Better grade reloading dies?

[Laelkhunter]

When I bought the gun used in 1988, the owner told me he had it about 10 years, and it had been to Africa three times. He gave me about 300 once fired brass, because he never reloaded for it, and fired only factory 210 Partition loads.
With the brass having expanded so big, I am surprised it didn't cause me problems when trying to full length resize it, but I never had any problems.
(Until now anyway.)

 

[Pdvdh]

I added a little to my prior post, most likely after you posted. Are your measurements correct? No way there should be 0.032" difference between .340 Weatherby Magnum Chambers. I'm certain chamber specs don't allow that much tolerance. Or I'll be a monkey's uncle!

 

[Laelkhunter]

Well, not being a math wizard, I rechecked the numbers, and they were .4610 from the fired brass in the new chamber, and .4932 in the brass from the old chamber, and had been resized in the RCBS die. UNLESS I am putting the decimal in the wrong place, or not adding a zero somewhere.

I definitely have something going on between the old brass too fat, and the new chamber too skinny.

I will look at a new die (possibly a Redding Sizer die).

 

[LoneTraveler]

Just Type 340 Weatherby Chamber Specs. into Google, and Go to SAAMI Cartridge and Chamber Specs. when your computer loads. They list the cartridge shoulder diameter .492, 2.298 up from the base. Your old cartridges are in specs. They list the chamber size .496, 2.298 inches from base. Which gives .004 clearance for the case to enter the chamber. I think your problem is the new chamber and you may have to work from there to cure the problem. Good Luck in a solution.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Thanks Lone Traveler. I knew from the start that the new chamber would be tighter since it was custom cut on a Lilja Match barrel. It chambers and shoots factory ammo, and new brass that I have loaded. My problem arose when I tried to shoot ammo reloaded from the old barrel. My RCBS die was not sizing the fired brass (from the old barrel) enough to chamber in the new barrel.
Brass from the new barrel will rechamber with no problem, and obviously will still rechamber after resizing in the RCBS dies.
I guess my original post (and title to this thread) is, who makes a better set of dies that might be a little "tighter". I was hoping to be able to salvage the old brass.

 

[LoneTraveler]

You are in a bind with the tight chamber. Sounds like you are only neck sizing the cases with your present Full length sizing die. The real problem will be, When shells fired in the new chamber fit tight there will be no way to full length size them. Seems you have 3 choices. Have The New Chamber Opened Up to SAMMI Specifications. Make a casting of the chamber and send it to RCBS or other die company and they make you a custom die. Or contact the gunsmith that done the barrel work and see if he has an even Smaller 340 Weatherby Reamer. You buy a RCBS Blank Die or a PTG .338 piloted die from Midway, Send the blank to him and he would ream and heat treat a Custom Full Length Sizing die, for this rifle, and return the die to you. In the early 1970,s I used to hang out in Chuck Wilcox's shop. He made his own reamers and made them in pairs. One smaller scaled to 223 case head 30-06 case head or H&H Mag case head size cases, and Reamed the Full Length Sizing Die, Then used the larger Chamber Specific Reamer to chamber the barrel. He built many a 22-250 wildcat rifle and sizing dies using double reamers long before 22-250 Remington made it an honest cartridge. Good Luck in your choosing.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Thanks. I was looking at the Hornady Custom Grade III dies. I thought they might be a little better than my 25 year old RCBS dies.

 

[flashhole]

I'm not looking to flame anyone but I give a thumbs down on the Hornady dies. I fell for their free bullet offer when I bought mine. I have since purged my bench of all Hornady dies. They are at the bottom of my list.

 

[Pdvdh]

Thanks. I was looking at the Hornady Custom Grade III dies. I thought they might be a little better than my 25 year old RCBS dies.

LaelkH,
If your chamber is truely 0.035" smaller in diameter than the SAAMI Minimum chamber specs for a .340 Weatherby, then your problem will not be solved with ANY factory .340 Weatherby Magnum resizing die. The problem is much larger than that. Here's the Minimum SAAMI chamber specs for the shoulder diameter of a .340 Weatherby casing.

As can be seen, the Minimum SAAMI chamber shoulder diameter is 0.496".

I would suggest you talk with the gunsmith that chambered your barrel and ask him what's up? Take in two fired cases. One from the former chamber, and one from the chamber he cut for you. Tell him it appears his chamber shoulder is 0.035" smaller than the SAAMI Minimum specification, and ask him if that was intended, or accidental. If your shoulder is 0.035" smaller than the SAAMI Minimum, then that's huge.

However, before doing that, consider this. If the shoulder diameter dimension in your new barrel is really 0.461", I don't believe you'ld be able to close the bolt on new .340 Weatherby brass or factory ammo. Not if the shoulder diameter in your chamber was truely 0.035" undersized. So I remain suspicious about the shoulder diameter you measured and reported on the casing fired in the new chamber. I don't see how that measurement could be correct, since you say you can chamber and fire new casings and/or factory ammo.

 

[LoneTraveler]

Laelkhunter The above drawings are what I was using as a reference in my post on chamber size, and shell size for the 340 WM. in my post.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Thanks so much for the above post with the measurements. It will make it easier to see where to measure, and what the results should be.

As long as Factory and Virgin brass fits, I am not really concerned. Brass fired from the gun also fits, so as you said earlier, my dies are just neck sizing.

I will take some of the cases to work today, and use a precision micrometer to try to measure them (or have someone that knows what they are doing).
Weatherby factory loads and Norma Virgin brass chamber with no problem.
As stated in an earlier post, I may have missed some number somewhere, or read the tool wrong. I will post what I find in about 3 or 4 hours.
I also have one Virgin Norma brass I can measure (or have someone do it), and a fired case from the old Weatherby, and a case resized by the RCBS dies and a fired case from the new chamber.

Thanks fellas for all your help

 

[Laelkhunter]

O.K., here are the numbers, best I can figure out:

Virgin Unloaded Norma brass .4895

Weatherby Factory .210 Nos Part .4890

Fired brass from new gun .4955

Fired brass from old gun .4965

Brass from old gun resized RCBS dies .4960


Do you think new dies could help?? If so what brand ?

 

[pyroducksx3]

Thanks Lone Traveler. I knew from the start that the new chamber would be tighter since it was custom cut on a Lilja Match barrel. It chambers and shoots factory ammo, and new brass that I have loaded. My problem arose when I tried to shoot ammo reloaded from the old barrel. My RCBS die was not sizing the fired brass (from the old barrel) enough to chamber in the new barrel.
Brass from the new barrel will rechamber with no problem, and obviously will still rechamber after resizing in the RCBS dies.
I guess my original post (and title to this thread) is, who makes a better set of dies that might be a little "tighter". I was hoping to be able to salvage the old brass.

If you really are only having trouble with using brass fired from a different rifle I would say you are fine and just give up on using the old brass fired from the old rifle.

 

[Pdvdh]

O.K., here are the numbers, best I can figure out:

Virgin Unloaded Norma brass .4895

Weatherby Factory .210 Nos Part .4890

Fired brass from new gun .4955

Fired brass from old gun .4965

Brass from old gun resized RCBS dies .4960


Do you think new dies could help?? If so what brand ?

I would try a .340 Weatherby Redding Body die. It will size the side walls and shoulder of .340 Weatherby brass, but it will not resize the necks. You'll have to use your existing FL sizer die to resize the case necks.