Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Redding die problems?

Ha ha.. Some people huh? I'd just buy a run of the mill RCBS die and throw the redding shidt away... Also, generally you don't have to even putz around with new brass. Sometimes I'll run it through a sizing die to round out the case mouth, but that is the only reason to run it through a die when it is new. After case mouths are round, I'll chamfer the inside and outside of the neck. Also, when you run new brass thorough a die, there is usually no resistance because its already been sized down so it fits the chamber without having to size it. The OP is obviously new to hand loading. Hopefully your insight can help him mathman.. Reading through the posts makes me laugh even more.. Damn, its a bad die. Send it back, for fuggs sake..

Thanks to those who have tried to help me. I obviously have posted this in the wrong forum. I am more of a precision shooter and reloader. I have a few RCBS dies for loading bulk 223 and 308 for feeding ARs. But all the dies I have for precision shooting are Redding, forester, whidden, and some custom Hornady. Bullet runout with standard RCBS dies is unacceptable in my rifles for precision shooting. I shoot my hunting rifles and play rifles out to and over 1K with accuracy. The reason for my original post was that it was Saturday and Redding isn’t open until Monday. Sitting here board cleaning rifles and thought that someone might have some insight into the situation. My reloading level is at a very acceptable understanding of procedure and application. My original thoughts were/are that there is a problem with this sizing die. It’s just that I have never bought a die that was defective. Maybe just good luck or that I usually only buy higher end dies. The fact that I even had some imperial sizing wax in my reloading room should have been a clue to something. I form cases for a few wildcats and AI calibers. I posted the size at the web for everything that I am seeing including the sizing die, hopefully thinking that someone more experienced than myself would know if the numbers were acceptable or if the die was under dimension. This RPM round has a rebate rim and the combination of this and a die that needs polishing is most likely the problem. Redding will have the answer to what numbers I should expect for new sized brass. I understand the concept of the die is broken send it back. But I am more interested in the why. Reloading at a higher level is a puzzle with lots of pieces. Understanding problems that you experience in the continuing learning process is what is important for me. I thought that my original post question was clear. With the measurements I have taken, is my die undersized. Will the level of finish, or lack of, in combination with the rebate rim of the RPM be the problem. I’m leaning towards the finish in the die with the weaker rebate rim. I think that a good polish with flitz will solve this problem. But I’m not going to do it until I talk to Redding tomorrow.

I also run all new brass through my FL die every time,

I always find dented necks from shipping or manufacturing, including yesterdays .223 brass from RP.

The few answers here that I saw were basically calling him a dumb-ass, without really answering the question,

Guess I'm a dumb-ass too.

bsa, Redding is crap? GMAFB

You haven't mentioned yet if you measure your fired brass vrs FL sized with a comparator to see the difference its the only way to tell how much the die is actually bumping the shoulders if at all

I'm not calling anybody a dumbass, but I do think you're unnecessarily wasting a cold working cycle on the case necks by FL sizing when a simple pass over an expander will round them out nicely. (Assuming they're not terribly bad of course.)

try shooting the new brass with a lighter handload before you resize it ? i prefer to shoot my brass 1st always then use wax and resize / rework the fired brass .

Something is definitely not right.

If anything new brass is usually undersized, and the only part of new brass being worked should be the neck.

Try removing the expander ball and sizing the case using Imperial. If the effort becomes too much back out so's not to stick another case. But if the brass won't go fully into the die there's a die or brass problem. Without bothering to size I'd fire a few rounds and see if one of those cases will size. If not, send the dies back with a new case and a fired case.

The last two Redding body dies I have bought this past year were scratching my brass and took a fair bit of polishing to correct the problem. My brand new Forster seater die wouldn't work until I polished the outside of the seater plug and the inside of the insert where the plug passes through.

I'm thinking that the Wuhan Virus has infected even well regarded companies like Redding, Forster, and maybe even Weatherby..........

It sure sounds like a die problem. Die problems are rare but possible.

Talked with Don from Redding first thing this morning. Very nice guy and had answers at his fingertips for every question that I had. He said to send the dies back for a exchange no questions asked. I asked him if he thought that I would get anywhere with polishing the inside of the sizing die. My concern of the weaker rebate rim with the rough die interior. He said that I could give it a try and that it would not void any warranty if it didn’t work. So I got out the mothers polish and polished the inside to a mirror. I polished the expander button also. Grabbed 4 cases applied a little imperial sizing wax on the neck and a liberal amount on the case mostly on the web. The 4 cases ran perfectly with a sized web of 0.498. The end.

A good outcome!

As I mentioned, my recent dies have not been the best of examples...........

I would back off the die till it just touches the shoulder. If it still has issues send the die and three fired cases from your rifle to Redding. I would also double check the shell holder are make sure to use a Redding as the height can vary by maker.

You did 2 different things. Which one fixed the problem?

Why do you think it was the polish that fixed the problem and not the lube? A polish would not have removed any significant metal. Mothers polish is just that. I am still thinking you did not lube the web enough at first.

Did you remeasure the die with your starret?

You didn't mention what the Redding tech thought of your .496 initial measurement.

Because Hornady one shot lube gave me the same results as the imperial sizing wax. After polishing both lubes work just as well.

Why do you think Redding dies are better than RCBS? I sure don't. I have had way more trouble with Redding and I have been at this for 50 years.