Perfect
Always great service!
MY 3RD ONE BY FORSTER AND BY CALIBER SPECIFIC
HAVE NOT TRIED THIS ONE OUT YET BUT THE OTHERS WORK JUST FINE
Does what it's supposed to do
Well made,user friendly
Outstanding Concentricity
I am using a RCBS single stage press to reload and found the sizing die I was using was not producing good concentricity. The Foster die produces concentricity results consistently in the .001-.002 range. It was a long wait getting it but worth the time and cost.
"Match" Can Mean Different Things
"Match" can mean different things to different people. I thought "match" meant it was ground to tighter tolerances to facilitate better accuracy precision. It turns out "match" means it bumps the shoulder an additional .003" beyond what their standard sizing die gives you, facilitating a more reliable round for use in semi-automatic firearms used in competitions. This is an exchange of a slightly lower accuracy potential (and slightly less powder capacity) for a higher gain in reliability in the semi-autos. Unfortunately, I was hoping for the former meaning rather than the latter, but that's not this die's fault. It still gave me eight three-round groups averaging 0.6 MOA at 100 yards out of a factory bolt-action barrel. That's impressive. (.308 Win. Berger 155 VLD Target in once-fired Lapua Palma brass with CCI 450 and Varget at 2.810")
WOW.
This die is awesome! I've got a FL Bushing Hornady Match, Redding type S bushing and a standard Redding FL die in 6.5 Creedmoor and none are as consistent as this die. The others I have are all good dies and would also recommend them but this die is just amazing. I did a runout + consitency test using all my dies with neck-turned and non-turned brass and this one produced under .001 runout on all the pieces I resized. The others varied from .001-.003. I was pretty amazed on the results at this price point. I'm not saying you will get the same results since brass quality/neck thickness consistency (I use good brass but nothing expensive like Lapua) also matters, but this one knocked it out of the park!
Excellent dies
I use the .308 NM dies for an AR10t, and FN-FAL, and a DPMS Recon. I pretty much only use Lake City once fired brass that has been shot out of machine guns. I have had zero problems with these dies. I have had no issues. I bought a SAAMI min spec chamber gage and the NM die wouldn't size them enough to fit the gage although the loaded rounds still fit MY rifles. I believe this is because of a generous machine gun chamber. So I bought the Forster small base die (which I also give 5 stars to) so I could size this brass down a little more at the base and now all the cases fit the JPE SAAMI min Spec chamber gage as well. I believe I will be small base sizing these cases the first time I resize them from now on, not because I have had issues, but because it seems like a good idea to me. I seat all my .308 bullets with a Forster micrometer seater die which I also give five stars to. My run out, measured with a Hornady concentricity gage, is typically between less than .001" to .001" and my groups in all three of the aforementioned rifles are sub-MOA. The Forster dies are notorious for low run out. I have a Redding micrometer seater die for 300 win mag. It's good but all of my Forster micrometer seater dies are better. They are easier to adjust and read and you can use compressed loads with them unlike the Redding die which is a big problem IMHO. I have just ordered the Forster full length resizing die for 300 win mag to compliment my Forster Bushing neck sizing/shoulder bump die. I am perfectly happy to use nothing but Forster dies. They have never been anything but 5 stars for me.
For bolt guns
308NM is for tight chambered bolt action guns. It is not a small base die. The shoulder is moved back .003" while the base remains SAAMI spec.These dies can be sent to Forster to get necks honed for a small fee.. My only complaint is it sizes the shoulder and base very tight for standard f/l sizing compared to others.
Cases won't chamber
I resized about 50 cases with the Forster National Match die and seated them with a Redding seating die. I didn't check them with my Wilson gauge and at the range discovered that almost all of them would not chamber in an AR-10 built with a Krieger barrel. When I checked them with a Wilson gauge they would not fit with the base sticking out of the bottom of the gauge. I tried resizing them again by overcamming in a Forster Coaxial Press and they were still too long. I tried the same case in a Redding bushing die and they were fine - even a little short as I adjusted to also overcam. With the Redding I have the option of bumping the shoulder less but the Forster makes them too long. I could have machined the bottom of the Forster die to bump the shoulder back but I should not have to do this. I have never had any problems with any Redding dies. I have no faith in the Forster dies although the Coaxial press is unequaled. I bought the 300 Win Mag National Match die also but I also returned it. With that much powder in the case I don't want to second guess. Will stick with Redding only.
