Casimirblue
Well-Known Member
Starting last year because I already had a barrel I decided to shoot 308 Tactical in some PRS 2 day matches. A year later I am still trying to improve upon this. One of the things I decided to switch up was my sizing die. For the 308 I had been using a standard Redding sizing die and have decided to go to a Redding Bushing die (77155) to hopefully tighten up my SD's to single digits. I have used the Redding Bushing die with my 6XC for several years now so I am familiar with them.
In the initial testing, with the no shoulder bump, I was working the rims on the cases so hard that the cases would no longer chamber. (Scratch head move on to other things).
So a week or so later. I set up the die again, using fired Lapua Brass I run the brass thru the die, its very stiff and difficult. It however needs a little more bump. I adjust down, and promptly stick the case. (I haven't stuck a case since I was 16 years old, (or maybe I did trying to size Lake City MG Brass, I cant remember). I get this unstuck and go to my federal brass (3X fired in PRS Rifle), and promptly stick 3 more before stopping ( This is with the bushing and decappping pin removed)
Inspecting the cases, the bushing die appears to tight at the bottom, expanding the bottom of the cases if I stop short in the die, sticking the cases if I force the issue.
Taking this same Federal Brass and sizing in my standard Redding Die , it sizes as desires and promptly chambers in rifle. The same sized case will not go into the bushing die. (A brand new Lapua case will ).
Measuring the dies internally with my crappy micrometer shows the bushing die roughly .0010 to .0015 smaller than the standard die.
And I am lubing the &^%$# out of the cases.
My conclusion for today is that the bushing die is dimensionally to small.
I am starting this year with new Lapua brass. With the 6xc I always ran new brass (Peterson) thus the sizing die both as a check and uniformity. At this point I m just going to load the new 308 brass out of the box.
In the initial testing, with the no shoulder bump, I was working the rims on the cases so hard that the cases would no longer chamber. (Scratch head move on to other things).
So a week or so later. I set up the die again, using fired Lapua Brass I run the brass thru the die, its very stiff and difficult. It however needs a little more bump. I adjust down, and promptly stick the case. (I haven't stuck a case since I was 16 years old, (or maybe I did trying to size Lake City MG Brass, I cant remember). I get this unstuck and go to my federal brass (3X fired in PRS Rifle), and promptly stick 3 more before stopping ( This is with the bushing and decappping pin removed)
Inspecting the cases, the bushing die appears to tight at the bottom, expanding the bottom of the cases if I stop short in the die, sticking the cases if I force the issue.
Taking this same Federal Brass and sizing in my standard Redding Die , it sizes as desires and promptly chambers in rifle. The same sized case will not go into the bushing die. (A brand new Lapua case will ).
Measuring the dies internally with my crappy micrometer shows the bushing die roughly .0010 to .0015 smaller than the standard die.
And I am lubing the &^%$# out of the cases.
My conclusion for today is that the bushing die is dimensionally to small.
I am starting this year with new Lapua brass. With the 6xc I always ran new brass (Peterson) thus the sizing die both as a check and uniformity. At this point I m just going to load the new 308 brass out of the box.
