Help with Redding body only sizing die

[338 dude]

You can also try putting a feeler gauge a few thousands thick under the case in the shell holder

 

[bigbull]

You can also try putting a feeler gauge a few thousands thick under the case in the shell holder

If you have to go to that extent to FL size there is a problem with the die.
BB

 

[Cred1]

I use redding body dies and then lee collet neck dies, on 12 calibers. Lapua brass lasts forever and they all shoot 1/2 moa...good enough for me. I also use one shot lube alot. Some chambers require lot's of resizing, my custom chambers barely a touch. Im guessing your's is a factory remington, savage, etc chamber. Keep screwing down the die 1/8 to 1/4 turns till the brass chambers easily. I LOVE redding body and lee collet dies because i hate annealing/throwing away brass. That's also why I love my 280 ACKLEY, 40 degree shoulders don't grow much....oh, and I hate trimming. Love to shoot though!

 

[25WSM]

I see this all the time with customs I make. If you have a perfect chamber length alot of off the shelf dies just can't quite get the shoulder bumped. I put them in the lathe and turn about . 010 off the bottom. It's the easiest way. You can also take some off the top of your shell holder.
The reason your brass got longer on the headspace is simple. As you get close to bumping the shoulder the body is being sized inward up near the shoulder and it just has to go somewhere so the shoulder moves forward a bit. When you start seeing your headspace increase you are getting close to bumping. Seems to happen when your within . 005 from the bump.
Your chamber diameter may be on the bigger size and causing the increased effort with pulling the handle. Won't hurt anything at all. I personally like my brass sized a little bit extra so it's slightly looser. Years ago the chief ballistics guy at Sierra proved that looser brass in the chamber was more accurate than fitted or neck sized brass. And we're only talking a few thou here.
Shep

 

[RAT807]

Thank you for educating me. I mistakenly thought the shoulder was included in the case body. I know now I was wrong. I thought a BOSD would size the case and bump back the shoulder but NOT resize the case neck. I already ordered a Redding FL sizing die.

I use Redding body dies for my rifles and have no problems bumping the shoulder back a couple thousands.

 

[wtice2506]

I have had this with every redding type s die I have used. You have to adjust the die down until it touches the ram at full stroke, and then usually an 1/8th turn more so that your ram actually "cams over". You will not notice a shoulder bump until you do this. My rcbs press is designed to have a cam over, and it works well with this setup. I have never had a stuck case or damaged die doing it this way, and get a nice 1.5 go 2 though shoulder bump and have had extremely accurate ammunition with little to no runout. The issue is if you dont set it down this far you are squeezing the body and web back to size without hitting the shoulder which essentially extrudes the case, making it "grow". Hope this helps.

 

[wtice2506]

Also I believe one shot is trash. Have had more stuck cases with one shot than any other case lube, and yes I was following instructions. For small caliber rou ds like 223 i still use it, but for anything bigger try imperial sizing wax. Absolutely changed my world.

 

[338 dude]

If you have to go to that extent to FL size there is a problem with the die.
BB

I agree I've always said this to test and then if it worked I personally would remove material from the shell holder they are much cheaper to replace then the die itself if something goes wrong

 

[SmallHoles]

If it ultimately proves impossible to adjust your body die low enough to bump the shoulder, Redding recommends using their competition shell holders that are a bit thicker or thinner than standard. Or you can modify your existing shell holder if you are willing and able to do so.

Redding Competition Shell Holders

 

[338 dude]

If it ultimately proves impossible to adjust your body die low enough to bump the shoulder, Redding recommends using their competition shell holders that are a bit thicker or thinner than standard. Or you can modify your existing shell holder if you are willing and able to do so.

Redding Competition Shell Holders

The competition shell holders actually give you less sizing

 

[Rooks]

See Eric Cortina's video making a case for full length sizing only. Hard to argue...

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

I've found all of my custom chambers paired with Redding dies all run into this problem. Like @25WSM mentioned. A quick trim of the shell holder cures this issue.

I spoke with Redding about it - they mentioned this is why they offer the competition shell holder sets.

 

[epoletna]

After cleaning the die as thoroughly as you did, you need to season it. One Shot recommends spraying a shot in a clean die and letting it sit for a while. This has worked for me. I pretty much only use Imperial Sizing Wax on rifle brass.

 

[Blackhawk]

Decided to give my new redding body only sizing die a try to reload some 300wsm. First put the die in my wet vibritory cleaner for 20 minuets, then wiped off using action cleaner. Unfortunately lost the set up directions the redding BOSD came with. Absolutely scoured the redding sight for info but found none. So I simply began by setting it up similarly to my Redding FL sizing die directions in that touched th die to the shell holder and backed off one full turn and lowered and sized in 1/8 or 1/4 increments . First I measured a 1x fired case with my Hornady size .420" head space gauge, (did confirm I'm using the correct type E #420 bushing) lubed with One Shot and resized the case measured it saw it didn't bump back the shoulder at all which quite surprised me as the resizing stroke took noticeable effort, also I could see the entire surface of brass showing evidence of being worked by the die save for about the last 1/4" of brass near the base. I lowered the die in 1/8 turn increments sized and measured.

Did this three times with three different pieces of the same lot# 1x fired brass and the headspace measurement remained unchanged or actually grew on all three.
The force required to resize the brass increased every time until I finally stopped after 3 tries when the force required to cam over the press became in my experience much to great and I feared I would either get a case stuck or ruin the die. The cases well very very well lubed with One Shot.
Prior to resizing the brass was very well cleaned and I inspected it all and found no issues.

The brass showed no signs of damage but did show obvious signs of being worked by the die. Been reloading for 30+ years and never had instance where a sizing die failed to bump back the shoulder. Unfortunately I misplaced my Redding 300wsm FL resizing die so don't have another die to help figuring out this problem. I closely inspected the inside of the RBOSD with a very bright light and the interior looks flawless.
I even used three different types of brass, Winchester, Federal and Hornady, same results every time. Even changed shell holders from Redding, to RCBS and Lyman. I also closely inspected the Hornady headspace bushing and found no damage. I then resized some 35 Remington cases and measured before and after to confirm I had bumped the shoulder back 0.002" to insure my Caliper was working correctly.

So now for the bizarre part. When I adjusted the die down as far as I felt it could safely go Every piece of brass I resized and measured actually GREW by 0.0015" to 0.002". I checked and remeasured 3x to confirm this as accurate.

I feel I have eliminated all possible variables that could be the cause except for the die itself as I do not have a standard FL resizing die to use as a test control.

So am I setting up the die incorrectly, doing something else wrong or is the die defective?

The Redding body dies when used in conjunction with the competition Shell holder set (caliber specific will bump the shoulder back just enough to allow the bolt to easily close on your sized round.
Let me expand.
Assuming that you have Fl resized your brass and trimmed to length if you go to the Redding competition shell holder page in the Redding Catalog it explains how to set up your body die to achieve the correct bump.
If you have not read it very simply start with your shell holder marked +.10" and set your body die to make firm contact with the shell holder. ( Note if you have a cam over press allow it to do so.)
1) Now take this brass shell case and place it in your rifles chamber.
2) Try to close the bolt and lock it, however, do not attempt to force your bolt closed
3) Does your bolt close easily or is their resistance.
4) If your bolt will not close easily replace the + .010" shell holder with the + .008"shell holder and use a new piece of Fl resized brass repeat the process.
I myself have found that I obtain an easy bolt closing using the + .004" competition shell holder and the .300 Winchester Magnum body die, however, your results may vary. Mind you that you must perform this set up for every rifle that you own in this caliber as chambers will vary slightly.
With that said continue on until you find the Competition Shell holder that will allow your bolt to close smoothly and easily.
5) Write this shell holder number down and place it with your reloading notes.
6) You have now bumped your shoulder back enough and no further adjustments need be made.
7) Do not use a case length gauge as your chamber may vary slightly from Sammi spec however it may still be in tolerance.
If the case fits into your chamber and the bolt closes call it good!
Two Questions still remain :
A) Why did you place a new body die in a wet tumbler?
This die is metal and will rust if not thoroughly dried and something like Hornady One Shot die cleaner and case lube should have been used to clean and lightly lube your body die.
I for one would never clean a die in a wet tumbler unless it was an ultrasonic type.
Is this what you were calling a wet tumbler?
B) How are you determining your COAL shoulder bump dimension.?
Unless you are using an optical comparator, or say something along the lines of a Hornady or stony point type attachment that fits onto your digital calipers or something similar I don't know how you would actually measure your bullets shoulder bump. Or were you referring to the C.O.A.L.