fatelvis
Silver $$ Contributor
Can you please explain what you mean by setting up the Redding dies using the arbor press? How do you go about that?
What’s all the fuss about seating with an arbor press?
- Thread starter fatelvis
- Start date
nwmnbowhunter
Silver $$ Contributor
I am not an expert...
I bought the k&m with force pack with Wilson dies to prove to myself that my case prep is at least consistent. The force pack will tell you immediately if one round is way off compared to the others as far as seating force.
I was using forster micrometer seater die [very flimsy bullet seating stem] and my cbto would vary a lot [more than 0.01] with Wilson die they are all within 0.002 cbto.
Average round is much straighter. And those really crooked rounds don't happen anymore.
I've really enjoyed the switch over and i know my ammo is better.
I bought the k&m with force pack with Wilson dies to prove to myself that my case prep is at least consistent. The force pack will tell you immediately if one round is way off compared to the others as far as seating force.
I was using forster micrometer seater die [very flimsy bullet seating stem] and my cbto would vary a lot [more than 0.01] with Wilson die they are all within 0.002 cbto.
Average round is much straighter. And those really crooked rounds don't happen anymore.
I've really enjoyed the switch over and i know my ammo is better.
Maybe I should have said "defining the process in using Redding Dies on a Redding T7" I have Wilson dies and the 21st Century but found I can produce as straight of ammo using the Redding dies once I have the right nose punch, expander dies, right tension from the bushing, right lube inside the necks etc. This I can detect using the 21st Century and force measurements. Right now, most of my ammo's runout is under .001" when produced on the T7. RCBS single stage no but the T7 will. Interestingly, I have quit neck turning and annealing as much as I used to since I went to no-turn neck diameters. Now my scores and test groups sizes haven't changed much if at all.
urbanrifleman
Site $$ Sponsor
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Get you an arkco machine press and keep the threaded dies. You can feel scratches in the neck seating bullets and feel the machining marks on turned necks when sizing. No arbor press is as good plus its just one piece of equipment thatll fit in a loading box drawer
Ccrider
Gold $$ Contributor
Ok. You made me look. Same as Hood? https://arkcomachine.com/shop/ols/products
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Yes hes the one making them now. Same concept with improvements here and there
A j shooter
Shoot often
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
^^^ that one exactly. Its a joy to use the best equipment you can buy
I use a 21st Century Hydro Press. It is portable and doesn't require mounting, which is an advantage in the hotel room while loading for the match. The PSI gauge lets me know if any rounds have some sort of inconsistency so I can set them aside as sighters. That's all I do in terms of sorting, set aside those that are outliers.
I can't directly show causation, but I am shooting smaller and smaller groups at 1000 yds.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I also use the 21st century press and this is exactly what I do. I refuse to leave any points on the reloading bench when I'm the one making the ammo.
Sandstorm
Gold $$ Contributor
Exactly this.....
Yes, more or less like that. I add some more categories though: Light-Minus, Light, Light-Medium, Medium, Medium-Heavy, Heavy, and Heavy-Plus. "Light" is my normal "feel seating", because I have neck-turned to achieve that perceived feel pressure. Out of a 100-200 round batch, a few might reach "Medium", yet I've been surprised with a "Heavy" a couple of times!
My seating technique is to adjust the arbor press head so that the seating arm is at about 45 degrees downward when the seating ram rests atop the die with a bullet/case to be seated. I grasp the press arm so that the ball of the handle is at the back of my palm, with thumb and forefinger resting around the turning axle and elbow resting on the bench. Seating is by a slow downward wrist flex.
I think that it helps for long range elevation and peace of mind? You can say what you want about using "hand feel", but one thing that I'm assured of though, the statistical possibility of having a light seated cartridge followed next by a hard seated cartridge out of the loading box is eliminated (for good or for worse?).
Well stated.
Lloyd
A 40-50 PSI variance doesn't seem to show up at 1000 yds. That said, I set aside those with more than 20 PSI as sighters. Most of mine are within 10 if not 5 PSI.
I notice the double ram.
How does it handle sizing operations and will it handle a LA cartridge?
One Eye Pete
Gold $$ Contributor
I shoot 6 & 7 mm not 308 but of all the inside chamfer tools I have used the K&M has absolutely worked the best. I use a K&M arbor press with a force pack and I haven't had concentricity problems. One thing I do is seat slowly and watch the gauge when I feel the bullet move into the case I note the reading and stop with the bullet about half way in. I then turn the die 180 deg. and finish seating. According to an article I read on the daily bulletin this is supposed to improve concentricity. I can't prove it but like I say I have never had concentricity problems. Try checking the seater stem on your Wilson die. I normally take one bullet of the type I am using and lap the cone on the seater stem using lapping compound on the bullet.
I also have Redding competition seaters that I use in my rockchucker but I have generally gotten more consistent seating depths using the Wilson micrometer die.
I'm not shooting on the level of most of the people here but for 600 yard service rifle loads, I was using an arbor press and in-line dies (I guess because I had nothing better to do).
There was an article on Accurate Shooter by the US Army Marksmanship Unit that talked about bullet seating and loaded round run out. IIRC they achieved with standard dies in a standard press. run out equal to or less than in-line dies.
I tried the techniques from the article, which I had already been employing in varying degrees, and found I got both extraordinarily consistent seating depth and essentially no run out on a loaded round. I had never really measured before. I just assumed the arbor press and in line dies were better.
Of course seating force is a different issue.
edit to add; I was just searching for that article to add a link here but didn't find it and now the wife wants me to start doing things for her
. And also, one thing that did make an improvement in my process was, I honed the neck on my full length resizing die so that it barely touches the neck on a fired case. It only sizes the neck down about .001 inch. I use it without the expander/deprimer rod. Next I both deprime and neck size in a Lee collet die.
There was an article on Accurate Shooter by the US Army Marksmanship Unit that talked about bullet seating and loaded round run out. IIRC they achieved with standard dies in a standard press. run out equal to or less than in-line dies.
I tried the techniques from the article, which I had already been employing in varying degrees, and found I got both extraordinarily consistent seating depth and essentially no run out on a loaded round. I had never really measured before. I just assumed the arbor press and in line dies were better.
Of course seating force is a different issue.
edit to add; I was just searching for that article to add a link here but didn't find it and now the wife wants me to start doing things for her
. And also, one thing that did make an improvement in my process was, I honed the neck on my full length resizing die so that it barely touches the neck on a fired case. It only sizes the neck down about .001 inch. I use it without the expander/deprimer rod. Next I both deprime and neck size in a Lee collet die.
Last edited:
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
LA doesnt fit
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