6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

[mjmcmahon]

Hi all -

got a new rifle on the way as a self-delivered birthday present: a Savage 12LRP in 6.5 Creedmoor. I've been loading for .223 and .308 for awhile and would like to load for the Creedmoor too. The only issue I've seen so far is lack of ready availability of a neck sizing die in 6.5 Creedmoor. Hornady's die sets are supposed to be pretty good but, unfortunately, they only do a FL sizer. A friend who's opinion I trust has expressed some concerns about customer service from Redding and my old standby (Lee) doesn't offer a die set in the Creedmoor as yet.

What are you guys doing for yours??

 

[dvdt]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

I FL size all of my 6.5CM brass. I use the Hornady set. I couldn't find a micrometer adjusting top for the Hornady set so I bought a Redding micrometer seating die from MidwayUSA.

 

[mjmcmahon]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

forgive my inexperience, but I understood that neck sizing was a better option for bolt guns. Is that incorrect?

 

[Rob01]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

Sometimes, sometimes not. You can FL size and get very accurate loads. I FL all my 6.5 Creedmoor with standard Hornady dies with the micrometer on the seater only. I only bump the shoulders very minimally at about .001" so not to overwork the brass.

 

[mjmcmahon]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

Thanks for the feedback, Rob01! I'll be picking up dies this afternoon, along with a Hornady LNL headspace kit so I can get a reference point for the shoulder pushback.

 

[ChadTRG42]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

You can also use Redding 260 neck bushing dies. All your sizing is the neck, so it won't matter. But I would FL size it also.

 

[ED_RN]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

Redding has neck sizers in standard dies snd Type S dies
http://www.gunstop.com/Store/Reloading%20Dies/Redding/34

 

[InTheWeeds]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

I have the Redding 3-die set for mine. The bushing neck sizer is nice. I would like the micrometer style seater, but that mother is expensive.

 

[427Cobra]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

I think any benefit to NS only is negated when the brass needs to be FL sized, I FL everytime and my brass lasts a long time, today some 7-08 I FL sized down to 260 with 15+ firings produced awsome 5 shot groups in the 1/3moa range, Redding bushing dies are not needed with 6.5CM, the Hornady dies are tailored made for there brass, which is the only source.

 

[tylerw02]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

At times NK-sized brass is hard to feed and much less smooth. Function suggests a slight bump is better for reliability issues. I bump .001" in my .308s. My varmint guns I NK size only.

 

[bohem]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

I went all out on the dies for my 6.5 CM and bought the expensive MF'er set from Redding.

I was using a 286 bushing but felt it was giving me far too much neck tension. After talking to some guys on here, including 427Cobra, I found out that the Hornady dies are effectively a 290 bushing equivalent so I switched to that.

Group sizes improved and I'm not getting borderline high seating pressures any more.

I have Hornady dies for my 308 and they work though the seating die leaves something to be desired in my opinion. I would upgrade to the Amax seater stem coupled to the Micrometer head but they haven't been in stock anywhere (including Hornady) for the better part of 6 months unfortunately.

I kinda wish I'd gone to the 6.5 CM earlier, this thing is a ton of fun to shoot.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

Welcome to the 6.5CM club. I have tried many of the 6.5 cals and settled here. Since selling the 260, 6.5x47 and 6.5x284 rifles, I now own two bolt guns in 6.5CM.
Now to the die question. I have a set of Hornady dies and they make very good ammo. I recently purchased a Redding Type S neck die but have not even used it yet. As I said, the Hornady FL die set works very well. WIth hand loaded ammo reaching well over 2800 FPS and 1 3/4" groups the norm at 500 yards I jsut haven't the nerve to try the necks sizer.

 

[mjmcmahon]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

Thanks guys...I also checked with Hornady and found a Hornady neck die thru Midsouth for ~$25. It's on the way now.

I loaded up some rounds for testing that will come out to the range on Saturday: 37 - 41.5 grns of RL17 behind a Barnes Match Burner 140gr. I'm eager to see what kind of groups I can get, especially after LL threw down the gauntlet with his custom rifle!

 

[VKC]

Re: 6.5 Creedmoor - neck sizing die?

I full-length resize all my 6.5 Creedmoor brass. The fortunate thing about this cartridge is that the factory specs of barrels and chambers are very specific and don't vary as much as say a 308win. So at least in my experience the Hornady FL resizing dies bump back the shoulder and reforms the brass almost perfectly for me.

The only "upgrade" in dies that I would opt for are competition bullet seating dies. I've found better bullet concentricity with my Redding bullet seater than my Hornady ones.