Latest and Greatest 6 BRAi Sizing Die??

[Eric Leonard]

I have a Harrells 3.5 -.085 for a barrel from one smith and a 2.5 -.080 for a barrel from another smith and they both work great

 

[JamesnTN]

Short Action Customs has some seriously quality dies coming out right now and one happens to be 6BRA.
Just another option.

Problem here is they are generic and you might get lucky and buy one that siz3s properly or you may not be so lucky.
best option is to send 3 cases to Harrells or Whidden and have them custom grind a die for the specific chamber.

 

[sdbob]

I’m surprised that no one has tried the new sizing and seating dies from Bullet Central for the 6 BRA. I started using them this year they are sized with the wheeler reamer spec’s. I’m impressed with the fit and finish and work great in my wheeler chambered rifle.

 

[Drolds72]

I’m surprised that no one has tried the new sizing and seating dies from Bullet Central for the 6 BRA. I started using them this year they are sized with the wheeler reamer spec’s. I’m impressed with the fit and finish and work great in my wheeler chambered rifle.

I am using the micron for my 284. It’s a very nice die. So far it seems to have cured my base sizing issues there as well. But at over 2x the cost of the Harrell’s that I know works in my bra.

 

[JMayo]

My gunsmith "fixed" a harrels die to match the reamer used.
All BRA reamers are not alike "wildcat"

 

[Drolds72]

My gunsmith "fixed" a harrels die to match the reamer used.
All BRA reamers are not alike "wildcat"

That’s why I use the harrells. If they don’t match it to the brass you sent them, they will exchange it for a better fit!

 

[urbanrifleman]

I love my Harrels, but nothing will touch the interior finish of these new Wilson dies. They barely need lube.

 

[dgeesaman]

I’m surprised that no one has tried the new sizing and seating dies from Bullet Central for the 6 BRA. I started using them this year they are sized with the wheeler reamer spec’s. I’m impressed with the fit and finish and work great in my wheeler chambered rifle.

Whidden dies are also top end dies reamed to Wheeler chamber specs at half the price. I realize money is fluid in this segment but I also wonder how many have spent that much for those dies.

David

 

[6BRAckley]

I have used all of the dies mentioned (Harrell’s, Wilson, whidden and micron from bullet central) and the next one I buy will definitely come from bullet central. They were all functional in most respects but the micron die stands alone in my opinion.

JP

 

[foxguy]

I have used all of the dies mentioned (Harrell’s, Wilson, whidden and micron from bullet central) and the next one I buy will definitely come from bullet central. They were all functional in most respects but the micron die stands alone in my opinion.

JP

Ok, I have to ask. What made it stand alone?

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

All of the above work. So long as your getting the sizing you want and the cases are straight, thats all you can ask for. I do still think the best deal is Harrell's. You can beat them for the $$$. The Micron most likely is the best made. I know the process they use and when you nitride a die you avoid the warpage that sometimes happens with hardening them. They "should" be the most consistent option. But if the die you have now is doing the job, a new one wont do it better.

 

[johara1]

All of the above work. So long as your getting the sizing you want and the cases are straight, thats all you can ask for. I do still think the best deal is Harrell's. You can beat them for the $$$. The Micron most likely is the best made. I know the process they use and when you nitride a die you avoid the warpage that sometimes happens with hardening them. They "should" be the most consistent option. But if the die you have now is doing the job, a new one wont do it better.

A lot of wisdom there....... My old Harrells started life as a Dasher now it's a BR imp. and still going strong, Like Alex said if it's straight and doing the job you can't improve on it no matter how much you spend.... jim

 

[group therapy]

ditto on the Harrells 3.0, just got a 2nd one for my mobile press (also a Harrells) to make life easier!!!!

 

[6BRAckley]

Ok, I have to ask. What made it stand alone?

Thanks for sharing.

I was at a rifle match this weekend and forgot to follow up on this thread after I returned.

Things I like about the micron die:
-- smoother sizing than the other alternatives I have used - I am not sure whether this is because of the nitriding (or better internal finish of the die) but it requires little effort to size brass and the cases still fall in the rifle when the shoulder is bumped at least .0015. I do wonder if the nitriding will make the brass less susceptible to cases getting small scratches on the body - which occurred with other dies I have used despite how clean I try to keep the brass. Time will tell if this continues and I'll follow up if the results change.
-- the decapping pin is integral to the threaded rod and it is much heavier duty than the alternatives. I don't worry about it coming lose or getting bent which has happened more than once with other dies.
-- I am not sure if there is a correlation, but my rifles have never shot better since I started using the die. There are lots of moving parts in tuning a rifle at long range so I can't attribute the better accuracy to the sizing alone but it certainly doesn't seem to be hurting.
-- I like the dual lock rings on the die that don't require a set screw. I originally thought I wouldn't like this feature but after using it it is easy to make small adjustments. The folks at bullet central have said this is likely to help with misalignment with the press. I have considered getting a few more sets of these lock rings to try with my bullet making dies based on my early experience.
-- I just got a concentricity gauge last week before I left for the match and I plan to size some cases and measure runout to see if one dies is better than another in this regard.

If what you have is working then by all means continue to use it. I just wanted to speak up based on my results with the micron die.

JP

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Nitride is harder than a hardened die. So I'm not surprised it's easier to size. The reduced friction should also contribute to more consistent bumps. The recapping stem is nice, I agree.

 

[moondog]

After failed attempts by a couple of die makers for a wildcat. I broke down and got a Warner.
Different level of nice.

 

[BoydAllen]

One option that has not been discussed here is a custom one piece die. Such a die will generally be able to exceed the concentricity performance of any bushing die that I have tried, or had reliable report on. By specifying a neck ID for the greatest amount of neck tension that will be used, less neck tension can be produced using expander mandrels, which perform very well when only small amount of neck expansion is being done. Hornady, and Whidden both offer this option. A friend has a custom one piece Hornady die that is designed to produce .003 neck tension without the dies expander in place and .002 with it in place. In either case the runout, at the end of the case neck is outstanding, well under .001. As a final point, we need to keep our eyes on targets as our primary reference for reloading tool performance and understand that there are points beyond which measurable differences in our ammo do not make a difference there. IMO it is easy to become measurement obsessed to the point that exceeds any performance requirement, or observable difference on target.

 

[savageshooter86]

Is barrels a bushing die or non bushing or can get either one from them?

 

[moondog]

Bushing Dies

 

[johara1]

One option that has not been discussed here is a custom one piece die. Such a die will generally be able to exceed the concentricity performance of any bushing die that I have tried, or had reliable report on. By specifying a neck ID for the greatest amount of neck tension that will be used, less neck tension can be produced using expander mandrels, which perform very well when only small amount of neck expansion is being done. Hornady, and Whidden both offer this option. A friend has a custom one piece Hornady die that is designed to produce .003 neck tension without the dies expander in place and .002 with it in place. In either case the runout, at the end of the case neck is outstanding, well under .001. As a final point, we need to keep our eyes on targets as our primary reference for reloading tool performance and understand that there are points beyond which measurable differences in our ammo do not make a difference there. IMO it is easy to become measurement obsessed to the point that exceeds any performance requirement, or observable difference on target.

That sounds good except as bullet diameters change like in the case of Berger bullet I have seen it change up to a .001 on 6mm.. so without a bushing change and or returning necks you are screwed. Run out with a bushing die is a thing of the past... jim