That is what happens when you want your cake and eat it too. Standard full length dies will either size too much, just enough, or not enough...and never all three at the same time. Depending on the brass, press, and shell holder you will be in one of the three categories. This is why bushing dies exist in the first place. The reality is that if you want perfect sizing to a specific dimension you have to either find the right brass for that die, the right die for that chamber, or the right chamber for that brass and die. It sounds convoluted, I know. Welcome to owning every die set on the market.
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Mighty Armory Full length sizing die
- Thread starter D46Infinity
- Start date
That is what happens when you want your cake and eat it too. Standard full length dies will either size too much, just enough, or not enough...and never all three at the same time. Depending on the brass, press, and shell holder you will be in one of the three categories. This is why bushing dies exist in the first place. The reality is that if you want perfect sizing to a specific dimension you have to either find the right brass for that die, the right die for that chamber, or the right chamber for that brass and die. It sounds convoluted, I know. Welcome to owning every die set on the market.
I have plenty of thicker brass. I'm pointing out if you had 4,000 pieces of the thinner brass (which I do), you couldn't use it with this die without extra steps.
I sold all my Redding dies and have 3 of the gold series MA FL dies. Makes sizing a breeze, super consistent neck tension since it’s an expander mandrel inside. I don’t think I’ll buy another die for sizing. They pair very well with my SAC seating die lol.
Yes, that. Thanks.
This seems to be the #1 complaint about the MA FL Die - it doesn't bump the shoulders back far enough with some brass. Of Course, you won't know that until you buy the die and see if your brass, shot from your chamber, will size down enough (.002 commonly suggested).
Just got mine, and haven't tried em, yet. If more bump is necessary, before touching the die, one could possibly take some material off the top of the shellholder. I've read of others using a shim (e.g. automotive feeler gauge) between case and shellholder (was not related to MA dies, specifically).
Yes you do and they actually recommend you use lanolin/alcohol lube. Thats all I've been using for a few years now. Throw in a tub, few sprays, shake them around, let sit for 10min or so then size...dry tumble off. Sizes like better. You can feel how that mirror finish inside the die makes sizing butter smooth. Very noticeable difference from your mass produced Forster or Redding FL dies
Do you have to mix the lanolin/alcohol yourself? Can the lube be wet tumbles off? Would this lube mix work with other sizing dies as well?
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Brass Case Resizing Lube
Is the time you spend resizing brass significantly slowing down your reloading process and turning it into a tedious chore? The 6.5 Guys tested a technique that significantly speeds up resizing, i…
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There’s a member here that makes a lanolin/alcohol lube that I’ve been using since last year. Works great in ever die I’ve tried. The MA dies are butter smooth. Very impressed with them.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Brass Case Resizing Lube
Is the time you spend resizing brass significantly slowing down your reloading process and turning it into a tedious chore? The 6.5 Guys tested a technique that significantly speeds up resizing, i…
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Yeah, I'll take facing 10 thou off my $4.00 shell holder and keep what ended up being a $250.00CAD die in as new condition all day.
None of my other dies touch the top of my shell holder, so that's a non-issue.
The 223 die worked perfectly on all the various 223 & 5.56 brass that I have, which is quite a variety. I was so impressed with it, I bought the 308 die.
It was only the 308 die that I had issues with . After Wayne skimmed the 308 die, it's working fine now.
I've been using my 308 die a lot. No issues with LC and Lapua. I think we talked about your issue in another thread didn't we? Some old rare 308 brass? Or am I thinking of someone else?
Yes, it was post #50 in this thread. Some older (from early 2000's) Winchester and Hornady brass the die wouldn't size the necks enough to seat a bullet. Any brass that had necks that you would need a bushing smaller than .335" wouldn't get the necks sized down.
I have a bunch of that brass and I can deal with it by running the cases again through a Redding N/O bushing die with a .333" or .331" bushing. Not a big deal, but it surprised me.
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My alpha 6,5CM LRP brass also wouldn't bump without skimming some off the bottom of the die, but my ,223 has been perfect. I recall Wayne mentioning that the die is meant to bottom out quite firmly on the shellholder and take out the slack, although that comment may have been particular to my 550 system.
I recalled something like this. That Winchester has thinner necks compared to LC and Lapua if I remember correctly. I had a bunch of it a while back but ended up selling it all.
This is the game we play with more tailored, customish, higher quality dies vs your mass produced RCBS, Hornady, Lee, Redding, Forster, etc...
MA Gold dies are made for your match brass and doesnt excessively size them, then rip the necks back open like the mass produced dies I just mentioned. The reason all your typical dies I just mentioned do this is because there are SSOOO many different brass manufacturers out there and some have thick necks, some have thin necks, some are in the middle... So the mass produced dies squeeze those necks down excessively to make sure ALL the different cases in that caliber get squeezed down enough to seat/hold a bullet...
Now, whats the drawback of this... Well... this is the very reason many of us have been sending our Forster FL sizing dies back to Forster to have the necks honed for Lapua or whatever brass we are using in our rifle so they are not excessively squeezed down then being ripped back open....Or using Redding Type S FL sizing dies with bushings for that specific brass so it only squeezes those necks down .004 under loaded.... But then many of use add another step and remove the die expander ball and use a Mandrel to get final neck tension and concentricity..
These MA dies are not excessively squeezing the necks down when using match grade brass with thicker necks and are using a mandrel to set final neck tension .002-.0025 and give you the same concentricity of a mandrel without having to perform another op in your sizing process... This is the very reason I love these new MA Gold dies and have them in all the calibers I reload for that MA makes...
If you are using thin neck brass, or you are a guy that has buckets of mixed brass then yes the MA die MAY not squeeze the neck down far enough for you with thin neck brass... But, if you're using LC or match brass that has thicker neck walls, then these dies are perfect...
@FLIGHT762 this wasnt directed at you. Just a little more detailed info explaining your issue for guys reading this that may not understand why and to help them understand so they can decide if this die will work for them.
I'm all for information. That's why I posted the neck sizing issue with thin brass. I'm so happy with the 223 & 308 M/A dies that I sold off all of my misc. 223 & 208 dies. I've been reloading these calibers since the mid 1970's. I had a good amount of misc. dies. I accumulated over the decades.
I kept my Redding bushing dies and body dies and the Lee collet dies. I sold off everything else after buying the M/A dies.
I had the luxury of being assistant team leader for the sniper team of a large combined agency team. I was able to collect a lifetime of free, once fired in bolt gun brass. I haven't had to buy any 223 or 308 brass. Mostly Winchester, Hornady and Federal GMM. My avatar is the last patch I wore on my team BDU's.
At one time, that thinner, Winchester brass was coveted by a number of L/R bolt gun shooters.
I kept my Redding bushing dies and body dies and the Lee collet dies. I sold off everything else after buying the M/A dies.
I had the luxury of being assistant team leader for the sniper team of a large combined agency team. I was able to collect a lifetime of free, once fired in bolt gun brass. I haven't had to buy any 223 or 308 brass. Mostly Winchester, Hornady and Federal GMM. My avatar is the last patch I wore on my team BDU's.
At one time, that thinner, Winchester brass was coveted by a number of L/R bolt gun shooters.
I ordered three of the MA Gold dies in 223, 6.5, and 308. I got them today and tested the 308 first.
The die is superb when compared to RCBS, Redding or Forster. Wow.
It bumps the shoulder .001” more than my Redding body die. It sizes the neck down to .333” with the expander removed. A std FL die takes the neck down to .328”. This explains why thin neck brass like Winchester won’t get sized enough. It sizes the base to .469” and the shoulder to .452”. The sizing feels buttery smooth like it’s on ball bearings. I did not have to season the die or break it in like I have to with the other brands. I love it.
Now we just need a .300WM MA die.
The die is superb when compared to RCBS, Redding or Forster. Wow.
It bumps the shoulder .001” more than my Redding body die. It sizes the neck down to .333” with the expander removed. A std FL die takes the neck down to .328”. This explains why thin neck brass like Winchester won’t get sized enough. It sizes the base to .469” and the shoulder to .452”. The sizing feels buttery smooth like it’s on ball bearings. I did not have to season the die or break it in like I have to with the other brands. I love it.
Now we just need a .300WM MA die.
whose 308 brass were you resizing? I just got in a MA 300 BO die. I will starting using it next month when I put my reloading room back together.
Could you please tell me what the 223 die sizes the necks to with the expander removed .
On my M/A Gold 223 die, I get the following measurements: Brass: LC "12" / R-P Comm. / Speer nickel
O/D on sized cases W/O mandrel: .235"
O/D W/ Mandrel: .245"-.246"
Mandrel size: .222"
I just ordered a Mighty Armory 6.5 Creedmoor sizing die. They now make a “-.005 HS” die which after talking to Wayne, seems to be their normal Gold Match die that has .005” taken off the bottom to allow you bump the shoulder more than the standard Gold Match die.
While I am not dissatisfied with the results I get from my honed Forsters, I am hoping for equal or better results and smoother operation of the Mighty Armory Gold Match FL -.005 HS die. I’ll post more when I get a chance to use it.
John
www.mightyarmory.com
While I am not dissatisfied with the results I get from my honed Forsters, I am hoping for equal or better results and smoother operation of the Mighty Armory Gold Match FL -.005 HS die. I’ll post more when I get a chance to use it.
John
Mighty Armory GOLD MATCH 6.5 Creedmoor FLHS -.000- .005 Sizing Decapping Die
Achieve precision in every shot with the Mighty Armory GOLD MATCH 6.5 Creedmoor. This sizing die comes with a decapping shaft and pin for accurate results.
www.mightyarmory.com
I have a MA Gold Match .223. It's nice but nothing compared to the niceness of my SAC die.
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I'm about to buy a .308 Win MA die to use in a Forster Co-Ax with Lapua brass. Have any of you had issues with the shoulder not being bumped back with this die in the Co-Ax? I'm slowly moving away from my RCBS dies and the X-Die I'm currently using won't even touch the shoulder in the co-ax but works just fine in the Rock Chucker. Thanks.
