Thread: Reloading dies question

Originally Posted by kiwijames

No. Standard will work in the AI though.

Dammit. I'll stick to the lee collet die then. Im not finding it consistant. Never measured it tbh but I can feel it when seating some a tight then others slip right on in

+1 Redding and Forster .... like KiwiJames recommended.

Originally Posted by Toby

Dammit. I'll stick to the lee collet die then. Im not finding it consistant. Never measured it tbh but I can feel it when seating some a tight then others slip right on in

Possibly neck tension inconsistency due to work hardening of the brass. Might be worth trying to anneal the necks. Never been a fan of the collet die.

Originally Posted by Toby

Dammit. I'll stick to the lee collet die then. Im not finding it consistant. Never measured it tbh but I can feel it when seating some a tight then others slip right on in

Toby, try annealing the case necks before sizing.

Its still nothing like seating into a fresh batch of lapua cases

Originally Posted by Toby

Its still nothing like seating into a fresh batch of lapua cases

Enough lube and a bit of heat and you can seat almost anything @Tony

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Enough lube and a bit of heat and you can seat almost anything @Tony

Ehhh kia ora and gidday, o rightttt!

@Toby I found the lee collet press needs a bit of a technique or it seems to be inconsistant in its output, I sort of "bump" it at the end of the stroke. Also a decent press, I found the Lee progressive press for instance allowed so much movement the lee collet die didnt seem to work well, when I switched to a rcbs single stage press no more problems.

I also dont quite understand why a bush neck sizer die wouldnt work with an AI as you are only sizing the neck with it. What I have done is use a 308w full sizing die to necksize a 303british case to use 150gr 308w hornady projectiles with no problem. I just slowly ran it down mm by mm on the first one until 3/4s of the neck was re-shaped, locked it and away I went.

The better quesion is what type of dies should you get. Expander balls are the enemy of low run out rounds so the best system is a neck sizer die and a body die. I prefer the Lee Collet neck die and the Redding body die. Add in a redding competition seater die and optionally some redding competition shell holders and you have a good system that will prolong your brass life and give you accurate rounds. The body die is about $35usd and the lee die is $50 from reloaders so this is also one of the cheaper options available.

Lee Collet neck die and the Redding body die and Wilson bullet seating die for near perfect reloads.

Originally Posted by gimp

The best dies are Redding competition seater and FL bushing sizer imo

The Redding CS is great; I have one. However, I think the Forster CS is slightly better and less expensive too. I like the Redding neck sizer with Wilson bushings more than the Redding bushings.

I used to pay the extra and get the Redding titanium coated bushings. Now I will not use any Redding bushing. Only use Wilson. Reason - found with Redding their stated sizes weren't accurate. Determined this by feel when sizing and with a Mitutoyo inside micrometer. The Wilson ones are spot on to the size stamped on them. They also have a wee taper in them which can be useful to get a slightly different sizing if you reverse them in the die.

Found exactly the same as you zimmer. I also use two Wilson bushings to get to the correct size e.g. the first one sizes down about half what is required and the second to the size wanted. This gives me less runout - don't know why.