Normal Runout on Redding Competition Necksizer

[flint]

I’ve recently purchased Redding Competition Die set in 308 Win -,SKU#58155).
I was expecting something extraordinary. No cigar :,

Did a few shells – fire-formed, Federal Match.
Runout before necksizing: <= 0.001”
Runout after necksizing: 0.002” – 0.004”. Some odd cases even 0.005”!

I’m not a freshman in reloading.
I had my fair share – a few thousand of rounds - through Lee, Hornady, RCBS.
But it was time for something “bigger”…

I won’t call myself an expert, but I know my ways around dies.
Here - I’m lost :, .
Why so much?!

Is Federal brass too thick,neck wall thickness - 0.016"-0.017") for 0.334” bushing,biggest I have so far)?
Am I missing something obvious?
Followed instruction to the letter.

Gentlemen, what runout would be considered “normal”?

Any suggestions to improve the situation will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you thousand times in advance!

flint

 

[dreever]

Flint,

Without neck turning brass you'll never get very low numbers as far as runout is concerned. Also in my experience it takes more than just one firing to lower the numbers even further.

Danny

 

[Forum Boss]

Here's a couple things that can help.

1. Make sure your shell-holder and the shellholder clasp on your press are very clean. A little build-up of gunk inside the shellholder can make the case slightly off-axis.

2. Make sure the shaft which secures the bushing is not screwed all the way down. The bushing needs a little room to float and self-center.

3. When neck-sizing the case, go part way down, then back the case out, spin it a 1/2 turn then send it back up into the die to finish the job.

4. Try turning the bushing upside down. Sometimes this helps but I'm not really sure why.

5. Do you have the expander ball or tapered expander in the die? If so, try neck-sizing both with/without the expander. I generally got better results with no expander, so long as the case necks were nice and round to start with...

NOTE: Federal Match is not the best brass out there. You may get better results from Lapua, Norma, IMI or Winchester brass.

 

[flint]

To dreever,

Danny, this brass is 3-4 times fired.
Yesterday night when I was fooling around with new Redding dies
and being frustrated with the first results, just for the heck of it,
without any neckturning, with the same brass, I pulled out my old RCBS fullsizer,
lubed a few cases,including neck inside), same press, same shellholder,
and made all of them less or equal to 0.001",Neck runout) !

RCBS even corrected those crooked by Redding.


To Moderator,

Thank you Sir for your suggestions.

This is the Competition set.
This one apperently doesn't have an expander ball.
Just a strait shaft ending with depriming pin.

I'll try to flip the bushing and I will readjust the die again
today keeping in mind "squareness".


Thank you all of you guys for your prompt replies!
You can imagine for frustraiting this could be.
You buy a Mersedes and all of a sudden can see that it cannot
go any faster than an old rusty clunker sitting for years at
the back of your house.

 

[SF340Driver]

I have had the same problem if the button for the neck has the size stamp up aginst the decap rod. Make sure it is placed in with the stamp down.

 

[flint]

SF340Driver,

Now I'm almost positive.
It was stamp up :,

Thank you, Sir!

 

[dreever]

Flint,

Another thing you can try is run the case up in the die three times rotating it in thirds each time. No guarentee, but sometimes that helps.
There's definately something going on since the Redding should be superior to the RCBS.

Danny

 

[Scoob]

Flint

I'm using the Redding FL bushing die instead of the Comp neck die but I also had some problems with the run out. At first I was sizing only 1/3 of the neck and this gave me bad run out so I tried to size the neck a bit deeper and now I am sizing the neck almost all the way down leaving just enough space for the bushing to settle on the neck when the case goes in the die, this gives me a run out that is < 0.001 most of the time with many case having no run out at all. Sizing almost all of the neck also improved run out on bullets being seated as well.One other thing I do is when the neck goes in the bushing just a bit I back down just enough so the shellholder will not touch the case no more but still leaving the case in the bushing and then go back up to push the neck all the way. My philosophy for doing this is that if the case was inserted with just the slightest bit of an angle I give it the change to straigthen itself out, but I don't know if it will work with the Neck sizer.


regards,
Scoob

 

[flint]

My thanks to all of you, Gentlemen!

So far not much luck :,.
Almost ran our of fired brass .
Tried all you suggested.
Once in a while it would throw 0.001", but right next to it 0.004".
One thing I haven't tried yet - to switch to a different press, which I'll do tomorrow and pay a visit to an old friend. He has two different from mine models. Who knows, perhaps mine is going South.

Best regards

 

[hairtrigger]

I am experiencing the same thing as Flint. After months of trying to decide on a new press I bought a Forster co-ax yesterday, so was really checking run out on every case. My fired cases are showing less than .001 and a trip through my Redding bushing neck die can give between .001 and .005 on the sized portion of the neck. Messed with it for 5 hours this AM, went back to my old press with the same results. I don’t know for sure, but I think it is the expander. I have tightened the stem under load and think it is as concentric as possible. The baffling thing is that it will give a .001 and then a .004 or a .005
The other thought is perhaps my case heads are not square, but putting a witness mark on the case and rotating it in the die does not change the number.
I am not happy with what I am getting. If anyone has further suggestions please post. I have tried everything above.

 

[jdavis62]

Send them things back,don't mess with them.they will fix them.

 

[dochoc]

Hi

So which way up should the bushing go, am using the TiNi redding bushes).Is is size stamp up or down?

 

[hairtrigger]

I spoke with Redding today about the run out problem. The tec said as follows:
1. Use the smallest bushing possible to get adequate bullet tension.
2. Make sure that outside neck chamfer is adequate to ease the edge of the case into the die.
3. Make sure that adequate lube is used.
4. Put the numbers on the bushing down.
5. They are sending a .17 cal. expander for my .20 cal. die to see if that is the problem.

 

[hairtrigger]

Sorry my mistake. Smallest should be largest. Thank you Gunamonth.

 

[Clarence]

I'll make a stab at this:
First are you using ONE neck bushint to get down to where you want to be IF SO you are hurting yourself you MUST go down in atleast two steps to avoid the TIR, as to the smallest bushing statement ya probably wont find it best and I would advise no more than .002 tension on that 308 unless you are using it in a GAS gun.

Clarence