Where are you getting dies?

I'm looking into a possible rebarrel. Possibly to a Sherman again, but if I do some other wildcat or semi wildcat like 270 ai….where would I get dies?

CH Tool & Die has a wide selection, but how do I know what reamer they match to? I guess that is a concern with any wildcat.

Redding has a few options like 25-06ai.

Hornady will make a variety of custom die sets to match almost anything. Not sure about price.

Ideally, I would like to buy a set of bushing dies for a semi-std wildcat and know it will size cases to fit in my custom reamed chamber. Without buying a reamer and a sizing reamer or pressing the easy button and doing a Sherman, who can provide dies that I can confirm match my reamer?

Neil Jones
Google him

you could get the desired dies and do a chamber cast of them and then match the numbers up to the reamer print but to get exactually what you want you might have to get a custom reamer to match the dies. might be faster and cheaper to match a reamer to dies than waiting for custom dies that are made to your fired brass

All of my custom reamed chambers have custom dies that are matched to the reamers, however, my custom A191 based 264WM & 300WM use Redding dies with honed necks to accomodate the custom clearance and neck dimensions I determined before even filling out the reamer print.

It needs to be determined what you are customising first.

I now use the A191 chamber design on all belted cases except Weatherby, this ensures minimal shoulder movement, .008" is about average, instead of .020" for 300WM.

Dies are adjustable, so choose good quality (read Redding, Forster, SAC, Wilson, Whidden) dies and adjust them correctly.

For my F-class loading, I use a combination of dies, Forster BR FL sizing dies with honed necks to suit my brass, Redding body dies and Redding or Forster Competition Micrometer seating dies. Forster don't make dies in certain cartridges for competition, so you need to find alternatives. For 264WM, I use Redding dies with honed necks, body die and comp seater. All are finished with neck mandrels and all necks are turned prior to the above.

Cheers.

nksmfamjp said:

Hornady will make a variety of custom die sets to match almost anything

Click to expand...

You only get what you pay for here.
I wouldn't be matching my brass to anything made by Hornady.

You are looking at this backwards. You don't match dies to reamer spec on wildcats per se', you want your chamber to match your BRASS, then you choose a die set that is going to perform the duties set out to get your brass matching your chamber.
Redding have some of the tightest tolerances, sometimes, when a chamber is cut very tightly, even their dies will not size enough. So, you need to alter the shell holder to allow more sizing from base to shoulder datum.
All of my custom Weatherby chambers are like this, 270 Bee, 300 Bee, 340 Bee & 375 Bee all need the same shell holder with .010" removed from the top to get the desired .0015"-.002" headspace. Without it, all that happens is the cases grow longer base to shoulder.

Cheers.

.7mm. said:

Neil Jones
Google him

Click to expand...

Are they still $800+ for a die set? Call me cheap, but whatever the price was, I bailed before on them. I'm just trying to get an improved case >30 deg for under $300 for dies….

Maybe I just am too cheap and need to use std cartridges.

Just stick with Redding, you only buy dies once…
They have all AI dies in Group D, more expensive than Group A, but not out of line. Even my 375 Weatherby dies are Redding Group D, didn't have to wait, they had them in stock.

Cheers.

I have a set of Redding dies for 30 Nosler and the micrometer seating die doesn't fit in the box. Kinda weird.

For the first time I used Powder Valley to get my Hornady Match Grade dies, and Hornady 180 grn. and 190 Grn. bullets for my brand new 7mmPRC. The dies offer the user the option of using the provided Expander, or removing that, and using bushings. Bushings sold separately . Seater die has micrometer!! Very pleased with my first purchase from the new Powder Valley!!

MagnumManiac said:

You only get what you pay for here.
I wouldn't be matching my brass to anything made by Hornady.

You are looking at this backwards. You don't match dies to reamer spec on wildcats per se', you want your chamber to match your BRASS, then you choose a die set that is going to perform the duties set out to get your brass matching your chamber.
Redding have some of the tightest tolerances, sometimes, when a chamber is cut very tightly, even their dies will not size enough. So, you need to alter the shell holder to allow more sizing from base to shoulder datum.
All of my custom Weatherby chambers are like this, 270 Bee, 300 Bee, 340 Bee & 375 Bee all need the same shell holder with .010" removed from the top to get the desired .0015"-.002" headspace. Without it, all that happens is the cases grow longer base to shoulder.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

I had Alex Wheeler build a 30 Nos. a couple years ago. He recommended and ordered the custom dies from Hornady. Gun shoots amazing, and the dies work perfectly.

Midway USA or Natchez. Hornady dies are junk imo.

Ever heard of clickers?

Cheers.

I agree with MagnumMania on matching the chamber reamer to the BRASS in-hand, for the clearances you desire.
I do this and after full fire forming (with neck sizing only), I send fired cases to a custom die maker for the desired sizing.
I've been using JLC Precision, who makes fitted body-bushing dies, or just fitted Redding body dies if desired.
This again matches sizing to the brass (both up & down)
For some cartridges where I intend to neck size only, I have a Wilson hand die blank chambered with my chamber reamer.

It could be difficult to get the right results w/resp to a chamber reamer only, as this will not account for the actual brass character, as setup by that chamber. All the little spring backs along the length of cases.

It's hard to explain, but say you chamber a barrel for a certain action/tenon.
Then for testing, you chamber another barrel with the same reamer, but with a different brand/model action/tenon.
The fully fire formed brass will be different from these two different builds, and good sizing requirements can be different.
Hard to predict from only one aspect (a chamber).