01-20-2019, 05:03 PM
The set of 6 RAT dies I have were made by Hornady. They work OK, but the seater is sometimes a PITA, as the little clip that holds the sliding sleeve in the seater body will sometimes let the sleeve slip by & fall out of the die body. I suppose it's only fair to say that they're a bargain at the price point, but I'd like to have something better that addresses the issues I've had with them, and still at a fair price. I used to buy Forster dies for almost everything I load for - still like their Ultra Mic seater better than Reddings comp seater. However, when I bought a Forster 6 Dasher FL die, I got a lemon, and it's worse after I sent it back to them. So I went with Troy Newlon's sizer die blanks, and had been buying a blank seater sleeve from Forster - along with the correct dia seater stem - and using a finisher reamer to cut the leaded steel, free machining sleeve. Would need to call them to see if they still sell these parts, and if so, that would solve the 22 Grendel seater issue.
Having said all that, going with a Hornady 22PPC die set would be a heckuva lot less expensive & quicker - just need to get some Grendel brass sized down to work as a 22 Grendel, then check loaded neck dia to see if the Hornady 22PPC FL sizer will give adequate neck tension with the Starline brass without over-working it.
Having said all that, going with a Hornady 22PPC die set would be a heckuva lot less expensive & quicker - just need to get some Grendel brass sized down to work as a 22 Grendel, then check loaded neck dia to see if the Hornady 22PPC FL sizer will give adequate neck tension with the Starline brass without over-working it.