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Posted: 11/3/2009 12:11:28 PM EDT
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I'm going to start loading my Lapua .223/69 grain SMK hpbt rounds with an arbor press and Wilson dies. Any of you bench rest shooters ever use this method of re loading ?
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If you're not shooting bechrest I wouldn't bother. .223 isn't exactly a benchrest round anyway. Wilson uses a straight line seater that is very good but slow. It works best with 7 ogive bullets, similar to a 53 grain Sierra Match King. The 69's may work fine, I know for fact that VLD's usually require that the seater stem be drilled out to accomodate them.
Wilson's neck dies size only that, the neck. Benchrest shooters use the same brass in the same bolt action rifle, over and over and over again. It doesn't matter to them if the bolt gets a little sticky, they may (or may not) bump the shoulder back for easier bolt manipulation. The idea is to have that brass perfectly formed to their rifle's chamber and enough neck tension to barely hold the bullet. The usually jam the bullet into the lands anyway for consistent release/pressures. None of these techniques are desireable or even useable for an AR-15. You can use these techniques in a dedicated bolt action rifle. Standard dies are the way to go, unless of course, you're actually shooting benchrest. |
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Quoted:
If you're not shooting bechrest I wouldn't bother. .223 isn't exactly a benchrest round anyway. Wilson uses a straight line seater that is very good but slow. It works best with 7 ogive bullets, similar to a 53 grain Sierra Match King. The 69's may work fine, I know for fact that VLD's usually require that the seater stem be drilled out to accomodate them. Wilson's neck dies size only that, the neck. Benchrest shooters use the same brass in the same bolt action rifle, over and over and over again. It doesn't matter to them if the bolt gets a little sticky, they may (or may not) bump the shoulder back for easier bolt manipulation. The idea is to have that brass perfectly formed to their rifle's chamber and enough neck tension to barely hold the bullet. The usually jam the bullet into the lands anyway for consistent release/pressures. None of these techniques are desireable or even useable for an AR-15. You can use these techniques in a dedicated bolt action rifle. Standard dies are the way to go, unless of course, you're actually shooting benchrest. Aahh, but the rifle bug has biten. i wouldn't give a care if my son weren't a precision rifle afficionado (Army Sniper) In the spirit of having something in common we could share recreational time doing I got a AR15. I tried my best t keep his interest in pistol... Indoor climate controlled range... Anyway he was right I had forgotten how much fun rifle was. We've got access to a 600 yard range. He's got a 308 that will pound an 18" steel plate all day at a 1000 yards so it's only a matter of time... I thought I'd get some practice in loading .223 with the Wilson and honestly the fun for me is in the reloading. What your saying is the gain you get with Wilson isn't worth the trouble I guess and I'm sure your right. I'd get along good with a Forster rig and get the same results. |
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What I'm saying is, Wilson's straight line benchrest reloading equipment is a royal pain to work with for a semi auto. The seater dies are as good as anything on the market, but using it is a tedious process. Their other dies are neck only and you have to beat the case out of the die. AR15's require full length sizing, neck sizing only isn't an option, even if you do like beating the case out of the die.
Because benchrest shoots a low number of rounds and they use the same unsized case over and over again through a bolt action, they don't care if it takes longer. The excellent dies available for regular presses makes the Wilson straight line dies look like something a cave man would use. Forster or Redding will perform every bit as well, even better. Buy a Forster full length die with their premium bullet seater. Then ship the die back to Forster with your credit card number, tell them you want the die's neck honed to .245". They will charge you $10.00 plus shipping and you will own a custom die that will beat anything else on the market. |
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