A very good way to size

[BoydAllen]

I usually reload for my PPC at the range, but my current project is to work up a load for a .22-250 that has a factory barrel, and chamber, starting with once fired brass, with unturned necks. The sizing method was to first neck size with a Lee Collet die, and then size case bodies ( including a shoulder bump) with a Redding body die. (Previous experience had shown me that doing the necks first gives better runout.) After doing all the prep., including trimming, chamfering, and deburring, I measured runout, using my Sinclair gauge, with the indicator reading just behind the cases' mouths. The first row of ten cases averaged .0012 TIR, with two at .002 being the most crooked. I think that this method produces the straightest unturned brass of any method that I have tried, that sizes bodies, and bumps shoulders.

 

[ReedG]

I'm a big fan of the Lee Collet Die and I'm betting that a lot of that run-out, even as small as it is, is in the variation of the thickness of the brass in the necks. With precisely turned necks, run-out using my Collet Dies runs at "just a wiggle" on the dial pointer.

 

[BoydAllen]

You are probably right. The rest of the story is that I have put a Lock-N-Load insert in my Rockchucker and it works really slick. An eighth of a turn and I can change dies, and my die settings are not changed.

 

[Heavies]

I've brought this very method up a number of times previous.
I've always been flamed for touting the lee collect neck sizer.

Oh well. I am still using it with solid results.

Try letting the neck sized brass 'rest' a few days after collet sizing, and you can feel the difference in seat force. It will be more uniform.

 

[ReedG]

I use the Collet Die followed by Redding body die for my 6 PPC in a turret press which also works good. The Lock-n-Load inserts are a great product. I load several calibers on a weekly basis and it's nice to change dies without having to constantly screw and unscrew. Haven't found anything I like better than my custom turret press.

Heavies: I have used Lee Collet Dies for many years in lots of calibers and no longer care what the naysayers have to say. If they cost $140 and had a two-year waiting list, they'd be the most popular neck sizing die in use. Another extra with them is that in a 6 PPC there is NEVER a donut when using the Collet Die. Enjoy ...

 

[tunered]

Reed, you said it right,

If they cost $140 and had a two-year waiting list, they'd be the most popular neck sizing die in use. Another extra with them is that in a 6 PPC there is NEVER a donut when using the Collet Die. Enjoy ...

 

[DanConzo]

Boyd--I shoot a different game than you (1000 yd B/R), I 've never had a ppc but I always size last before priming, charging and seating. I have been using the collet dies since they came out with 3 or 4 different size mandrels. others may say different but if you anneal and if you push the neck more than .001" you could form a donut, sometimes the collet mandrel will push it down, sometimes not you may have to expand then size the neck again, but id and neck tension are more important to me than concentricity, but I get good concentricity anyway. Vertical kills you at 1000. We can chew on this forever, but two different games freebore, bullet bearing length, annealing and on and on, but if a person gets good results then thats the way to go. I even trim before sizing the neck, but I don't have any world records. I just don't think there is a best way. Some even ream the donut out, sometimes out of 20 cases the donut is in only 4 or 5. This stuff isn't exact. Somebody here was showing the difference between Wolfe and CCI primers on the chronograph with Wolfe coming out on top but if he would have changed something else (seating depth, powder charge) the CCI may have been on top.

 

[MVW]

Boyd, what is the lock-n-load insert that you mention in your post?

Thanks, Mike

 

[BoydAllen]

Hornady makes an insert that will screw into many presses, including my Rockchucker, replacing the 7/8 x 14 adapter bushing with one that uses "bayonet' type adapters on dies, that only require a twelth of a turn to install or remove a die from the press, and since the die locks to the adapter flange, they can be changed without loosing their setting. It is like having all of the advantages of a cast iron O type press,, with compound linkage, with the speed of die changes that is usually associated with a turret. Truthfully, I do most of my reloading at the range, for one of my PPCs, with one of my Harrell presses, but every so often I help a friend work up loads for a magnum hunting rifle, at the range, and for that, I haul along my Rockchuckeer. In the past, when doing one of these workups, with my friends' threaded die sets, there was a lot of changing dies, form sizer to seater, and it was easy to lose a die setting. With this new setup, that will no longer be a problem. Switching dies is a breeze, and their setting are secure. This time, I am using the press to size brass for my .22-250 varmint rifle. I could have done it with one of my Harrell presses, but I wanted to get some handle time in with the Lock-N-Load setup. and I am glad that I did. It's slick.