Belted magnum collet die?

[jdmecomber]

When I was researching it here, I read where the guys that used it, did so every xx firings, not each time and found it indispensable. Others seemed to be angry at the very thought that a guy would spend his hard earned money on something like it and had never used one and never would. When I get through a few firings on my 400+ pieces of 340 brass, I'll probably buy one along with the digital gauge.

I am going to do some testing on brass life and velocity.

Anyone that would be mad at somebody that would buy this die doesn't understand its purpose in my opinion. If you 100% FL size a case every time you probably wouldn't need this die. I always FL size new brass to ensure uniformity to start with. In my 300 WinMag with a SAAMI chamber starting from virgin brass, after a single firing my headspace grew .021 inch. That means if I wanted to full length size to ensure the ENTIRE case body got sized (including just above the belt) I would be bumping my shoulder back .021". That's way too much in my opinion, and even with annealing I don't think I would have gotten very many firings on a piece of brass. The Larry Willis die allowed me to size the case body just above the belt and then in a separate operation control my headspace with a .002-.003 headspace "bump".

For this test I am thinking neck sizing only, full length only, neck sizing with collet die, and full length with collet die. I will record headspace after each firing, velocity, case life, and I think I should anneal every group because I already know that's best for extreme spread and standard deviation. That brand new 7 mag will be there soon and I have some brand new Winchester brass to throw at it. I guess I could turn the necks also.

Any other thoughts?

 

[JJMoody]

My thoughts would be to not let me see the beginning of the thread on this until it's reached a conclusion so that I can spend the next week straight binge-reading I am looking forward to seeing your results.

 

[jjmp]

Happy with my LW collet die, thks also watching this ...

 

[trhall]

Anyone use these?

From the maker of the collet die:


Joseph,
The gauge on top of out Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die shows the average SAAMI spec chamber. However, that may not be the same asYOUR particular chamber. Years ago, I found that shooters were using our collet die to over-resize their cases. The instructions now say to reduce the diameter of your handloads .001" smaller than one of your FIRED cases. That makes your handloads fit very well in your chamber. Many of our collet die customers come back to get the Digital Headspace Gauge, because it does the job of several different reloading tools, and it works on ALL different calibers without requiring expensive attachments or special bushings. It accurately reduces the headspace of your chamber.

I've found that most handloaders need to keep a much closer eye on their chamber clearance (at the shoulder). This clearance should be kept to a minimum, like -.002" or less. This requires going beyond the instructions that come with reloading dies. I designed the Digital Headspace Gaugeto show exactly how YOUR handloads fit in YOUR particular chamber. This information is displayed after comparing one of your resized cases to one of your fired cases. Then you can accurately adjust your FL die height to make your handloads fit perfectly - without guessing about chamber clearance.

Here are some pics of some loaded rounds.

I use both the collet die and the head spacing gauge. They have been invaluable tools for me in my journey for repeatable accuracy. I use the collet die with my .300 win mags as well as setting up my full length sizing die to head space a .002. This has not only helped my accuracy repeat ability but also greatly extended my case life. Before using this I rarely got more than 4 or 5 firings using Rem and Win cases before the swelling above above the belt made them hard to chamber. I also had a couple of cases start to separate (case head separation) or micro crack due to the thinning of the brass in this area. Since I started using the collet die I have cases that have 12 - 15 firings on them. I have found that using the case gauge on the die after full length sizing each time that I need to use the collet die after about 3 or 4 firings. The owner is also very knowledgeable and good to talk to on the phone.
There are alot of people on here with much more experience than I have, especially the competitive shooters that do alot more reloading than I do. They may have other opinions. This is just what my experience has been. I love these tools.

 

[jdmecomber]

I use both the collet die and the head spacing gauge. They have been invaluable tools for me in my journey for repeatable accuracy. I use the collet die with my .300 win mags as well as setting up my full length sizing die to head space a .002. This has not only helped my accuracy repeat ability but also greatly extended my case life. Before using this I rarely got more than 4 or 5 firings using Rem and Win cases before the swelling above above the belt made them hard to chamber. I also had a couple of cases start to separate (case head separation) or micro crack due to the thinning of the brass in this area. Since I started using the collet die I have cases that have 12 - 15 firings on them. I have found that using the case gauge on the die after full length sizing each time that I need to use the collet die after about 3 or 4 firings. The owner is also very knowledgeable and good to talk to on the phone.
There are alot of people on here with much more experience than I have, especially the competitive shooters that do alot more reloading than I do. They may have other opinions. This is just what my experience has been. I love these tools.

Thanks for the input

 

[trhall]

Thanks for the input

NP, I recommend calling him and talking to him as he has a wealth of knowldge.

 

[jdmecomber]

NP, I recommend calling him and talking to him as he has a wealth of knowldge.

We have been talking. He seems very knowledgeable

 

[tbrice23]

I've owned about 8 or 10 belted magnum barrels of various cartridges both factory and custom barrels.

I have never needed this extra die. I bump my shoulders back .002" with a full length die measured with a headspace comparator.

Must be something about some guys extra extra long chambers , I don't know??? My brass has grown .015" to .020" from virgin. But seriously never had chambering problems.

 

[jdmecomber]

I've owned about 8 or 10 belted magnum barrels of various cartridges both factory and custom barrels.

I have never needed this extra die. I bump my shoulders back .002" with a full length die measured with a headspace comparator.

Must be something about some guys extra extra long chambers , I don't know??? My brass has grown .015" to .020" from virgin. But seriously never had chambering problems.

I also have not had any issues until recently. I was shooting a factory savage LRH and shooting 168 Berger classics. I have always thought that my brass should last longer. The 168 at a lower velocity was great. I had no primer pocket issues. Now that I am shooting this 195 EOL, my brass life has not been very good and I have been really pushing the speed with very lose primer pockets.


Buckfvr on long range hunting was having a hard time chambering his rounds and he is convinced it's because of this issue we are talking about. I received another 7 mag and I am waiting on a different press to try this die out and the testing will commence.

 

[tbrice23]

Gotcha, What brand FL dies are you guys using?

 

[jdmecomber]

Gotcha, What brand FL dies are you guys using?

I have the Redding FL with bushings, Forster FL non bushing and a Forster neck sizing die with bushings.

 

[Hondo64d]

I've owned about 8 or 10 belted magnum barrels of various cartridges both factory and custom barrels.

I have never needed this extra die. I bump my shoulders back .002" with a full length die measured with a headspace comparator.

Must be something about some guys extra extra long chambers , I don't know??? My brass has grown .015" to .020" from virgin. But seriously never had chambering problems.

I have had the problem with a custom .257 Weatherby. If I ran the cases in the die far enough to chamber them with a light feel, I was pushing the shoulder back excessively. The Willis collet die took care of the swelling just forward of the belt so I didn't have to bump the shoulder back so much.

I also tried having the top cut off a conventional die. I used that die with the same effect as the Willis die.

John

 

[jdmecomber]

I am training in some tropical climate, I will be back in a week or so and hope to start working on this new die.

 

[cape cove]

I also have a Larry Wills collet die. It is designed for that chamber that just isn't right and by sizing enough to chamber properly you end up bumping the shoulder to much thus causing case seperations. My 300 Win mag doesn't need this die for chambering of the rounds but is invaluable with my 270 Wea mag. Hondo64d hit the nail right on the head with his post.