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Posted: 12/31/2009 6:44:16 AM EDT
| I recently received several hundred Lapua .308 cases and prepped them by neck sizing using a LEE Collet die and a Lyman flash hole uniformer after trimming all cases to 2.005" using a Lyman universal trimmer, I plan on fire forming these in my Savage 10 and then just neck size but have heard that after several firings they will get harder and harder to chamber and I will have to size just the body and not touch the shoulder using a body die like this or am I mistaken |
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Quoted:
You'll need to size the bodies somewhere around the fourth or fifth reload. That's the time to anneal the neck, too. LEE dies and Lapua brass just doesn't compute for me; it's dissonant. And why? dissonant |ˈdisənənt| adjective Music lacking harmony : irregular, dissonant chords. • unsuitable or unusual in combination; clashing : Jackson employs both harmonious and dissonant color choices. |
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The body dies bump the shoulder back as well, all they are is a FL die with the top section that sizes the neck removed so you don't disturb the neck when sizing the body and bumping the shoulder back.
The Redding Type S bushing dies would be a better choice for sizing your necks than the Lee collate die, buy hay what ever works for you. |
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A smart idea is get a Redding Type S Neck Die. Get a 0.336" Titanium Bushing and a body die! You will be in seventh heaven. A really good option is get Type S Neck Match Die set it comes with the above dies and a Competition Seater Die!
Take care of the investment in brass...... |
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Quoted:
A smart idea is get a Redding Type S Neck Die. Get a 0.336" Titanium Bushing and a body die! You will be in seventh heaven. A really good option is get Type S Neck Match Die set it comes with the above dies and a Competition Seater Die! Take care of the investment in brass...... And how much $$ for what would be needed compared to the cost of brass |
does anyone else think it is retarded to spend that kind of money on a die set, unless you happen to be in the top 1% of competitive shooter nationally? i could understand if your living depended on it, but for an average joe? 
my $40 redding die set with FL and neck sizing dies and a standard bullet seater regularly makes 0.5" MOA .308 ammo. -matt |
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Buying the best dies isn't for everyone, especially hunters and plinkers. Anyone in it for any level of competition or if you plan on doing your own reloading for the rest ot your life and shoot a lot, then quality dies are worth it.
Lee die's are perfectly functional dies. Lots of people load good ammo with them, they are not even in the same league as any of the other makers. They are manufactured to be a beginners die or economy die. They are in no way my choice for Lapua or Norma brass. They may in fact cause some runout when working with those high quality cases. The OP purchased the best .308 brass on the market, obviously wanting the best possible ammo because of it. It's runs contrary to his desired ends to load it up with the lowest quality dies on the market. The Redding body die he highlighted is perfect for the job of setting the shoulder back. |
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First off I doubt that many if any "real world operators" reload that is just from a logistical standpoint and perhaps from a liability standpoint......keyboard commandos you bet.
I think sometimes it is a matter of what the individual wants versus the opinions of others. I want to reload the best ammo I can for my activities. Ergo I like my Redding and Forster Competition Dies. Quoted:
does anyone else think it is retarded to spend that kind of money on a die set, unless you happen to be in the top 1% of competitive shooter nationally? i could understand if your living depended on it, but for an average joe?
my $40 redding die set with FL and neck sizing dies and a standard bullet seater regularly makes 0.5" MOA .308 ammo. -matt |
| Really don't have $200 to drop on a set of dies, I have a full set of Dillon Dies (less than 3yrs old) and the only reason I purchased a LEE Collet die was to neck size to improve case life and maybe get some more accuracy and then when they got to hard to chamber I was going to use a body die from Redding to get them to chamber with out doing the FL sizing |
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Well guys I am looking at getting the Redding Neck Die along with the Redding body die as well to replace the LEE Collet and am curious about bushing selection, I currently have several hundred Lapua cases and right at 100 BH Match cases, the BH ones are on their 5th reload and look very good and the Lapua one's have only been prepped and not loaded.
I plan on using only SMK 168's as they have so far performed well so on the bushing selection I know you are suppose to measure the O.D of several loaded rounds and subtract .001 of the lowest one to select your bushing, but where do you take the measurement ? at the mouth or say halfway down the neck, also it was suggested that I get a .336 for the Lapua cases I would assume this is due to the thicker case vs. the .334 on the BH cases, the bushings are not super high in cost but should I buy one for the BH cases as they are on their 5th load ? As far as the competition seater it will have to wait $$$, my dillon seater will have to do. |
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If you are going to go with a bushing type die, my suggestion is to just get a Redding type-s f/l sizer. Neck sizing for accuracy is a myth, f/l sizing produces just as accurate ammo. If you have a case headspace gauge, which everyone handloading should, you can set up your f/l sizer to bump the shoulder back only .001-.0015 and minimize working of the brass (headspace dim). Additionally, you can reduce working the brass by taking the expander ball out (you are loading for a bolt gun so your mouths will be round after firing and there is no need to square them up) and then you are only sizing the brass in the neck back down to the size of the bushing, again reducing work hardening of the brass by moving it in both directions.
If you use the above process, over the life of the brass, your cases come out prepped identically every single time. If you go the route of neck sizing for 2-4 firings, then f/l sizing, you wind up with inconsistent brass over its life due to the alternating process. |
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On order to take care of my brass
Redding .308 I also ordered a couple of bushings .333 & .336 |
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