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I switched to Lee neck collet does a couple years back and have been quite pleased with the results. Today was shooting and noticed a couple cases were chambering with a little more effort. I don’t own a Redding body die and was wondering if I could take the expander ball out of a full length die to just bump the shoulders back? Then neck size with the collet as I have been. Or would I be better served to full length size, then anneal, then neck size? Cartridge in question is 30-06.
Craig
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I just use my fl die with the expander and measure with my hornady case gauges until the shoulder is pushed back about .002. It's basically a partial resize and the neck gets done at the same time.
Continue to use your collet die until the issue happens again.
Last edited by killerv; 09/06/19.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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You need a body die.
The full length die will size the neck down to where the mandrel of the collet die won't fit into the neck.
You didn't use logic or reason to get into this opinion, I cannot use logic or reason to get you out of it.
You cannot over estimate the unimportance of nearly everything. John Maxwell
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You need a body die.
The full length die will size the neck down to where the mandrel of the collet die won't fit into the neck. This.
Casey
Not being married to any particular political party sure makes it a lot easier to look at the world more objectively... Having said that, MAGA.
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You need a body die.
The full length die will size the neck down to where the mandrel of the collet die won't fit into the neck. This. + 2. Redding body dies are what I use
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Not saying a body die wont work, but there would be other ways not requiring a die change. Rather than take the word of people like me, why not talk with a tech at a place like Sinclair’s? You might find they suggest you have a set of what they refer to as (competition shell holders). They will also work with other cartridges of the same head size. There will be 5 shell holders in the set, and you simply change the shell holder until the bolt closes on the case. It’s a common issue, and easily solved.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I just use my fl die with the expander and measure with my hornady case gauges until the shoulder is pushed back about .002. It's basically a partial resize and the neck gets done at the same time.
Continue to use your collet die until the issue happens again. Yeah, thats what i do. Why people try to overcomplicate this schidt is beyond me. No one here has ever proven to me that they load more concentric or more accurate ammo by using all the fluff they do. KISS for fu cks sake.
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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I switched to Lee neck collet does a couple years back and have been quite pleased with the results. Today was shooting and noticed a couple cases were chambering with a little more effort. I don’t own a Redding body die and was wondering if I could take the expander ball out of a full length die to just bump the shoulders back? Then neck size with the collet as I have been. Or would I be better served to full length size, then anneal, then neck size? Cartridge in question is 30-06.
Craig Take the expander ball out and hone the neck until it won't size the neck down. Anneal before you bump the shoulder back you get a much more consistent bump that way Trystan
Good bullets properly placed always work, but not everyone knows what good bullets are, or can reliably place them in the field
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Take the expander ball out and hone the neck until it won't size the neck down. Anneal before you bump the shoulder back you get a much more consistent bump that way
Trystan
Sheeit, I forgot all about that Sunnen machine sitting out in the garage. ![grin grin](/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/default/grin.gif)
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Think I have to agree with bsa...I’m over thinking it. I’ll just FL size next time and then go back to the collet.
Craig
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Think I have to agree with bsa...I’m over thinking it. I’ll just FL size next time and then go back to the collet.
Craig Yup, do that and leave the expander ball in the FL sizer. Just try not to bump the shoulder back more than necessary. 1/8 turn of the die is the difference between not enough and too much, so some of us prefer to measure shoulder bump to get it right.
Last edited by Yondering; 09/06/19.
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If you like to tinker with stuff you can make a pretty good bump die from a Lee FL sizer. Just drill or polish out the neck and then take a case and chuck it on a drill and cover with valve grinding compound and polish the die with very light or no pressure on the shoulder portion. You will need to start with a FL sized case and the graduate to an un-sized or partially sized case. A faster way would be to use a chamber reamer on the die and then polish.
I think Dirt Farmer posted instructions for this.
But the FL size is all you really need every 3rd or 4th loading or anytime you anneal.
Redding will polish their dies for a better fit at a minimal fee and this is worth it to keep from over working the brass especially if you only load for one rifle.
Last edited by Tejano; 09/11/19.
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
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A Redding body die is only $36
Expander ball dies suck but if it doesn't bother you to shoot a batch of [bleep] crooked ammo go for it with the expander ball die
Good bullets properly placed always work, but not everyone knows what good bullets are, or can reliably place them in the field
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Redding will polish their dies for a better fit at a minimal fee and this is worth it to keep from over working the brass especially if you only load for one rifle.
I know Forster does this, but I didn't know about Redding.
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A Redding body die is only $36
Expander ball dies suck but if it doesn't bother you to shoot a batch of [bleep] crooked ammo go for it with the expander ball die I'm basically a rookie in this department, so if some one could explain the above quote I'd really appreciate it. Seems like something I should have knowledge of.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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An old post of mine: I've done some handloading for a friend's Browning Low Wall in 260 Remington, also using a vanilla RCBS two die set. As luck would have it the sizing die and rifle chamber are well matched in the important dimensions. Furthermore the neck section of the die is perfect for the batch of brass I've been using. It squeezes the neck down just enough so the expander ball just kisses it on the way out. So simple works great here.
OTOH, I have a Redding FL size die for 308 Winchester whose neck section is quite tight. If I size a piece of brass w/o the expander in place the neck can come out below .330" in diameter. (This dimension can vary depending on the amount of resistance/springback the brass provides because of thickness and state of work hardening.) For typical WW brass this is all right, but the batches of Lapua brass I have only need sizing to .336" for the neck tension I want. So this brass is being worked .012" more than necessary on the sizing stroke, and even with a carbide ball and good lube in the case necks the resulting runout isn't so good. If I size them with this die w/o the ball, and expand using a tapered mandrel in a subsequent step, then the runout is fine. (Even so, the brass is still being worked more than I like so I use other dies for Lapua.)
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Lee collet neck sizers + Redding body dies..........easy as it gets.
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
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How often are you guys setting the shoulder back?
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Campfire 'Bwana
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For some applications it's every time, but not very far.
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The reason I ask is I use the Lee Collet dies for almost all of My loading and have never seen the need to set the shoulders back.
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