Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Question re Redding Competition Micrometer Dies.

I reload for 243, 260, and 7-08. And am set to order a set of Redding competition micrometer dies with neck sizing bushings for the 260.

Will the 260 dies properly neck size 7-08 and 243 with the appropriate bushings?

I know the 260 die will work on the 243 but not sure on the 7-08

Get the 7-08 die, that would work with all 3

For competition seater dies try the Forster, cheaper than Redding and work equally well

Anything based on the 308 Winchester.

Phil

Why would you buy neck sizing dies? You get better consistency with full length resizing dies. I use the Redding Type-S full length sizing dies with the appropriate bushing.

Agree.

FTR...+1

Okay, tell me about it.

I am loading for three 260s. One with dedicated Lapua brass. One with dedicated Federal brass. And have Alpha on the way for the third.

I have only, in the past, done PFl with FL dies. I thought I could gain some ground going with a set of GOOD neck dies.

Federal brass is soft in the case head, may I suggest that you give it to someone that you do not like?

Idaho shooter, you can usually go up one caliber with out a slight alteration.

7/08 may leave a ring on the shoulder of the 243, you will just have to try it.

First let me say I am not a gunwriter as you can tell by grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Yes, you will have to experiment some.

I use the, 260 bushing dies with appropriate bushing to form my 25/08 brass, get the occasional neck shoulder ring. If it is slight crush fit, I just shot'em it goes away.
Have had hard extraction doing this but have never had to hammer a case out of the chamber.

In fact just loaded and shot the 25/08 today, first time in 10 years forgot how well it shoots.

Will just comment that I have a PILE of dies, partly because I rarely sell them unless it's necessary when selling a rifle in an obscure chambering.

Part of the reason for owning so many dies is that I've often found the "extras" useful when loading various rounds. Have more than occasionally found that a particular seating die, close to the cartridge in question, will seat bullets straighter than other "match" type dies with bullet-diameter sleeves. This has happened often enough with Forster, Hornady and Redding dies (and some others, now and then) that I don't make assumptions about what always works best--especially with a wide variety of bullets. This can involve how the seating stem fits a particular bullet, but not always.

I concur JB. I use my Forster 223 die to seat bullets for my 222 Magnum 40-x and got MUCH better r/out. I use my Hornady 308 seating die that does really well seating bullets in my 308’s, to start bullets for my 300 H&H for the same reason. Never know for sure ‘til you try it.

The only thing I would add is, for certain cartridges, I have found the old timey Lee Loader is best for seating or neck sizing certain of my rifles.

I have a business rifle from military days that shoots in the 2s and 3s regularly with bullets seated using a lee loader. My Forster can't quite keep up. I know that makes no sense and many won't believe me, but it's true. And really, if you can drill a straight hole through a piece of solid, round bar stock, it's golden.

Steve,

Have experienced the same thing many times, since buying my first Lee Loader at age 12.

Speaking of gold, that’s a pretty interesting statement Steve! Not the part about the Lee Loader, but rather the “business” rifle!

That's why I continue to use them. People on this and other forums insist that the only way to shoot tight groups is to buy the most expensive dies available. They feel that complex procedures must be followed, using expensive equipment. While I understand that spending serious money on equipment usually buys accuracy, it is not the only way.



I was a military armourer and worked with small arms and explosives. I made sure that everything I needed was properly put together - especially when I was stationed in Europe.

I was not a sniper. I was not posted to any special forces units. I was trained to work with small arms however, and the equipment I used was unique to the environment.I know how to make things work properly. It was my job.

If you load for three different rifles, all 260s, you need to know the length of all 3 chambers so you can figure out where to set the datum point on the F/L die. If the three are close enough, I would set it to be about .002 under the shortest chamber. If you want full interchangeably, then go for SAAMI minimum.

Once you have that worked out, you need to figure out the required bushing for each brand of brass. I load Lapua brass for competition and I have moved to a higher neck tension over the years where I currently use .004 and have the appropriate bushing. I also load Winchester brass for non-competition and that bushing is .004 smaller than the one for Lapua as Winchester brass that I have is thinner than Lapua.

Couple more thoughts. Use an instant indicator to measure your fired brass for each chamber and my experience is that it takes two firings from virgin to get the proper dimension.

I currently push back the shoulder. 001 from second firing size, but this is for my match rifle. I also use a small base die in an attempt to control the primer pocket expansion. I get 8+ firings of heavy F-class LR loads from my Lapua Palma cases.

At this point, I have standard RCBS FL dies for each of the cartridges I shoot. And typically set the dies so they resize about 60% to 70% of the neck, and try to not touch the shoulder. Usually with mixed lots and brands of brass.

I have achieved sub MOA accuracy in most of my rifles doing so, and got there after a rebarrel in the ones which would not in factory configuration.

But I am trying to strike out in a new direction with a couple of these 260s. One is a Ruger which weighs 13 pounds with a Timney trigger, heavy 26 inch 8 twist Pac-Nor barrel, laminate stock, and 10X SWFA SS scope.

The other rifle is a new Remington 5R (24 inch 8 twist) with HSP stock, original X-mark trigger, and a 3.5-10x40 Leopold VX3i. (If PT&G can ever get my order straightened out and get me the bottom metal to go with the 2.92 inch Accuracy mag.)

Now I am looking for better than just minute of mule deer heart at 400 yds.

So, with the above discussion. It sounds like many here think I am just as likely to get straight cases from my RCBS FL sizer as from the expensive Redding Precision match die?

I know I want the precision seating die with micrometer adjustment so that I can record and repeat seating depth with various bullets.

Idaho Shooter,

While sometimes standard RCBS full-length dies result in pretty darn straight brass by following the directions, if they don't there are a couple of techniques that normally result in much straighter brass.

One is to size the cases WITHOUT the expander ball assembly, then replace the assembly and PUSH the expand ball into the neck. This works because the shellholder then holds the brass pretty square to the expander ball. (When a case is pulled back over the expander ball, it often tilts slightly, because the shellholder only contacts a small amount of the upper edge of the rim.)

The other method, which generally works quite well with RCBS dies, is to raise the expand ball high enough that the neck of the case is still in the the neck portion of the die while it's pulled over the expander. This is exactly how Forster "Benchrest" sizing dies are set up, and the reason they size cases so straight.

The only "problem" with these two techniques is they don't decap the case--which is one reason I most often reload rifle cases in turret dies, and keep a Lee decapping die in the hole right next to the FL die.

Both techniques are described in far more detail in GUN GACK II, along with some other related stuff.