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Are all brands of shellholders interchangeable?

5K views 11 replies 11 participants last post by  rimfiresrule2  
#1 ·
I've always used RCBS shellholders with RCBS dies, Hornady with Hornady and Lee with Lee. Does it make any difference whose shellholders I use with another manufacturers dies? I mistakenly ordered a RCBS to use with a Lee full size die and didn't catch the mistake after it was shipped.
 
#2 ·
Generally, yes.
I have had only a couple of issues in mix & match with a given tight rifle chamber where the resizing wasnt quite 'enough', a 'small base' die would have likely done fine but I didnt have one. I just surface ground a few thou' off the shell holder top.
You will probably be just fine.
 
#6 ·
I have a slightly more nuanced answer. There are specialized shell holders that are a couple of .001's off nominal in order to help you adjust your shoulder without adjusting your die. I think Redding sells them in a set with progressive widths. And then there are the "normal" ones that come in one size from various manufacturers (Lyman, Lee, Redding, etc.). There may be slight variations between the thickness of shellholders from different companies. They will all fit your press, and in that sense are interchangeable. But it is more a "pick one and stick with it" kind of interchangeable, rather than "have a bunch in the drawer and choose one at random" kind of interchangeable if you know what I mean.
 
#9 ·
Guess nobody's heard of Herters. They do not interchange. Actually, there were two types. But you can purchase an adapter that allows you to use the RCBS type.

The progressives use shellplates, of course.

Most manufacturers use the same clearance spec - top of shellholder (contacts die body) to shellholder seat. But sometimes there are subtle differences. Can sometimes take advantage of this when dealing with a minimal spec chamber.