Neck sizing or full length problems. Advice needed

[tisme]

Try a little more neck tension, with a smaller bushing, in your Redding Type-S F/L die, and that group should tighten up nicely. Seating depth is another fine tuner in the triad.

Not got a redding fl die but will try and get one this week and do more testing with neck tension.
Thanks

 

[bobinpa]

Here's how you do it.

1. Remove firing pin from bolt. If you don't know how just ask.
2. Back your F/L die so it only neck sizes. Chamber a neck sized piece of brass. You should feel resistance when closing the bolt.
3. Adjust the die down a little at a time and keep trying to chamber the brass. Brass will get tighter right before it fits properly because squeezing the sides of the brass will make the brass grow longer.
4. Adjust your die to where the bolt will close on a piece of brass with very little resistance (bolt should close on its own about 80% of the way).
5. Lock your die and you are good to go.
6. F/L size always. If you want consistent ammo you must be consistent in your reloading steps.

Good luck.

Couldn't the same thing be accomplished with a set of Redding competiton shellholders? It might be a simpler way for someone with less experience to get started. Just a thought.
Bob

 

[CatShooter]

Couldn't the same thing be accomplished with a set of Redding competition shell-holders? It might be a simpler way for someone with less experience to get started. Just a thought.
Bob

I use the comp shell holders for a lot of loading and case forming chores - and they do it in spades, and you can always come back to your setting, without tweeking a die.

 

[Bart B.]

I don't think there should be any resistance to closing the bolt on a sized case. If there is, the bolt head wont lock up in battery at the same place for every shot. Especially if the bolt face is a bit out of square which also makes case heads a bit out of square with each firing. So at least .001" of head clearance is desired so the bolt goes back into battery the same for each shot. And a stripped bolt should close on a sized case (or headspace gauge, too) only by the weight of its handle on a barreled action; no other force needed.

 

[BoydAllen]

The advice to use a stripped bolt and the rifle to gauge the proper setting of a FL die assumes that the die and chamber are properly sized to work together, something that the adviser has know way of knowing. Use a tool to measure shoulder bump, and if the bolt does not close with the feel that you are looking for, with the correct amount of bump, either get another die, or polish out the chamber. IMO when we use forums to advise, we need to remember how what we have no way of knowing should influence the advice we provide. If the chamber is too small for the die, by the time that the desired feel is obtained, the shoulder will have been pushed back farther than it should be, and doing this repeatedly will eventually lead to incipient and then full case head separations.

 

[Old Navy]

Couldn't the same thing be accomplished with a set of Redding competition shell-holders? It might be a simpler way for someone with less experience to get started. Just a thought.
Bob

I use the comp shell holders for a lot of loading and case forming chores - and they do it in spades, and you can always come back to your setting, without tweeking a die.

+1 Later! Frank

 

[BoydAllen]

Years back, I added a set of cheap feeler gauges to my home loading kit as a way to keep track of die settings. When there is some space between die and shell holder, after the former is properly adjusted by trial and error, I can record the thickness of gauge that gives some drag when the ram is at TDC. Starting a couple of thousandths thicker than that the next time, gets me close enough to my final setting, without the expense having to own several different sets of Competition shell holders.

 

[tuck2]

I started reloading ammo in 1953 . Over the years, whenever I have seen an article about reloading ammo for bench rest and wildcat rifles I have read it. I wonted to make accurate ammo for my varmint and big game rifles. If I miss a shot I know that it is me ,not the ammo, rifle, or scope. None of my rifles would win at shooting with you pros. It has ben years since first read about which is better neck or full length resizeing. Some day, could be, that you boys will figure it out, good luck.

 

[Bart B.]

Use a tool to measure shoulder bump, and if the bolt does not close with the feel that you are looking for, with the correct amount of bump, either get another die, or polish out the chamber.

Changing the die's height in the press or using Redding Comp. shell holders is not an option?

I've set dies in presses for decades to get the correct case headsapce so there's about .001" head clearance on chambered cases that headspace on their shoulders. So has a lot of others. This was long before Redding's competition shellholders were available. Some folks milled out their shellholder a bit deeper to change their heights a few to several thousandths.

 

[BoydAllen]

Actually, I was not addressing the comp shell holder option at all, but rather putting in a pitch for measuring, as opposed to feel, and the idea that if a die and chamber are not in the proper relation so that the desired feel can be achieved within the range of proper shoulder bump that another die (or chamber modification) will be required to get it. In that situation, no amount of adjustment fiddling can overcome a dimension problem.