Shoulder " bumping"

[sward]

Hello everyone, i was wondering.......is it possible to do a shoulder bump with a standard FL die? The dies I have are Lee brand, and i have read a few post related to shoulder bumping, still, i may be a little confused... Is it possible to achieve this with the dies i have possibly using the shell holder set that redding sells or, do i need a body die?

Thanks for the help...

 

[Preacher]

A lot will depend on the die you'll use, but if you adjust the die until you just see where it's just starting to hit the shoulder area of the candle smoked case, and then insert it into the chamber and see if it is leaving marks on the case. (light a candle and let it turn the case smoky looking)
If it is leaving a mark on the shoulder about the same as it did when it first came out of the die your right at about -O- headspace... Turn the die down a bit and recheck it in the chamber again, still with the shoulder area smoked with that candle again, with any luck it will show more contact than it did the first time, and you will have bumped the shoulder back just enough to fit the chamber correctly.. If you take the firing pin assembly out of the bolt you will be able to feel the case in the chamber when it starts to hit, if you can feel it hit you need to adjust the die down a bit further.. Keep at it till you can not feel the case in the chamber when you close it.. That should put it right where it needs to be........

 

[sward]

Thanks for the help and information Preacher...i'll try that....

Steven

 

[Winchester69]

A 1/4 turn is 0.018". You want the bump to be 0.001" to 0.002". The Redding shellholder set makes it easy. A feeler gauge between the die base and shellholder can also be used.

 

[sward]

Thanks Winchester69....a friend and I were talking about using a fealer gauge to achieve the same results as the body dies and shellholder sets could get. Guess we werent the same folks that have thought of that....

Much appreciation to all you guys, for all the info!!

Steven