Hornady Die Won’t Bump Shoulder Beyond 0

[gilk1]

I've run into this problem with severe dies, mostly Redding. The easiest solution is to use a piece of 100grit sand paper placed on a flat surface (glass or machine bed - I use my table saw) to remove some height from the shell holder. Press the shell holder on the sand paper firmly, while holding the paper down with the other hand, and slide it back and forth slowly without breaking contact with the table/paper or you will round the edges. You can measure progress with your calipers. If you take off too much just adjust your die.

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

I have a .30 06 Hornady New Dimension Die set and no matter how far I screw the die into the press it will not bump the shoulder beyond 0.00. I have a RCBS die set and to get it to 0.02 bump I have to screw it in so far the press handle goes a little further than half way.

Am I doing something wrong?

Have a machinist put the sizing die in the lathe and cut .010-.015 off of die problem solved

 

[nksmfamjp]

I read these posts now and again….I always think does the person having the issue really have fully formed brass and is it annealed? IME, once fired brass with a moderate load is about 0.002" short as it exits the chamber. Try getting the die to size to 0.000" or +0.001". I'll bet both fit.

I just measured some formed brass at 2.158"CBTD. I annealed and resized to 2.156". Sounds good, right? The next firings closer to max pressure were at 2.160"….hmmmm sizer not setup right.

The next round, I will size the 2.160" stuff to 2.160-2.161 and see what max is before I get bolt closing force, then shorten 0.002".

 

[bullet man]

that's why I don't buy anything but standard dies all those bushings and different size shell holders are a waste of time. your over thinking things get a rcbs standard shell holder and forget about all that other nonsense

 

[FEENIX]

I read these posts now and again….I always think does the person having the issue really have fully formed brass and is it annealed? IME, once fired brass with a moderate load is about 0.002" short as it exits the chamber. Try getting the die to size to 0.000" or +0.001". I'll bet both fit.

I just measured some formed brass at 2.158"CBTD. I annealed and resized to 2.156". Sounds good, right? The next firings closer to max pressure were at 2.160"….hmmmm sizer not setup right.

The next round, I will size the 2.160" stuff to 2.160-2.161 and see what max is before I get bolt closing force, then shorten 0.002".

Agreed! End-user's process is worth a re-look, as you noted.

 

[SSG Graybush]

Yes. The reason to size a case is so that it fits back in the chamber, not to change any dimension by "x" amount. Call me old school but I never measure shoulder bump, I size until the cases fit my chamber with the amount of resistance that I want for the application.

Thats kinda right, but why not do it right. And definitely dont go by rcbs instructions, turn die down till it has a cam over. Which is completely wrong.
You need to measure your fired brass with a Hornady headspace comparator and set your die up to only bump the shoulder back 2 thou from fired, for bolt rifles. With all rifle brass, including belted mags. Your brass will last longer and your ammo will be more accurate. Factory ammo is bumped back 8 to 15 thou usually so it fits in all rifles. No reason to do that in rounds made for a specific rifle. Semi-auto's bump the shoulder 3 to 5 thou.
Over sizing cases is the main reason people have case head separation and then they want to blame the belt. Once you set the headspace on a belted mag treat it as any other cartridge and set the die up to only bump the shoulder 2 thou.
I get 13 to 15 reloads in my 7mag with a warm loads. And then retire the brass before any issues. But I anneal it every firing also. The Hornady headspace and bullet comparators are neccessary tools for reloading imo.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Turning down a shellholder is fine as long as you MARK THAT SHELLHOLDER and don't use it with any other die. If you use that shellholder with another sizing die (and in this case it is very possible since the OP has a 30-06) you are in danger of setting the shoulder back too far and creating excessive headspace.

Cutting the top of a shellholder would not affect the die setting of any dies. It merely provides room for a die to be set down farther if necessary. Any other dies that are already adjusted for headspace would not be changed by a shellholder that has its top reduced by a few thousandths.

 

[blackbrush1]

I have used a bench mounted belt sander and have then checked my die up in a hand drill and very carefully spun the die on the running sander and very easily removed material certainly consistently enough for this purpose. be careful as you will be surprised at how quickly material will come off with this method.

 

[Muddyboots]

I would not go crazy over an issue that involves Winchester brass. I've had shoulders 0.010 off or more on new Winchester brass. I would suggest finding some other brass before making any permanent modifications to a die or even shell holder.

 

[Another Casual]

To second the above, I wouldn't go modifying dies or shell holders until you've let the brass fully grow into your chamber. I'd bet on undersized new brass before I bet on bad dies. I was always taught to modify the cheapest part, brass is the cheapest part here. Give it a few firings and report back.

 

[TXTrained]

OK guys Redding does NOT make a set of shellholders that are smaller/shorter than regular shellholders which are .125 nominal. The Redding Competition Shellholders are taller to size Less not more. Each Shellholder in the set of 5 is taller by an increment of .002. In other words the shellholders are in order .127, .129, .131, .133, .135 taller than a standard of .125. They are made to set a hard stop at cam over to size less.
They are a really great tool to fine tune your sizing to fit your chamber plus you can use the same die setting with more than one gun without having to readjust your die.
However they do not allow you to size more only Less. They simply keep you from pushing the case into the die as far as a standard shellholder allows.

The simple fix to the OPs problem is to shave a little off of the top of the shellholder. I have done this very successfully by turning the shellholder upside down onto a flat surface and using fine emory cloth. Go slow and check often to get to the sizing you need.

Yep..Ive done this for quite a while. However in the end I decided to go with a Whidden die with Clickable Adjustable FL Bushing Sizer Die where I can be precise and if need be change dimensions

 

[robpiat]

This is because they've tried to fool proof dies for pistol Pete who wants to try rifle reloading. They are incompatible because your chamber is "out of spec."

if you have a minimum match chamber/headspace, you gotta tinker with factory dies to get where you need to be. Factory ammo might also show pressure signs.

 

[Blacktailer]

Cutting the top of a shellholder would not affect the die setting of any dies. It merely provides room for a die to be set down farther if necessary. Any other dies that are already adjusted for headspace would be changed by a shellholder that has its top reduced by a few thousandths.

I should have added"If you set the die down to the shellholder" which is of course not the way to set your sizer but if the OP was an experienced reloader, we wouldn't have this thread in the first place.

 

[misterc01]

Had somewhat similar problem. Then realized I had a Lee shell holder in the press and was using a Hornady die. Put in the Hornady shell holder and poof - no problem.