Resizing Dies

[03psd]

Are resizing dies all the same (FL)? I get the differences between the various seating dies but is resized resized? The reason i ask i am experiencing various degrees of ease in which a loaded rounds will chamber in my rifle. All the brass was resized with the same die (plain jane RCBS). Bullets were seated with a Forster micrometer seater die. Some rounds chamber easily others have a difficult bolt close. I'm thinking my resizing is inconsistent.

 

[spife7980]

Each one is a bit different. This vid talks about die to chamber fitment a bit.

 

[03psd]

very interesting. did some reading and vid watching and if I want to use my fireformed brass I should be able to just bump the shoulder back or neck size the cases. Lee collet and Forster bushing dies seem like the leaders in the neck size arena. Thoughts on which is the btter way to go?

 

[rduckwor]

The Lee collet neck sizing die is a great tool. I can typically neck size only once before I have to F/L size the brass, but that alone saves time resizing, tumbling, trimming, and chamfering the F/L sized brass. YMMV on this depending upon your rifle.

As for F/L dies, there are differences. There are also "small base" F/L dies for resizing brass fired in autoloaders. Basically you picks your poison.

RMD

 

[nfoley]

I would suggest measuring to see how much (if at all) you are bumping the shoulder. All you need is a decent caliper and the Hornady headspace comparator (about $40) kit. Will give you a lot of information in terms of your resizing. You could see if you are inconsistent in terms of shoulder bump. Takes a bit of practice but after you get the hang of it you will be able to measure accurately how much you are bumping the shoulders.

 

[03psd]

I would suggest measuring to see how much (if at all) you are bumping the shoulder. All you need is a decent caliper and the Hornady headspace comparator (about $40) kit. Will give you a lot of information in terms of your resizing. You could see if you are inconsistent in terms of shoulder bump. Takes a bit of practice but after you get the hang of it you will be able to measure accurately how much you are bumping the shoulders.

I think youre correct. I am ordering the Hornady kit as well as the Hornady Ogive measuring kit. I need to clearly identify the source of my problem before I can properly address it. Thank you

 

[03psd]

The Lee collet neck sizing die is a great tool. I can typically neck size only once before I have to F/L size the brass, but that alone saves time resizing, tumbling, trimming, and chamfering the F/L sized brass. YMMV on this depending upon your rifle.

As for F/L dies, there are differences. There are also "small base" F/L dies for resizing brass fired in autoloaders. Basically you picks your poison.

RMD

understood. I FL resize all new brass and all reloads currently but I want to try to extend the life of it by just neck sizing going forward (maybe FL resize every 5 reloads) as well as how much doing so would speed up the process for all the reasons you mentioned.
My self shuckers all get factory ammo so not an issue with them.

 

[rduckwor]

Annealing will also help lengthen the life of that brass. My F/L sizing dies are set up for shoulder bump as well.

Have fun.

RMD

 

[Marksman10x]

You can FL size your brass and still have it last a long time

 

[Sheldon N]

I'll echo the info in the video that spife posted. Pay attention to dimensions of sizing beyond just shoulder bump. Base diameter, shoulder diameter also matter. Measure a couple pieces of fired brass and see what the dimensions are at each point. Then measure the dimensions of the brass after sizing. Are all the key areas being sized sufficiently? Shoulder bump, base diameter, shoulder diameter?

If you call the die manufacturers they will tell you the dimensions of their sizing dies, there can be several thousandths difference in things like base diameter. One die company (Harrels) even offers a whole different series of dies based upon how big your chamber is reamed.

 

[Deleted member 10043]

They are not all the same. Some are easier to get to just bump the shoulder. Some are too delicate or over engineered. If I can use Lee Pacesetterrs and put out single digit SD then these fancy ones must be assisting out below minus zero, lol. And those Hornady headspace comparators attached to calipers I've found to be off. You may just be bumping more or less than you think. I've compared a couple with IT digital gauge as well as the old fashioned Wilson gauges. I prefer the Wilson. The problem is some cases may have a slight bulge around the middle of the shoulder depending on the case and the die. Personally, I partially FL to get a baseline then go from there. It doesn't take much and don't be disappointed if you have to settle with a bump a little more or less than internet textbook.