Dumb rifle caliber reloading question.

[swampratt]

2 die set ..Full length size and deprime for one of the dies.
Seat the bullet with the other die.
Lee RGB die set is a 2 die set and it's what I use for my .308.

I have the 4 die set also but do not use the neck die or the crimp die as I found best accuracy with the RGB 2 die set.

I have tried all 4 believe me.
All my rifle loads use only 2 dies.

Pistol loading I use 3.
1 Carbide sizer die .
2 Powder through expander die.
3 Bullet seating die.

 

[rickm]

The only dumb question is the one you dont ask.

 

[Ahall]

2 die set for rifle (bottle neck shells)
Decap/ resize
Seat/crimp

3 die set, straight wall (45/70, 357, 9.mm)
decap/ resize
neck expand/flair (very useful with cast lead bullets and sometimes has a through hole for powder dropping on a progressive press)
Seat/ crimp

4 die set
decap/ resize
neck expand/flair (very useful with cast lead bullets)
Seat/ crimp
#4 could be a through powder die for a progressive press
could be an different type of crimp die
could be something else

Lee says
Set includes:

* Carbide Factory Crimp Die
* Powder Through Expanding Die
* Bullet Seat & Feed Die
* Carbide Sizing Die
* Shellholder
* Powder measure and charge table

As to what you need depends on what your trying to accomplish.
2 die rifle sets are fine for producing a basic hunting load
3 dies are very nice if you are shooting cast lead from a old black powder cartridge gun or need a bit of flare to get the bullets to start easily.
4 dies - your squeezing out that last bit of something.


And like most sporting goods, someone is always coming up with some new gizmo marketed to improve your game, so expect to see more new stuff you don't really need by Christmas.

 

[BillM]

I haven’t even turned a single round out yet and my OCD is kicking in.

CDO, coming right up! That is like OCD, but with the letters in the correct alphabetical order.

 

[Jack Shootza 50]

Can someone explain the difference between 2 die, 3 die, and 4 die sets.

I bought the Lee Ultimate 4 die set for when I get all my gear rounded up to start reloading .308win.

My question came up because I know eventually I will reload for 30-30 as well and I watched a video on it and the guy was using a RCBS 2 Die set. Just wondering how you get all the steps done in a 2 die set versus a 4 die set.

Some die sets have extra dies to bell mouth the case and another to crimp with, not an absolute necessity but better for fine tuning. Like for your 30/30 if you want to crimp the bullet on the cannelure its easier to set it up with a separate die for that than using the seating die.