Larry Willis Belted magnum case-bulge dies

[CogburnR]

The Larry Willis die is a huge money wasting gimmick. If you size your brass correctly you will NEVER run into this so called bulge, the bulge is caused by FL sizing after every firing, you need to bump the shoulder .002" and headspace off the shoulder, not the belt. The belt dimension CANNOT change, but the shoulder can, and this shoulder movement causes EXCESSIVE stretching just above the belt where the web ends.
I have several belted cartridges and none have ever had this problem because I resize to MY CHAMBER DIMENSIONS, not the FL DIE dimensions.
Please help yourself and resize your brass correctly and shelve that Larry Willis die, it is NOT necessary and will only damage your brass, as you have already found.

Cheers.
gun)

I have one 300WM die that will push the shoulder back .020" with a standard shellholder touching the bottom. With it set to push the shoulder back .002" it leaves an un-resized portion of case directly above the belt. All dies do it to some extent. They simply do not re-sized the area directly above the belt. The area that separates from pushing the shoulder back too far multiple times is actually forward of this area.

The innovative die simply re-sizes the case back to unfired dimensions. this is pretty handy if you are reloading for multiple rifles of the same caliber or get some used brass and want it to work in any rifle.

 

[MagnumManiac]

So...because YOU have never run into the problem it doesn't exist? The rest of us are idiots that don't know how to size brass. We should get YOU a forum topic headline here......."Ask MagnumManiac what YOU are doing wrong".

Believe whatever you like, Kraky, the OP stated that HE FL sizes his brass, this IS the cause of his problem, whether you think I'm wrong in what I say, I couldn't give a rats arse in your opinion.
How many belted magnums do you load for?
Do you have the CORRECT tools for measuring your chamber dimensions and why this 'bulge' occurs?
Answer me these questions and MAYBE I'll give you some credit.

 

[kraky2]

I've got 20+ years of reloading for many calibers of belted mags and many different rifles. You gave a mythical response about shoulder bumping had something to do with it. The real problem is a chamber on the loose end of specs above the belt and a die that when it stops short of the area leaving a tiny ripple that will not clear the chamber in entry. .0005" will lock you up tight.
You said the problem doesn't exist...I've seen it...I've fixed it...I've reclaimed alot of wby brass using Larry's die.
Heck Ive even seen it on non belted brass but admit it was brass fired in one gun being used in another w/a tight chamber.

 

[dig]

Kraky2 you are right on. I bump my shoulders back .0002 I believe the still index on the shoulder or better said taper. With some FL dies you can screw them down enough to minimize the bulge at the belt however then you are probably bumping the shoulder back to far and chambering on the belt witch will overwork the neck and has for me created accuracy problems. And yes I believe chamber dimension has much to do with it. Larry's dies work, I wish he made one for the big magnums 378 Wby Mag class. If you have a perfect chamber, probably not that much of an issue.

 

[Ol'Gator]

Kraky2 is correct. I too load a number of belted magnum calibers and find Larry's die to be very useful for the reasons stated by Kraky2. If instructions are followed, there should be no issues using the die. Using Imperial Wax and resizing prior the using this collet die is what I do and have never had an issue. Removing the brass does take some effort.

 

[Dr. Vette]

If instructions are followed, there should be no issues using the die. Using Imperial Wax and resizing prior the using this collet die is what I do and have never had an issue. Removing the brass does take some effort.

If only this was the always the case.

In the 100 or so cases I finally got to work without breaking anything it did seem to slowly get a tiny bit easier over time. That is, until I broke the press because it all required so much effort. As I mentioned above I suspect that my die - and the original poster's die - have enough tolerance variation that ours stick a lot more than intended. I have tried less Imperial, more, variations on the theme, and every suggestion from Larry and elsewhere. If I had a good way to measure it as well as a lathe I'd be tempted to have the inside opened up just a nominal amount to see if that helped at all.

 

[kraky2]

I would venture a guess that Larry has these made somewhere. It sure is possible that an intolerant die or two was made. Seems like at some point a few pieces of brass and the die should have gone in for testing. I've had to send dies back to forester a few times...one was fixed....one was not.
One last point from working my die from Larry..the instructions say to use it after FL sizing. I've done it before and after as a comparison and there is considerable difference in effort.
I have one last idea in dealing w/bulges but haven't tried it yet. I have a 300 wby body die here...thinking I could use it on most any belted mag w/a saved shellholder to give another. 020" travel and not hit the shoulder.

 

[mmh]

Good read. I am thinking about getting a 300WM and the belt worries me.