My dad recently got a Dillon progressive reloader and as a Christmas gift I would like to get him the dies and and shell holders for a .308 and maybe a few accessories too. My question is, do I need to order the 3 piece die set from Dillon or is there an RCBS equivalent at cabelas that I can get? Also, he has everything needed to actually reload but is there any accessories that I could get him that make the process easier or more enjoyable? Thanks in advance for any help!

Dillon can use RCBS, Lee, Hornady, etc dies. There's no reason to use Dillon dies. The RCBS dies should do a great job. I have a small preference for Lee sizing dies, as stuck cases can be fixed by the end user and not derail your reloading for a few weeks. RCBS makes great dies though.

They will all work on the Dillon. However, I would recommend the Hornady dies. The main reason is the tear drop shaped expander ball. If you plan to size on the progressive press, this die will damage your brass the least. The RCBS and Redding dies have flat spots on the bottom of the expander ball. If the case goes in slightly crooked, then the case mouth will catch on the flat spot on the bottom of the expander ball, and crease/fold the neck and damage the brass to where you can not use it. The Hornady dies with the tear dropped shape expander will flow over the case mouth very well. You can move the expander ball up inside the die to help this issue with the other dies, but it still happens. I have the best results using Hornady dies for sizing on my Dillon's for sizing rifle rounds. I use Dillon dies for my 10mm, 40 cal, 44 spec/mag, etc.

Chad -- do you decap with the sizing dies?

I ask because I think the hornady design there can lead to snapped decapping pins. That expander "ball" floats enough to get twisted in the case, misaligning the decapping pin and flashhole (at least on my custom grade New dimension die), causing a snapped pin. I prefer to do that with a universal decapper anyway, so that didn't detract from the functionality for me.

Just curious if you had the new experience.

You are going to break decapping pins no matter what die you run on a progressive press. I just bought 40 of them for running my 40 cal ammo on my 1050 with my Dillon dies. I am breaking a decapping pin about every 1k rounds. I'm not sure what you mean by a floating expander ball. It is locked down and stationary in the press for me. On my 223 subs, I do 2 seperate runs for this ammo. On the first run, I size and deprime the brass in station 1, and use a finish sizer die on the last station. I then clean the brass, and have it ready to load. The next run I load the ammo.

My 550 wont do 308 because of clearance issues.

Robby

Thanks guys I appreciate the information