Dumb question here, but very often I find after resizing that the trimmer pilot will not fit in the resized brass. At a minimum it takes some extra effort to fit. A after a few spins of the trimmer the pilot seems to round it out but at what point do you go from fighting the trimmer pilot to saying an expanding die is needed\necessary? Is it always necessary? If it helps this is for my .308 bolt action. Thanks for any insight\advice.
Trimmer pilot vs expander die?
- Thread starter Silence
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Thats what I do too. A few seconds in a drill with some 1200 grit emory cloth can work wonders. Be advised, it can get hot rather quickly!
Dealt with the same issue with that pos trimmer rcbs sells. Should have just bought the Wilson trimmer I have now in the first place. Live and learn.
I do for the last step before I seat any bullets if I only want .001" neck tension use the expander mandrel or use the turning mandrel for .002".
And of course before neck turning.
Do full length resizing dies already expand the brass? I thought that was the point of the full length dies was to get the brass back to original size? Took a class a long time ago and a expander die was not discussed. Have loaded 100s of rounds using a full length dies and no expander dies with no apparent issues, but I have recently started researching reloading for 338 and the expander die topic came up. Is it always needed?
The expander mandrel isn't necessarily needed but it gives you more consistent neck tension and I believe it helps with reducing run out but to get the most out of it you should use a bushing die.
There is nothing wrong with a standard full length die but they generaly overwork the brass and can induce more run out if not set up properly.
I haven't had it done to any of mine but some companies will hone the neck of the die to whatever spec you want.
Normal full length does size the neck down way too much to ensure that even the thinnest get sized enough to hold the bullet. They also have an expander ball in them to then open the mouths back up to the proper size. A bushing die allows you to limit the amount it oversizes the neck down.
Mandrels replace the expander ball, it’s easier to swap mandrels out than expander balls and it gives you more control. You can polish or order custom expander balls, mandrels are easiest to do so though. Mandrels should also help with runout but that doesn’t mean your expander ball is necessarily crap in that department. To know for sure you need to measure the runout. I don’t bother with that though.
You pretty much have to have a pilot it the trimmer was designed for one. The Wilson is a lathe type trimmer that uses a case holder to hold the case. Then you have the trimmers that index off of the shoulder, like the Giraud.
You would be better off using the pilot as is or polishing it down to a better fit than trying to run without it.
Although it isn't the best design it is far more effective and precise than trying to trim without it.
