Redding 6.5CM resizing die issues…

[ZA206]

I tried to setup my new 6.5CM Master Hunter resizing die last night to bump the shoulders back about .004” and was destroying cases. I was using my normal lanolin lube I always do, but the dies had a LOT or resizing force and the body near the shoulders were getting warped.

Any ideas what’s going on here? I’ve got several sets of Redding dies and they all have been perfect and easy to set up (223 & 308). I think I ruined 8-10 pieces of brass last night!!! This brass was fired in a new Proof 6.5CM AR barrel with no issues. I had the decapping stem removed from the die because I was going to next expand in a separate step. I’ve had to really crank on .mil machine gun 7.62 brass before, but never had cases deform like this.

Here are some pictures:

 

[TheOfficeT-Rex]

How much is that sizing the body, compared to fires dimensions? Looks like a lot based on the scratching.

 

[ZA206]

Shoulders bumped back .004”-.005”
Middle of the case OD reduced by .0015”

 

[AllenOne1]

I would try a different case lube. Some dies need to "break in" before they smooth out and run right with small amounts of lube.

Seems like a lot of sizing is going on to get that much deformation.

 

[918v]

You need to break the die in.

 

[smoothy8500]

You need to break the die in.

Yeah, my last Redding die (ten years ago) needed a little spin with steel wool on a bore brush with case lube.

Although, looking at the picture inside the die, it looks like a weird "ring" at the shoulde/body junction? Like the reamer had a chipped edge. Even some of the sized brass has a weird shape at the junction.

I would consider contacting Redding and sending the die with a few pieces of that brass. There might be an issue.

 

[Baron23]

it looks like a weird "ring" at the shoulde/body junction?

And there is sort of a ring pressed into the shoulder just above the junction with the body....??? Very strange

 

[ZA206]

I'm sending this resizing die back to Redding. It's cleary defective and basically junk. I'm so irritated with the whole thing....

 

[RandyM72]

I too am having some strange goings on with my redding competition die set for 6.5 Creedmore. I have purchased some new Lapuna SP brass and some once fired Winchester brass. The Lapuna feeds nicely in my new Sig Sauer 100. I FL resized the Winchester once fired brass. It wouldn't fit in my gun without excessive pressure on the bolt. I scratched my head and realized I had a RCBS shellholder, probably not compatible I thought. So for the heck of of I put the shell on top of the shellholder just to see if it chambered properly. It was the same. I scratched my head some more and checked all the dimensions of the brass, especially length. The only discrepancy I could find was the shoulder to base and neck to shoulder taper dimensions to the base per SAAMI dimensions- too small to measure accurately bit it could be .030" too big - just too small to see or measure effectively. I tried the Redding neck size die the same way - the case on top of the shellholder - same result. I am perplexed - is the die is defective or has the used brass been shot in an sloppy chamber and is just too expanded to be pushed back?? I literaly stood on the press handle and it was not moving any more. I have never had this experience before in all my years. Perhaps some of the Redding dies have problems.?? I hopr you resolve yours with a new die set if you can find one. I normally don't buy Redding dies but stock is extremely limited in Canada.

 

[spife7980]

I too am having some strange goings on with my redding competition die set for 6.5 Creedmore. I have purchased some new Lapuna SP brass and some once fired Winchester brass. The Lapuna feeds nicely in my new Sig Sauer 100. I FL resized the Winchester once fired brass. It wouldn't fit in my gun without excessive pressure on the bolt. I scratched my head and realized I had a RCBS shellholder, probably not compatible I thought. So for the heck of of I put the shell on top of the shellholder just to see if it chambered properly. It was the same. I scratched my head some more and checked all the dimensions of the brass, especially length. The only discrepancy I could find was the shoulder to base and neck to shoulder taper dimensions to the base per SAAMI dimensions- too small to measure accurately bit it could be .030" too big - just too small to see or measure effectively. I tried the Redding neck size die the same way - the case on top of the shellholder - same result. I am perplexed - is the die is defective or has the used brass been shot in a sloppy chamber and is just too expanded to be pushed back?? I literaly stood on the press handle and it was not moving any more. I have never had this experience before in all my years. Perhaps some of the Redding dies have problems.?? I hopr you resolve yours with a new die set if you can find one. I normally don't buy Redding dies but stock is extremely limited in Canada.

Provide the actual measurements.

 

[918v]

I too am having some strange goings on with my redding competition die set for 6.5 Creedmore. I have purchased some new Lapuna SP brass and some once fired Winchester brass. The Lapuna feeds nicely in my new Sig Sauer 100. I FL resized the Winchester once fired brass. It wouldn't fit in my gun without excessive pressure on the bolt. I scratched my head and realized I had a RCBS shellholder, probably not compatible I thought. So for the heck of of I put the shell on top of the shellholder just to see if it chambered properly. It was the same. I scratched my head some more and checked all the dimensions of the brass, especially length. The only discrepancy I could find was the shoulder to base and neck to shoulder taper dimensions to the base per SAAMI dimensions- too small to measure accurately bit it could be .030" too big - just too small to see or measure effectively. I tried the Redding neck size die the same way - the case on top of the shellholder - same result. I am perplexed - is the die is defective or has the used brass been shot in an sloppy chamber and is just too expanded to be pushed back?? I literaly stood on the press handle and it was not moving any more. I have never had this experience before in all my years. Perhaps some of the Redding dies have problems.?? I hopr you resolve yours with a new die set if you can find one. I normally don't buy Redding dies but stock is extremely limited in Canada.

Did you break the die in?

 

[RandyM72]

Provide the actual measurements.

The measurements (All) are either the same or less than SAAMI dimensions - these dimensions are shown in most loading handbooks. I could not measure accurately the base to shoulder, but it appeared slightly too large. Maybe 30/1000. I do not have a headspace gauge, nor have i ever needed one. I simply go by feel on the bolt handle closure and adjust accordingly. I did not break the die in nor have I ever heard of that term. If that refers to polishing a die to remove reamer scratches or any roughness with steel wool or rubbing compound -that I have heard of although I have never needed to do this before. This is usually done to alleviate scratches on brass. I do not think this would have any substantial effect on resizing. Just my opinion.

 

[spife7980]

I do not have a headspace gauge, nor have i ever needed one.

But you do now.

 

[918v]

The measurements (All) are either the same or less than SAAMI dimensions - these dimensions are shown in most loading handbooks. I could not measure accurately the base to shoulder, but it appeared slightly too large. Maybe 30/1000. I do not have a headspace gauge, nor have i ever needed one. I simply go by feel on the bolt handle closure and adjust accordingly. I did not break the die in nor have I ever heard of that term. If that refers to polishing a die to remove reamer scratches or any roughness with steel wool or rubbing compound -that I have heard of although I have never needed to do this before. This is usually done to alleviate scratches on brass. I do not think this would have any substantial effect on resizing. Just my opinion.

If you want help with your problem then you should answer our questions instead of ^^^.

 

[ZA206]

Redding wound up send me one of their competition shell holders and told me to use imperial wax. They didn’t say it, but I think they polished the inside of the die.

It works fine now, but seems to take a lot more force than I’m used to compared to 308 resizing.

 

[918v]

Redding wound up send me one of their competition shell holders and told me to use imperial wax. They didn’t say it, but I think they polished the inside of the die.

It works fine now, but seems to take a lot more force than I’m used to compared to 308 resizing.

Sizing effort depends on how much brass you are trying to move all at once. A 308 case from a tight chamber is going to be easier to size than a 6.5 case from a loose chamber.

 

[RandyM72]

I purchased another Redding shell holder - although the old one says its compatible - RCBS. I placed an old case (FL resized) inside the die body and spun some rubbing compound on a drill to polish. I am able to get most of the used brass to chamber with a small resistance to bolt closure. I guess thats the best I can do. I have had this experience with hot 220 Swift brass a long time ago. Once the brass becomes overly expanded (especially the bases) its pretty hard to get it back to size again. In my case, the used brass was fired in a quite sloppy chamber I suspect and the shoulder just won't go back easily. We never stop learning something new. I thank all for their input.

 

[ZA206]

I’ll chime in… I upgraded my press to a Zero and had to reset all of my dies, including this Redding set. I wound up trying my original shell holder and was able to set everything up just fine. I noticed that I needed to lube (Imperial) the entire case including the body almost to the rim to get consistent results. Resizing effort has reduced greatly since it was new, so between Redding cleaning it up and it getting broken in/burnished… it’s GTG now. This is the only resizing die that I’ve ever had to “break in”, which still leads me to believe that it’s mostly a QC issue with Redding.