Best full length resizing die.

savagefan · Post by **savagefan** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:16 pm

Hi, I'm shooting a 7-08 and neck-sizing with a Lee Collet, so far so good. Soon I'll need to f/l them and I read in David Tubbs' book that he f/l sizes all of his brass for match shooting. I'd like to ask your opinion on the best die for the purpose and reason(s) why, thanx.

Troy G · Post by **Troy G** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:43 pm

The best die would be closely matched to the finish reamer used to cut your chamber. The idea is to full length the base of the case usually below the. 200 datum line and bump the shoulder back 1-2 thousandths.

The problem with factory dies is that they are usually made to SAAMI specs and are a one size fits all and have a tendency to oversize or not size areas that need sizing.

Several businesses can make a custom die for you based off your fired cases but they are usually pretty expensive. I have heard good things about Neil Jones and Hornady custom dies but I prefer to use JLC Precision who is James Carstensen. He uses your finish reamer and fired cases to make a FL bump die that resizes the base and accepts bushings to allow one to customize the amount of neck tension you want to use.

I know Lapua brass is tough but with a custom die and not overworking brass I have over 20 firings on some of my 6mmBR Lapua based cases. His charge is 225.00 for a custom die and turn around time is quite quick.

Bob Mc Alice · Post by **Bob Mc Alice** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:40 pm

I too shoot 7-08's and get by real well with just standard Redding dies. Starting with new W-W brass, I FL size the new case to iron out any wrinkles or dents. Square and chamfer the mouth, load and fire. For the rest of the cases life, up to 14 firings, all I do is bump the shoulder .002 using the neck size die. I dont shoot heavy loads, so I dont get any bolt resistance /chambering issues that an FL die will correct. I only trim OAL twice during the life of the case. Both my chambers were cut with the same reamer which was on the small side of spec.
If you are shooting a factory chambered rifle any brand FL sizing die should do well for you. Reasons why: much cheaper.

Jim Beckley · Post by **Jim Beckley** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:17 am

Hey Savagefan, I don't know if you are new to reloading or not, Tubb made a reloading video for Sierra Bullets and explained how he full length resized his brass. He measured his fired cases with a RCBS Mic and then adjusted his dies to bump his shoulder back a couple of thousands like Bob M. said. If you have quality brass and just set the shoulder back just a little bit, that brass will last a long time. I once went from a .308 barrel to a 7-08 barrel and didn't want to toss the brass, so I resized them and most of that brass lasted the life of the 7-08 barrel also.

savagefan · Post by **savagefan** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:01 am

HI, thanx for the replies. The barrel is bone stock, i'm looking for a regular f/l die and was wondering why Lee is cheaper than Forster, if the forster for example produces a demonstrably better case then I'd buy it. I've used lee and RCBS for about 10 years and honestly find no other difference than price between the two. ll my reloading has been for hunting and varmints, this rifle is a first for silhouette match shooting so if an edge can be found with a more expensive die i'm all for it. Thanx again.

Silo65 · Post by **Silo65** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:49 pm

For the 260 I

yankee · Post by **yankee** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:50 pm

I had Lee make some collet dies back in the early 90's for a 6.5 x243 or 6.5x308 or later to be a 260 rem. About 6 or so barrels later I am still using the dies. A lot of the brass has been reloaded 20 or more times with out being fl sized except for the initial sizing. Remember the case fits the chamber and should not change. The neck holds then realeases the bullet when needed. Don't make things more complicated than you need to.
The lee collet dies will work great if you have them sizing the neck just enough to do the job. The mandrel size can be changed. Another good set up is the Redding bushing dies where you can change the bushing that sizes the neck up or down .001 at a time.

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:22 pm

Savagefan, since most silhouette shooters don't shoot their ammunition at max velocity or pressure, there's little call to full length resize their brass. The only way to see if it's necessary for you is to shoot and find out. The less you work the brass, the longer it lasts!

savagefan · Post by **savagefan** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 6:32 am

Great answers, thanx, 1 reason I wanted a FL die was I'm having a hard time getting 7-08 in Lapua brass but 308 aplenty and you can't reduce them with a collet die.

yankee · Post by **yankee** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:25 pm

rcbs or lee regular or any one elses in 7mm08 should work

Jerry G · Post by **Jerry G** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:24 am

If you can't get sub minute 5 shot groups with a standard factory die, your problem isn't the sizing die.

If you have a 5 minute hold and a 3/4 gun, you will shoot a 5 3/4min group. If you have the same hold with a 1/2 minute gun, you will shoot a 5 1/2" group. We are only talking 1/4min difference. Just a little over 1/2" at the chickens.

As someone said on an earlier post about scales, we ain't shooting bench rest here guys.

ajj · Post by **ajj** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:50 pm

Perhaps more to the point, if you have a five minute hold and a five minute rifle you'll average a seven minute group.
Couldn't resist.

savagefan · Post by **savagefan** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 4:22 pm

Had it out this weekend, off the bench it puts 5 into an inch at 100- good enough I think. shooting off-hand at the chickens, 1 in 10 first try and 3 in 10 on the second. A 5 MOA hold would be ideal right now. Gotta work on my shooting a lot. Thanx for the answers.

chickenchoker · Post by **chickenchoker** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 5:24 pm

If we ain't shootin' benchrest, then why do you put on a benchrest quality barrel, high tech stock, Lapua parts,etc. Is it for an accuracy edge or ...? Out of all the things that go into the mechanical side of our sport the one thing we can control is the quality or consistencey of our ammo. Someone complained about having to neck turn their brass, and I wonder how many times are you turning their brass? I know that a standard neck chamber has little to gain from neck turning with quality brass but what's the use of a tight neck chamber without neck turning and a bushing to correctly size the neck?

metalhead · Post by **metalhead** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 7:19 pm

Your screen name chicken stroker says it all...What a FuckTard....please go troll in another forum...You have nothing to ad up in here....