Haven't reloaded in a while. Could use some help with .284 and redding dies =)

[Quinc]

Marriage followed by a baby left me with 0 time for sleep let alone reloading and shooting.. Now that we have the kiddo on a sleep schedule where he sleeps through most of the night :-\ I have a tiny bit of free time again.

I have experience reloading .223 for my old precision AR, but I FL sized every time and never bumped shoulders or did anything this fancy.

Now I have a .284 rig with the Redding comp die set. The part I am having a hard time with is the proper order and when to use the FL sizing with tapered Expander die, Neck bushing with ball expander die, and Body bump die. So below is what I think it should be and I am hoping someone can correct and set me straight. Also any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance! 8)

Starting with NEW Lapua 6.5x284 brass

1. Neck up and FL Size with Redding FL OT die using Redding tapered sizing button.

2. Competition bushing neck die Or should I wait to use this until after I have fired the new brass in my chamber?

3. Trim and deburr

4. Tumble/Clean cases

5. Primer and Fill with powder

6.Seat bullet with Redding Comp bullet seating die

7. Shoot tiny holes far away :


Then in what order do I go in after the brass has been fired and sized to my chamber? Is that when I only use the bump die and neck bushing die or should I be using the bump die after Full length sizing?

Starting with Brass that has been fired/sized to my chamber:


1. Bump shoulder back with bump die

2. Size the Neck with the Neck bushing die

3. Seat bullet with seating die

4. Shoot 100 10x

5. Repeat


Shes looks so good but has been forced to sit in the dark safe for way to long.

Barnard P action
32" 1:9 Bartlein barrel Chambered for Lapua no neck turn brass with Berger 180 VLDs
Custom Wayne Stock
SWFA 5-20HD FFP

 

[watercam]

Congratulations on the expanding family! It will be fun for you when the young one(s) want to go shooting with you.
Sounds like you have one FL die and one bushing neck-sizing die. If the bushing die is a type S FL sizer you should use that one only. Every Long Range Competitor I know and shoot with full-length sizes every time so as to push the shoulder back around .001" only. No expander ball since you can adjust your neck tension (.001" less than measured diameter for single loading, .003" for mag fed). If yours is a neck sizing die only I would think using the body die every third shot or so would keep you out of trouble. When the cartridge is hard to close the bolt upon, body size. Once you have formed your brass you should stop using the expander ball as it is a source concentricity error and negates the value in using bushings.
I would clean cases after firing but before sizing again. Some de-cap before cleaning some after - your choice.

 

[artbosco]

You've made it more complicated than it needs to be.

You ONLY need Two Dies. A Full Length Bushing Die such as the Redding Type S or a Harrell' AND a Seating Die, preferably with a micrometer top. An assortment of 4 Carbide Bushings that will apply .001" to .004" of neck tension and you're good to go. Always Full Length size or you're in for a series of headaches.

IF you're interested in accuracy then you'll want consistency, consistency, and consistency. Jumping back and forth between body sizing and neck sizing is not the pursuit of consistency.

Expander Balls and Bushings are contradictory/a dichotomy. IF the die comes with an expander ball, tapered or otherwise, [Harrell's never do] remove it and place it in a drawer.

With new brass, you can bump the shoulder back with a Full Length Bushing Die by leaving the Bushing out. Insert it when you're Full Length Sizing fired brass and want to apply neck tension as part of the fine tuning process that includes seating depth adjustments. No need for a another die. Keeping things simple is a longevity enhancer.

 

[CatShooter]

Now I have a .284 rig with the Redding comp die set. The part I am having a hard time with is the proper order and when to use the FL sizing with tapered Expander die, Neck bushing with ball expander die, and Body bump die. So below is what I think it should be and I am hoping someone can correct and set me straight. Also any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance! 8)

It is not clear exactly which dies you have:

A competition FL bushing die?

A Competition Neck Bushing die?

A (Non-Competition) Bushing "S" die?

A Body die?

A Competition Seater.

Which/what do you have.

 

[Lapua40X]

Some of this sounds like "who's on first"....
My .284 die setup consists of:
1. Redding FL sizing die with primer decapping pin. Neck sizing button removed.
2. Redding Type S bushing neck sizing die
3. Sinclair case neck expander
4. Redding micrometer seating die
As the fellow said previously. It ain't that complicated.

 

[Quinc]

Thank you for the replies!


1. Use the FL sizing die with mandrels for necking up and sizing new brass only.

2. Competition bushing neck sizing die without the ball expander neck down .001" How do you make sure/measure that you are doing this right?

3. Micro seating die

4. Use body bump die as needed

On fired brass do you still need to trim the brass after doing the neck sizing or bump die?

 

[Quinc]

Some of this sounds like "who's on first"....

My .284 die setup consists of:
1. Redding FL sizing die with primer decapping pin. Neck sizing button removed.
2. Redding Type S bushing neck sizing die
3. Sinclair case neck expander <-- Are you expanding the neck after sizing the neck down?
4. Redding micrometer seating die
As the fellow said previously. It ain't that complicated.

 

[dkhunt14]

You need to use the Full length bushing die. If it is not a full length bushing die sell that and the neck die and get a Type S Full length Bushing die. I would never neck size. You want to full length every time and bump the shoulder .002. I like an arbor press and a Wilson die to seat bullets so I can feel them go in. But the competition seater die is pretty good. Matt

 

[delivery_boy]

i agree with most here.

i reload for my .284 using redding type s f/l bushing die

step one is to neck up new palua 6.5-284 cases using a k&m expanderton tool

then i use the f/l/ bushing die to bump shoulders 1 1/2-2 thou and adjust the bushing up to partially resize the neck removing the chance of donuts

redding micrometer seating die takes care of bullet seating, i always seat then rotatr the round 90deg and reseat. this seems to help with concentricity. i use a vld seating stem for 180gr hybrids

Delivery_boy