Die recommendations

[RangerRick]

If you want the best get Redding Type S bushing die.

Here's a Redding set, but the seater die may be overkill. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/943...set-65-grendel

You buy the bushings separately. .287, .288, .289 will do for most brass types. You use the one that gives you the best neck tension. http://www.midwayusa.com/find?&users...0&pageNumber=2

RR

[tony549]

I bought the Forster competition seating die and the Redding full length type s sizing die. I got the .287" and .288" neck bushings and plan to get the .289" bushing soon. It's cheaper this way than going all Redding.

[jwilson1985]

i have the hornady ..but it was a compromise,i had heard a lot of bad about the lee dies,which is what i use for everything else.i wanted the Forester but they are high so i opted for the middle and got hornady they were all smooth inside no pit or flaws,also use hownady for my bewulf

[pburr]

I would generally agree with everyone suggesting the Redding set, however lately, I am starting to question the use of the Bushing style sizers. I use Redding die sets for every rifle caliber I shoot and not just the normal dies, I invested in the competition dies and I have found one sore point that really gets to me. I purchased a Hornady Concentricity Gauge because I could not figure out why my groups were not as good as what I thought they should be with my 6.5. What I found was excessive runout on a good 90% of the rounds I loaded! Reading other stories on the net, I found that the problem with Bushing sizers is that they resize from the OUTSIDE of the case, squeezing inward without any guide and also the case itself is not supported or even touched by the die until it is almost at the top making contact with the bushing. This can create problems. This type of system would require the case to be in perfect alignment in the case holder in relation to the bushing itself. I dont know about anyone elses press, I use a Rockchucker from RCBS and its next to impossible to ensure the case is in alignment. The result is the case neck is resized OUT of concentricity to case centerline and seating bullets in turn could have a cant (runout). To help alleviate this issue, I have had to work very slowly and guide the case up into the die with my free hand and "feel" for bushing contact before applying pressure.
That sucks....!!!!
I have read that Lee collet dies are about the best way to size necks. Now before that statement starts a riot, let me say that I don't own ANY Lee dies......yet...!!! The logic is that because they use a central mandrel that fits all the way down to the flash hole, and the neck is in turn squeezed around the mandrel, the neck will be much more concentric to centerline. Also, the case is supported more inside the die around the sides to help guide the case up into alignment as it is traveling upwards.

Now that said,
The downside to Lee dies is the overall general quality. Or lack thereof. I have read that sometimes people have to polish the mandrel so the necks provide more tension to hold the bullet since there is no other way to adjust tension because you cant just hop on the internet to order a different size of bushing! Speaking for myself, I would do some polishing to fine tune the mandrel rather that have hideous run-out like I am getting with bushings. The second downside is that Lee does not make a Collet die for the 6.5 Grendel so I cant try one out to confirm one way or another. When I get my TacOps 6.5x55 Swede, I will try them out then.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents, or maybe 3.
Your still better off with the Redding dies, just go slow when resizing and try your best to get the competition set for the micrometer seating die at least.

Phil

[homefront]

Some very good reading...

I too am researching dies for a future 6.5 Grendel bolt action, and found the following information to be persuasive.

1) a discussion worth reading through: http://www.longrangehunting.com/foru...ng-dies-16940/

2) from an authoritative source: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...e-collet-dies/

3) another significant affirmation: http://www.jamescalhoon.com/collet.php

It seem that the Lee design is superior in several ways, even if one has to do a little clean-up work on the die.

[LR1955]

I too am researching dies for a future 6.5 Grendel bolt action, and found the following information to be persuasive.

1) a discussion worth reading through: http://www.longrangehunting.com/foru...ng-dies-16940/

2) from an authoritative source: http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/...e-collet-dies/

3) another significant affirmation: http://www.jamescalhoon.com/collet.php

It seem that the Lee design is superior in several ways, even if one has to do a little clean-up work on the die.

HF:

Then get the Lee dies. Or do a search here and see which brand of dies has given the most problems. From sizing, bumping, to neck expansion -- the most problems have come from the Lee die set. They will wear out your dollar a piece brass twice as fast as any of the bushing sizing dies.

Their quality for the Grendel has sucked since day 1 and they are probably more responsible for the malfunctions guys get than any other reloading related issue.

Guys who are machinists can polish them, turn down the neck button, and change their basic dimensions so they will work as well as any die set. The question is if you want to spend that amount of time or just buy something that works out of the box.

Forster or Redding bushing dies are excellent choices. Unless you will be using exclusively AA / Lapua brass, you will need different size neck bushings.

LR55

[pinzgauer]

I have read that Lee collet dies are about the best way to size necks. Now before that statement starts a riot, let me say that I don't own ANY Lee dies......yet...!!! The logic is that because they use a central mandrel that fits all the way down to the flash hole, and the neck is in turn squeezed around the mandrel, the neck will be much more concentric to centerline. Also, the case is supported more inside the die around the sides to help guide the case up into alignment as it is traveling upwards.

I use Lee Collett dies for neck sizing on my bolt guns for this reason. Combined with a Forster (Bonanza) coax press, it is very hard to beat the concentricity.

But it's moot on the grendel in AR's as you'd have to size twice since the collet dies are neck only. Maybe someone will make a hybrid one day for autos.

You can change neck tension with the Lee collet dies by using different spindle sizes.

I use the Forster dies for Grendel as the Redding Bushing dies were too expensive for me to commit on when I was getting started with Grendel. I'm very pleased with the Forsters, just recognize they will not handle the range of neck thickness the Redding bushing will.

Knowing what I know now, I'd buy the Redding Bushing if $$ were not the issue, Forster for the reasonable priced option.

[Deezil]

I use Lee for everything, never had an issue yet. If someone wants to sell their Lee Grendel dies, I need some!

[dkuls]

Howdy, a new guy here but reloading/shooting a long time. I have the Grendel 6.5 and as usual, bought dies for reloading. This morning is the first time I went to work on nice clean brass and oops! As usual I screwed the die down to the shell holder+ and promptly crushed the shoulder, pushing the neck into the case body. Then, of course, I looked for any special instructions for using my Redding 6.5 Grendel dies #80478. Not finding any and after setting the die to different heights - we're just guessing here, which I don't do when reloading. My brass was original Alex loads. Must be some obvious error but I need help figuring it out...
Thanks
Squarehead

[LR1955]

Howdy, a new guy here but reloading/shooting a long time. I have the Grendel 6.5 and as usual, bought dies for reloading. This morning is the first time I went to work on nice clean brass and oops! As usual I screwed the die down to the shell holder+ and promptly crushed the shoulder, pushing the neck into the case body. Then, of course, I looked for any special instructions for using my Redding 6.5 Grendel dies #80478. Not finding any and after setting the die to different heights - we're just guessing here, which I don't do when reloading. My brass was original Alex loads. Must be some obvious error but I need help figuring it out...
Thanks
Squarehead

DK:

Most of us screw the die hard to the shell holder in order to bump the shoulder so that isn't your problem.

Sure you got the right sizing die?

For new dies, I recommend that you spray some Dillon or RCBS spray lube into the sizing die before sizing brass. You need to get some lube on the inside of the die and the expander button or it will do what you describe for the first and maybe second piece of brass.

When you lube the brass, ensure you get some lube inside the necks. For years I have used Dillon Spray lube as it evenly coats the outside of the brass and gets some lube on the inside of the necks without issues of the lube eventually polluting the powder. I have had problems with crushing brass given other types and brands of lube but never with Dillon Spray Lube.

LR1955

[wheelguner]

For about 10yrs I have been using Wilson neck sizing dies and their Micrometer seating dies for all of my bolt guns and Redding "bump" dies to set the shoulder back as needed. A friend gave me a set of Hornady New Dimension dies for Christmas soon after I purchased my Sabre Defence Bench Model in 204 Ruger. I have used them and they gives excellent results and the run out on ammo loaded in them is good as that loaded in the Wilson Dies. The 204 Ruger is a bit of a strange critter with most factory chambers I have made castings of having a good bit of free bore and difficult to seat bullets into the rifling and still have sufficient bullet grip and I get excellent accuracy loading to SAAMI length. My research on the Grendel and checking cases fired in my Alexander Overwatch with a Wilson Gauge I chose a Redding Type S Bushing Full length die and a Wilson Micrometer seating die. This sizes the brass to fit perfectly in the gauge and still allow me to adjust the neck tension. I am just begging my load development but Hornady 123gr AMAX Load is is giving consistent 3/4" groups and I hope to better that with my hand loads.

[Schwag173]

What type/model of dies would you all recommend for a non-competitor that just wants (better-than-factory) accurate Grendel loads that will function well in an AR? I've never used special or expensive dies, though I still get cloverleafed groups out of my 16" barreled .223 AR. And these are with Lee dies, so I hope you'll excuse my confusion.

[BjornF16]

Redding or Hornady should be fine (I use Redding). The fact that you'll "tune" your handloads for your specific rifle should make them better than the majority of factory ammunition. Occassionally you'll find a rig that works great with factory ammo, but that is more luck than anything.

[sgt_murf]

For the Grendel I use Hornady die set, may switch over to Redding at a later date if I wear out the Hornady

[BenchRider]

+1 on the Forster Competition set. That was the only thing that was in-stock when I had to start loading for the 6.5 Grendel.

I'm really liking the concentricity concept for the Lee Collet sizing die as I also load on a Rock Chucker. I have friends at the local machine shop that can/will do any modifications that I can't handle myself.

Good thing the Lee dies are cheap. I may end up going through a couple during this experiment....