but of
the worn and abused dies themselves.
The dies are well made and give the appearance of obvious
quality. The collet locking sliding expander button and stem
still seems strange to me after all the years of using the
RCBS type but it works on all I've had since that first worn
out set and so I've come to accept it as just as good as
any other method. Now the bullet seater die is another story
all together. I've come to love it.
From the finger adjustable stem to adjust bullet seating
depth to the sliding , in-line seating system this die is my
idea of what a seating die should be. The sliding insert in
the die found only in the very expensive "bench rest" type
dies of other manufacturers really seems to work. It prevents
the bullet from entering the case off set and therefore
contributes to accuracy thru reduced run out.
And add the Micro Adjust Seating Stem and you can quickly and
easily change the seating depth of the bullet 0.001" at a
time at the twist of the dial. And the setting can be
recorded and repeated any time in the future even after it
has been changed for other bullets. This die and the Micro
Adjust Seater Stem by themselves are reason enough to select
Hornady dies.
Here is what Hornady has to say about the:
MICROJUST SEATING STEM
"You can add the Hornady MicroJust Seating Stem to any New
Dimension seating die. Now there's no need to buy an
expensive calibrated seating die. The Hornady MicroJust
micrometer-style Seating Stem is the economical way to
achieve optimum bullet seating depth for benchrest accuracy
and consistency. Simply replace the standard seating depth
adjustment stem with the MicroJust Seating Stem. The
MicroJust stem allows you to precisely set bullet seating
depth in .001 of an inch increments. Allsteel construction.
No. 044090 $19.95 each.
My latest experience with the Hornady dies is the set they
sent me for the .243 Winchester I am loading for a Browning
Model 1885 Low Wall project rifle I am working with now. Like
all the rest I've used since that first bad experience which
wasn't the fault of the dies but just the wear and abuse
given it, I am extremely pleased. They sent the Micro Adjust
Seater Stem mentioned above at my request and I've found
bullet seaing nirvana.
Hornady's New Dimension Dies come in a nice red box shown
below with room for all the dies and accessories needed for
loading each caliber. You won't go wrong in selecting these
dies for loading your pistol or rifle ammo. They get the
Graybeard Seal of Approval and a thumbs up.
If you'd like to learn more about Hornady New Dimension dies
or any of the other fine Hornady Products you can visit there
web site by CLICKING HERE.
Hornady Manufacturing Company
Box 1848
Grand Island, NE 68802
800-338-3220