Redding Type S F/L die question?

[TrxR]

When using the Type S full length bushing die are you guy using them with the sizing button installed or not? Whats the pros and cons? I am not neck turning and it will be for a single shot bolt action F/TR rifle if that make any difference?

Thanks

 

[ddkearney]

YES - one squeeze does it all (at least for most short-range BR folks). Don

 

[Immike]

I personally don't size the neck with my full length and only use the die to bump the shoulder since the case is not fully inserted. I do neck sizing only with the neck die. Mike

 

[fdshuster]

No reason to use the expander button if the proper size bushing is being used. Example: Loaded round neck diameter is .267" (for .269" chamber neck diameters), and a .265" bushing is used. Neck diameter is only being reduced a total of .002", unlike when using a conventional non bushing die. With that die the neck is radically squeezed down, sometimes as much as .014" smaller than loaded neck diameter, so there is a need for the expander button.

Unless the thin, threaded rod that the expander plug is attached to is perfectly centered and straight, they have been proven to pull the case neck(s) out of alignement. I've looked at new, never used FL sizing dies and seen the decapping rod off-center, and once they are "crooked" it's all but impossible to straighten them.

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

I don't use the expander ball, but I do use the decapping rod. Redding supplies a rubber gromet to hold the decapping pin instead of the expander ball.

 

[ddkearney]

I will modify my answer after reading more closely - I'm using the sizing bushing, not the expander ball. I assumed all S dies used the bushings for sizing the necks. Don

 

[ddkearney]

And I typically deprime with either a Jones tool or a dedicated depriming die, so I never use expander balls with any FL type dies. Don

 

[Leaddog]

For my .308, no expander. For my 6 Dasher, yes. I use a floating carbide button, not the one supplied by Redding.

 

[hogan]

The Type S deprime rod is not steel. I've had them break while chucked-up and turning the button with a 3/8 or 1/4 inch carbide tool bit. Just snap off!

I like to tailor the button diameter to the bushing diameter. No distortion that way. Polishing the button with fine auto bodyworking sandpaper will reduce "grabbing". If Redding buttons weren't knurled and didn't have a sharp pronounced top edge shoulder that could grab brass, they would be much better. Like the tapered buttons have.

Ideally, the button would be paired to the bushing and setup right below the top plug so it functioned like a collet being inside the bushing when sizing took place. The Redding decap design with its split cavity routinely sticks decap pins in flash holes. Much easier to use a universal deprime die and not have to deal with brass stuck in the holder and how to remove the protruding pin.

Only sizing dies I use are Redding S type.

 

[6Dasher]

No button on my S'es. I tried the floating carbide pilot but the groups get bigger when I do this. Just the bushing, cases come out nice and round anyway, no dinged necks as with ejected rounds, so YMMV.

 

[nosualc]

The whole point of a type S die is to use a precisely sized bushing to precisely control the amount of sizing of your necks. Dragging a button through it afterwards is counter productive. It's silly that type S dies even come with a button.

If you need to "fix" a dinged or dented neck, use a mandrel before sizing.

I personally decap using a dedicated die.

-nosualc

 

[BoydAllen]

IF YOU ARE NOT TURNING NECKS, and using it gives you the neck tension that you want, then the expander ball can be a good thing. Just pick a bushing size that gives the slightest feel as the expander ball passes through the neck. This small amount of expanding will not have a negative impact on concentricity, and it will result in a more uniform neck ID and shape....when you are using unturned necks. Because of shooters' experiences with one piece dies, that size necks way too much, which causes excessive pull when the expander is pulled through, cocking necks, expander balls have gotten a bad rap. It is not the expanders that are the problem, but rather the inside diameters of the neck portion of one piece dies. This is a very common mistake. BTW, I have actually sized this way, and measured the runout.

 

[nfngun]

I always use a ball, the point of the s die is to size the neck down with the least amount of manipulation as possible for your particular brass then open the mouth with the least amount of manipulation.

It's built for consistency using one without the other will not guarantee a consistent ID on the neck

Guys have posted there findings on the web ... With out the ball you will get different IDs on the neck .. know how those measurements effect accuracy i don't know, what I do know are my reloads are awesome so I will continue using the ball and loading as I have been.

 

[BoydAllen]

If one needs more neck tension, the diameter of the ball, and the size of the bushing can be reduced.

 

[nfngun]

The balls I believe only come in standard sizes, A smaller bushing would provide a tighter neck and offers more spring back after the ball resizes, result little more tension.

I just followed reddings directions for bushing size and it does the trick for me. Im tempted to try a smaller bushing down the road for the hell of it but at $20-25 if its not broke don't fix it.

If one needs more neck tension, the diameter of the ball, and the size of the bushing can be reduced.

 

[BoydAllen]

I admit that a Redding decapping stem is more of a problem. With others you can simply chuck the stem in a drill and polish the ball down to the size that you want, and if I really was in the mood, I would buy a stem and cut it off and do the same thing. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/221646/redding-decapping-rod-assembly-33223-219-zipper-223-rem-22-250-rem
or see how it ran on the chucking the height adjustment threads in my drill press.

 

[Old Navy]

My Type "S" FL have steel rods. If you use the right size pin for the various flash hole sizes you will not stick them in the case. Later! Frank

 

[BoydAllen]

Actually, I was referring to the rod that the expander screws onto, not the decapping pin.