7mmBR dies, Hornady or Redding?

Bill the Lurker · Post by **Bill the Lurker** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:51 pm

Things are falling into place. I recieved 500pc Rem 7mmBR brass last week. Sierra bullets are here. Moly tumbling kit is on the way. Got the call from PacNor, my new toy has shipped.

I picked up an old Hornady Pacific die set in 7mBR. Should I start loading ammo with these dies, or should I get a set of Redding bushing dies?

I want to long-load the bullets, and jam seat them on chambering. Pretty sure that there is a name for that technique?

Would the Redding be best to control necktension?

Thanks for any input,
Bill the Lurker

Heavybarrel · Post by **Heavybarrel** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:16 pm

Hello Bill,
Redding dies are very hard to beat !!! Redding has a great customer service dept..
Your long load and jam is going to give you an action full of powder someday. If your range officer says guns down and actions open and your round is not discharged before the command you are in deep s**t. I don't know of anyone who uses this practice for silhouette. I would reccomend testing loads seated off the lands. Just my 2 cents worth.

Bill the Lurker · Post by **Bill the Lurker** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:54 pm

"Your long load and jam is going to give you an action full of powder someday. If your range officer says guns down and actions open and your round is not discharged before the command you are in deep s**t. I don't know of anyone who uses this practice for silhouette. I would reccomend testing loads seated off the lands. Just my 2 cents worth."

Well, I've never tried the long load, softseat myself.
A friend of mine does something like that, but I had better find out all particulars first.
I do know what an action full of powder is like. Don't want to go there again.

I ordered Redding S bushing sizer.

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:04 pm

The good thing about a bushing die is that you work the brass a whole lot less, thus it lasts longer. The only drawback as to which bushing to use depends on neck wall thickness and how uniform it is. If you decide to go the bushing die route, I'd buy 3 bushings .002, .003,& .004 less than loaded round dimension. When you fire form your brass the first time by jamming the bullet in the landes [.010-,020] your brass will hopefully be formed to the shape of your chamber. Now when you either neck size or shoulder bump your brass .001, use a bushing .002 less than loaded round dimension. Now when you seat bullets , I'd pay attention to how hard or easy it is. If they all feel about the same your in luck. If they don't, then seperate them and the ones that felt loose use the next smaller bushing. Don't automatically go to the smallest bushing because you might cause excess runout. If you don't have a concentricty gauging tool, you can roll your loaded round across a piece of glass to see if everything is pretty straight. The smallest bushing is for when you've shot your brass so many times that it has gotten hard and does'nt yield as much as it did when it was new. The sizing button on a regular sizing die makes the process a whole lot easier at the expense of shorter brass life and crooked ammo [that ought to get them stirred up]. If you have any doubts about any of this pick up a copy of "Precision Shooting's Reloading Guide" and read what the experts have to say about the subject. The bit about rolling the round on a piece of glass I picked up in an article by Merrill Martin. Hope this helps!

Troy G · Post by **Troy G** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 7:00 pm

I personally would have went with the 6mmBR Norma and used Lapua brass. This brass is substantially harder than Rem and generally more consistent.

What reamer are you or your smith using? Better make sure that it is for the Rem brass and not the Lapua. Lapua brass is bigger at the .200 datum and the Rem has a shorter neck. Won't matter what die you get if your reamer does not closely match your brass and then you have your die closely match the reamer used, you will be overworking the brass when bumping the shoulder. Not a huge issue if you only plan to neck size but to get some velocity out of the 7mmBR you will likely need to run warm loads that will have to be FL sized more often.

Bill the Lurker · Post by **Bill the Lurker** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 7:23 pm

Well, I thought about going to 6.5BR with Lapua brass, but have heard stories of rams sometimes laughing at the shooter.

My friend (who goes to Raton and has been to South Africa for world championships), let me shoot his Zebra stocked 7mmBR a while back. It was the best, most natural shooting rifle I had fired. I ran 4 of 5 on pigs, which is wonderful for me. I decided to try to clone his rifle, as best I could.

I thought of taking Lapua brass up to 7mm, but some here thought I might run into snags without neckturning, etc.

He runs Rem brass and 130 and 175SMK, so that is good enough for me.

Jim Beckley · Post by **Jim Beckley** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:02 pm

If you are shooting a Zebra stocked rifle it has to belong to George Lively. A class act and a former National Champion in Hunter Rifle, if memory serves me. The X-pilot who is a poster on this site, shoots a 7 BR, you might PM him.

Bill the Lurker · Post by **Bill the Lurker** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 8:11 pm

Yep, it was George's rifle. He is one of the good guys.
I figured I could do worse in choosing a mentor.

He shoots irons like I shoot scopes.

He recommended Lee collet dies, but they are no longer made.

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 5:03 pm

I just now measured remington brass fired in a factory chambered xp-100 in 7br and the head dimension right in front of the extractor groove measured .466 and the case length was 1.510. Next I measured lapua 6br norma brass fired in a remington 700 with a krieger barrel chambered in 6br with a dave kiff reamer and the head dimension in front of the extractor groove measured .470 and case length was 1.563. Length to shoulder and shoulder diameter is the same. The extra length is in the neck. If you have a remington 7br chamber in your rifle only remington brass will work without puttin that lapua brass through a whole lot of contortions. If it has a 6 br norma based chamber you should be able to use either brand of brass, but I'd be a little worried about expanding the case head on the remington brass. It's ok to do if you don't mind firing your rifle from a distance with a long piece of string. Just let me know which relay your going to be on. I know that necking brass to a smaller caliber can cause a thickening of the neck and the need to neck turn. If you neck brass larger and it's new or properly annealed [ can you say lapua ] you shouldn't have a problem as long as you don't try to seat your bullets past the neck-shoulder junction and the possible dreaded donut. You are loading a 7br with alot of extra space in that magazine. Hope this helps.

Bill the Lurker · Post by **Bill the Lurker** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:09 pm

I think it helps....
kinda confusing though.

That's is why I went with 7mmBR Rem brass. It should work as is in my chamber. (which has just shipped today)

I asked for the minimum spec 7mmBR chamber, I think they used the same reamer as they did on George's rifle.

I know I have much to learn.
Thank you all for your willingness to teach.

Bill

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 6:38 am

The good thing is you've had the chance to shoot a 7br and know how it should look and feel. Since I've been shooting silhouette (1992), I always carry extra ammo in case someone else runs out or wants to try out what I'm shooting, just like the guys that I learned from. We can talk all the theoretical stuff we want, there's no substitute for reality. Have fun. Be safe!

Hoser · Post by **Hoser** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:31 am

Get Redding or Forster dies. You wont regret it.

Bill the Lurker · Post by **Bill the Lurker** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:36 am

Redding bushing dies on the way.
barreled action didn't ship until the 19th, am hoping it arrives tommorrow.

Plan is to load up some barrel break-in rounds with the Hornady die set and use Redding as soon as they arrive.

Thanks to all for your input and advice. I will post progress of this project. Maybe it will help someone else, the way I have been helped.

Best to you,
Bill