Best 6GT dies?

[kcobean]

I'm a long time reloader of pistol ammo and "plinking" .223, but I'm brand-spanky new in precision rifle reloading. I bought a good turret press and am shopping for dies, so looking for the best dies for 6GT. On the GAP website I see RCBS MatchMaster 2-die set, which includes a .266 bushing, and the Redding 2-die set, which is sold without bushing.
Any thoughts from the Hide on which is best, or is there an even better option, and if I go with the either, what size bushings should I be looking to buy if not .266?

Thanks!

 

[moaorbust]

A simple RCBS set would be fine unless you have specific needs. The SAC modular dies are very nice if you want to go loco and some are even for sale in the PX. At the end of the day though a simple set, properly used, will do 90 percent of what you want.

 

[just browsing]

L.E. Wilson is my preferred sizing die. They are significantly smoother than anything else I’ve used, save maybe SAC. Only downside is you should use an expander mandrel to set final neck tension as there is no button included in the sizer.

Seater, just pick whatever you feel like using. Hell I seat most of my 6mms with a 6.5 Creed die and appropriate stem

 

[Cascade Hemi]

I have the 6GT RCBS Match Master dies and Whidden dies, I like the Match Master dies better.

 

[Buck Lawman]

+1 on the match master’s. Liked the ones for the GT so much I ordered a set in 6.5 creedmoor. Takes a little time to dial in the sizing die but, once it’s set it’s been perfectly consistent.

 

[CK1.0]

For 6GT I went with the custom Hornady die set that GAP offers because IME nothing beats a custom-honed FL die (GAP's comes custom-honed to .266"). Usually, you have to buy an FL die and then send it back in and wait to get it custom-honed (GAP has already done it). I've only made 300rds with it so far, but the ammo has come out great.

The one caveat with the Hornady die is: you need an additional/special piece if you want to still use the decapper WITHOUT their expander ball... I like to FL size first (while decapping at the same time), then in a second step, use a mandrel to set my case-mouth ID/neck tension, to do that you'll need this:

Hornady New Dimension Die Decapping Pin Retainer Pistol

The Hornady New Dimension Die Decapping Pin Retainer is a great factory replacement part to have on hand for your Hornady New Dimension dies. This part...

www.midwayusa.com

FWIW, I've been using an L.E. Wilson bushing die for thousands of 6CM rounds and that's been good too. That said, I've used just about every brand of dies and think it's the results that matter, not the price tag, I've seen $20 Lee dies perform better than $200+ dies, sometimes you never know until you try one...

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

For 6GT I went with the custom Hornady die set that GAP offers because IME nothing beats a custom-honed FL die (GAP's comes custom-honed to .266"). Usually, you have to buy an FL die and then send it back in and wait to get it custom-honed (GAP has already done it). I've only made 300rds with it so far, but the ammo has come out great.

The one caveat with the Hornady die is: you need an additional/special piece if you want to still use the decapper WITHOUT their expander ball... I like to FL size first (while decapping at the same time), then in a second step, use a mandrel to set my case-mouth ID/neck tension, to do that you'll need this:

Hornady New Dimension Die Decapping Pin Retainer Pistol

The Hornady New Dimension Die Decapping Pin Retainer is a great factory replacement part to have on hand for your Hornady New Dimension dies. This part...

www.midwayusa.com

FWIW, I've been using an L.E. Wilson bushing die for thousands of 6CM rounds and that's been good too. That said, I've used just about every brand of dies and think it's the results that matter, not the price tag, I've seen $20 Lee dies perform better than $200+ dies, sometimes you never know until you try one...

CK1.0,

I am just checking in half a year later to see whether you have anything to add to your 6GT die set comments.

Thanks.

(trying to decide which direction to go for my 6GT reloading needs). - The Hornady dies are only $87.49 at GA Precision, this is v. $313.88 for the Redding dies, and $155.99 for the RCBS Matchmaster (on RCBS web site).

$87.49 ---- Hornady
$313.88 --- Redding
$155.99 --- RCBS

Those are very big price differences. "nothing beats a custom honed full length die" and it is the cheapest option by far?

Is the price unrelated to quality or result, or is something included in the Redding or RCBS kits that is not included in the Hornady kit? I mean, the Redding dies are 350% more expensive than the Hornady dies. What am I missing? I know price is not everything, but that is a huge difference.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

I went with my go-to for full length sizing dies...Forester with custom honed neck diameter as I hate the bushing dies. For a seater you can't go wrong with LE Wilson

 

[prebancolt]

I like my RCBS Match masters. Like someone mentioned, the sizing die required a little time getting it set right, but it seems very consistent. The seating die is just cake and is also extremely consistent.

 

[GeoDude]

There's SAC and area 419...

Modular Sizing Die – GT

GT dies with .20 Caliber Bushings will not come with a decapping pin. If using an existing GT die, please reach out to us so we can send you a plug for your die to function properly [email protected]

shortactioncustoms.com

ZERO M-Series Sizing Dies

At this time, dies are ONLY shipping with ZERO M-Series Shellholders. If you are using ANY other press, you will need to wait on the future release of a traditional, or non-ZERO shellholder. If you have one of our existing headspace-adjustable shellholder kits, it WILL NOT work with the...

www.area419.com

 

[Herb Stoner]

There's SAC and area 419...

Modular Sizing Die – GT

GT dies with .20 Caliber Bushings will not come with a decapping pin. If using an existing GT die, please reach out to us so we can send you a plug for your die to function properly [email protected]

shortactioncustoms.com

ZERO M-Series Sizing Dies

At this time, dies are ONLY shipping with ZERO M-Series Shellholders. If you are using ANY other press, you will need to wait on the future release of a traditional, or non-ZERO shellholder. If you have one of our existing headspace-adjustable shellholder kits, it WILL NOT work with the...

www.area419.com

Have you used these - how do they perform for you? Please comment as I've been looking at the 419 dies.

 

[GeoDude]

Have you used these - how do they perform for you? Please comment as I've been looking at the 419 dies.

I only have the SAC's. I like it, no complaints.

 

[mikeg1005]

I'm in the same boat... seems the Hornady dies don't have the bushing... other than being able to tune your neck tension is there any other benefit to a bushing resizing die?

 

[Herb Stoner]

I only have the SAC's. I like it, no complaints.

I have a couple of the SAC modular dies and am quite happy with them but been thinking about giving the 419 a try - just to satisfy my curiosity.

 

[GeoDude]

I have a couple of the SAC modular dies and am quite happy with them but been thinking about giving the 419 a try - just to satisfy my curiosity.

Just money. You can’t take it with you. Lol

 

[FNG1001]

surprised no mention of forster

 

[CK1.0]

CK1.0,

I am just checking in half a year later to see whether you have anything to add to your 6GT die set comments.

Thanks.

(trying to decide which direction to go for my 6GT reloading needs). - The Hornady dies are only $87.49 at GA Precision, this is v. $313.88 for the Redding dies, and $155.99 for the RCBS Matchmaster (on RCBS web site).

$87.49 ---- Hornady
$313.88 --- Redding
$155.99 --- RCBS

Those are very big price differences. "nothing beats a custom honed full length die" and it is the cheapest option by far?

Is the price unrelated to quality or result, or is something included in the Redding or RCBS kits that is not included in the Hornady kit? I mean, the Redding dies are 350% more expensive than the Hornady dies. What am I missing? I know price is not everything, but that is a huge difference.

The custom-honed Hornady set from GAP is awesome. Do it.

I've made 900rds with it, and the ammo has been sick.

I use the Hornady FL die with the expander removed (with the thingy I mentioned above) then I tumble the lube off, after the tumbler I use a .241" mandrel die, then I chamfer the inside of the necks and seat bullets, the Hornady seater with the micrometer stem is excellent (I also own/use a Forster Ultra Micrometer seater die in 6CM and the Hornady with the micrometer stem is every bit as good).

My load is: Alpha Gay Tiger brass, 112gn Match Burners 50 thou off, 34gn Shooter's World Precision Rifle, CCI450

I put the barrel back on and shot 5 rounds over the chronograph the other day to check MV since I hadn't chrono'd/shot the barrel since it was 47degF instead of 88degF...



750 yards off Shmedium/cattle gate, 35% IPSC:

 

[MarshallDodge]

The custom-honed Hornady set from GAP is awesome. Do it.

I've made 900rds with it, and the ammo has been sick.

I use the Hornady FL die with the expander removed (with the thingy I mentioned above) then I tumble the lube off, after the tumbler I use a .241" mandrel die, then I chamfer the inside of the necks and seat bullets, the Hornady seater with the micrometer stem is excellent (I also own/use a Forster Ultra Micrometer seater die in 6CM and the Hornady with the micrometer stem is every bit as good).

I put the barrel back on and shot 5 rounds over the chronograph the other day to check MV since I hadn't chrono'd/shot the barrel since it was 47degF instead of 88degF...

View attachment 8157890View attachment 8157892View attachment 8157889

750 yards off Shmedium/cattle gate:

View attachment 8157893

Honest question. Why bother honing the die if you are going to use a mandrel?

 

[CK1.0]

Honest question. Why bother honing the die if you are going to use a mandrel?

I think there's sort of a sweet spot when squashing the neck down where you can squash it just enough so that the mandrel gets good engagement when opening the mouth back up, but still isn't working the brass too hard, where it opens the mouths up smoothly, not forcing them open abruptly.

I've tried using the mandrel after a regular FL die and that recipe just seems to end up with too much neck-squashing/mandrel-engagement going on since most FL dies will take the neck down to ~.260". I mean it works ok, I anneal every firing on an AMP, so I'm not worried about work hardening at all, but it just isn't quite as nice IMO, it's a little heavy-handed and the neck tension doesn't seem to end up as consistent for me.

In 6CM I used a .268 or .269 bushing for a long time and the mandrel would just barely touch the inside of the necks... going down to a .266" seemed to be "goldilocks" for me. What's better than a bushing..? A custom-honed FL die.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

The custom-honed Hornady set from GAP is awesome. Do it.

I've made 900rds with it, and the ammo has been sick.

I use the Hornady FL die with the expander removed (with the thingy I mentioned above) then I tumble the lube off, after the tumbler I use a .241" mandrel die, then I chamfer the inside of the necks and seat bullets, the Hornady seater with the micrometer stem is excellent (I also own/use a Forster Ultra Micrometer seater die in 6CM and the Hornady with the micrometer stem is every bit as good).

My load is: Alpha Gay Tiger brass, 112gn Match Burners 50 thou off, 34gn Shooter's World Precision Rifle, CCI450

I put the barrel back on and shot 5 rounds over the chronograph the other day to check MV since I hadn't chrono'd/shot the barrel since it was 47degF instead of 88degF...

View attachment 8157890View attachment 8157892View attachment 8157889

750 yards off Shmedium/cattle gate, 35% IPSC:

View attachment 8157893

Great results. Hard to argue. Extreme spread of 4 fps is amazing.

Stupid questions follow. I hope you will be patient with me for asking so many.

(1) Will both the resizing die and the seating die work with my RCBS Rock Chucker press?

(2) I saw your recommendation for an .241 expander mandrel (with a link to the part for retaining it, thanks!) above.

(3) chamfer inside of the necks - what tool do you use on the 6GT Alpha brass to chamfer the inside of the necks?

(4) Match Burners - hmmm . . . interesting. Do you sort them or anything? That sort of consistency is not being reported by others here.

(5) I read your order of operations. When do you remove the old primers? Are you lubing and resizing dirty brass?

Thank you in advance for your patience with my questions.

Oh, one more thing - what is that screen shot from? I haven't bought a chronograph yet, and I am trying to decide where best to spend my money.

 

[CK1.0]

Great results. Hard to argue. Extreme spread of 4 fps is amazing.

Stupid questions follow. I hope you will be patient with me for asking so many.

(1) Will both the resizing die and the seating die work with my RCBS Rock Chucker press?

(2) I saw your recommendation for an .241 expander mandrel (with a link to the part for retaining it, thanks!) above.

(3) chamfer inside of the necks - what tool do you use on the 6GT Alpha brass to chamfer the inside of the necks?

(4) Match Burners - hmmm . . . interesting. Do you sort them or anything? That sort of consistency is not being reported by others here.

(5) I read your order of operations. When do you remove the old primers? Are you lubing and resizing dirty brass?

Thank you in advance for your patience with my questions.

Oh, one more thing - what is that screen shot from? I haven't bought a chronograph yet, and I am trying to decide where best to spend my money.

…5 shots isn’t much of a sample size, but when the numbers look like that, then it’s enough lol.

1. Yes

2. The part I linked above is so you can still decap with the Hornady die without using their expander ball. The mandrel die body and mandrel I use (actually called a “turning mandrel”) can be found here:

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL GENERATION II EXPANDER DIES | Brownells

Our Generation II Expander Dies completely capture the mandrel within the die so the mandrel cannot pull out. An O-ring in the die cap allows the mandrel to float a bit and find its own center within the case neck. All three Generation II dies are...

www.brownells.com

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL 6mm (0.241") TiN Turning Mandrel SKU: 749019014 | Brownells

Check out the SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL 6mm (0.241") TiN Turning Mandrel SKU: 749019014 available Online at Brownells Today and many more Case Neck Turning products are available in our Reloading Department.

www.brownells.com

3. I use a Hornady Case Prep Duo tool but I change the stock chamfer tool to a VLD specific type (an RCBS one IIRC). I only deburr the outside of case mouths if it’s virgin brass or if I’ve just trimmed the cases, otherwise it’s chamfer only.

4. The Match Burners are great, lots of guys suck at this and turn their noses up at stuff before they know shit. I’ve out shot a lot of guys shooting A-Tips/Bergers with my plebeian Match Burners, I hope they stay cheap forever… a .300+ G7 for 30 cents or less per pull is a secret I don’t want to necessarily get out there lol. I did weigh/sort 500 of them one time and the tolerances were as good as anything else out there, so I haven’t bothered since and I’ve shot ~5000 of them and counting over 3 different barrels at this point.

5. I decap at the same time I’m FL sizing, and yes, more often than not I just lube the dirty brass (IPA/lanolin mix ~10:1 tossed in a 1 gallon ziplock bag), every now and again I tumble dirty brass first when it gets gnarly, but not usually.
I always tumble my lube off BEFORE running the cases through the mandrel. I use 30-40 grit corn cob blasting media which doesn’t get stuck in flash holes, it’s smaller than the corn cob most are used to and falls out of the cases like water so you don’t have to beat the crap out of them to get all the tumbling media out. Hitting the mandrel post-tumble is more important than most know, it fixes the case mouths which most guys have no idea get pretty fucked up while being tumbled. No wet tumbling ever for precision cases. This stuff is great:

Blast Media, Corn Cob, 20 to 40 Grit

For a chronograph, I had a Labradar and sold it, too much of a PITA to me, I switched to a Pro Chrono DLX and $20 Amazon tripod and I dig it for my needs, their Bluetooth/App integration is great and currently beats their more expensive competitors by a mile.

Cheers.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Thank you very much, CK1.0

 

[DubfromGA]

surprised no mention of forster

Waiting on these to arrive.

My first 200 cases (Hornady) showed up today.

Will be starting out with 109gr ELDM tips & SW Precision Rifle powder.

EDIT: They arrived and are waiting in the stack of 6GT stuff on my bench. Much of what I need is in that stack: chassis, glass, brass, projos, gauges.......rifle project may be waiting on AW mags for a while, though. Single shot may be how it goes through the load development timeframe....

 

[ECK]

Waiting on these to arrive.

My first 200 cases (Hornady) showed up today.

Will be starting out with 109gr ELDM tips & SW Precision Rifle powder.





View attachment 8332635

I have the same sizing die for 6.5CM. Love it. Way more consistent than the other brand of die that I was using. I’m probably gonna get one for my 6GT.

 

[DubfromGA]

I have the same sizing die for 6.5CM. Love it. Way more consistent than the other brand of die that I was using. I’m probably gonna get one for my 6GT.

I sold my reloading gear 20+ years ago.

Never used it when family life & work life took over and there was no time for hunting & shooting.




Much more time to shoot again now....and in less than five years from now, Lord willing, I'll retire and become a full time range rat....fingers crossed.

I'd added a 550 & 750 a couple years ago as well as a Co-Ax.

So far the blue stuff is in the boxes as I complete the bench they'll be mounted on.

That Co-Ax, however, is getting some good use as I use it for everything....even with getting dialed in on pistol stuff.
I have nothing but high regard for the design and the results it achieves.

Most of my rifle dies are Forster's.
They make some really useful products.

I'm even having decent luck with their bench primer. Once it's set up, it runs well.
Their powder measure has been solid, too.

 

[ECK]

I have a Dillon that I use for pistol and bulk .223 ammo, but I’m still using the Hornady single stage for rifle that I bought back in the early 90’s while in college. It makes good ammo, haven‘t felt the need to upgrade. Tho I keep drooling over the Forster Co-Ax. If I do upgrade, it’ll probably be that press for rifle.

Rifle loading has changed over the years. I remember when neck-sizing or bump-sizing was the way to go. Now it seems like the trend has swung back to FL sizing. I like Forster, I’ve always had good results with their dies and I use their case trimmer as well. My loading process is more manual. I hand crank my trimmer, chamfer & debur, and manually trickle my powder (tho I did go to an e-scale rather than balance). But being retired, brass prep and reloading is my morning coffee routine and I enjoy it.

 

[DubfromGA]

I have a Dillon that I use for pistol and bulk .223 ammo, but I’m still using the Hornady single stage for rifle that I bought back in the early 90’s while in college. It makes good ammo, haven‘t felt the need to upgrade. Tho I keep drooling over the Forster Co-Ax. If I do upgrade, it’ll probably be that press for rifle.

Rifle loading has changed over the years. I remember when neck-sizing or bump-sizing was the way to go. Now it seems like the trend has swung back to FL sizing. I like Forster, I’ve always had good results with their dies and I use their case trimmer as well. My loading process is more manual. I hand crank my trimmer, chamfer & debur, and manually trickle my powder (tho I did go to an e-scale rather than balance). But being retired, brass prep and reloading is my morning coffee routine and I enjoy it.

Sounds like great use of your time and gear.

I have a Wilson trimmer that I will be cranking on….and likely over coffee, too.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

I think there's sort of a sweet spot when squashing the neck down where you can squash it just enough so that the mandrel gets good engagement when opening the mouth back up, but still isn't working the brass too hard, where it opens the mouths up smoothly, not forcing them open abruptly.

I've tried using the mandrel after a regular FL die and that recipe just seems to end up with too much neck-squashing/mandrel-engagement going on since most FL dies will take the neck down to ~.260". I mean it works ok, I anneal every firing on an AMP, so I'm not worried about work hardening at all, but it just isn't quite as nice IMO, it's a little heavy-handed and the neck tension doesn't seem to end up as consistent for me.

In 6CM I used a .268 or .269 bushing for a long time and the mandrel would just barely touch the inside of the necks... going down to a .266" seemed to be "goldilocks" for me. What's better than a bushing..? A custom-honed FL die.

For 6GT I went with the custom Hornady die set that GAP offers because IME nothing beats a custom-honed FL die (GAP's comes custom-honed to .266"). Usually, you have to buy an FL die and then send it back in and wait to get it custom-honed (GAP has already done it). I've only made 300rds with it so far, but the ammo has come out great.

The one caveat with the Hornady die is: you need an additional/special piece if you want to still use the decapper WITHOUT their expander ball... I like to FL size first (while decapping at the same time), then in a second step, use a mandrel to set my case-mouth ID/neck tension, to do that you'll need this:

Hornady New Dimension Die Decapping Pin Retainer Pistol

The Hornady New Dimension Die Decapping Pin Retainer is a great factory replacement part to have on hand for your Hornady New Dimension dies. This part...

www.midwayusa.com

FWIW, I've been using an L.E. Wilson bushing die for thousands of 6CM rounds and that's been good too. That said, I've used just about every brand of dies and think it's the results that matter, not the price tag, I've seen $20 Lee dies perform better than $200+ dies, sometimes you never know until you try one...

Are the GA Precision Hornady dies (out of stock right now) just the standard "custom" set from Hornady, or are they actually, as you say, "custom-honed?" Is GA Precision just telling us that these come with a .266" neck diameter?

Hornady 6mm GT die set w/ Microjust Seater

2 die, full length, non-Bushing; 6mm GT die set w/ Microjust Seating-Micrometer

www.gaprecision.net

It says:

• The full length sizer die is cut with a .266" neck diameter - Perfect for about .002" neck tension with the Alpha Munitions or Hornady 6mm GT brass.

It does not actually say that anything custom was done to the standard "Custom Grade" die set. The word "hone" is not used. And the price does not appear to match Hornady's custom honing service, which is performed with fire formed brass so that it is more than just the neck but the whole length of the brass (which I have seen talked about online but cannot find on Hornady's web site). The price at GA Precision is about the same as ordering the standard die set from others (along with the micro just seating stem).

Note that "Custom" is in the name of the die set, differentiated from their "Match Grade" die set.

Of course, it should be about the right size for Hornady brass as-is, right? It's the same company. I am a little surprised to find out that it is also the perfect for about .002" neck tension on Alpha, too. I thought Alpha and Hornady brass might be different thickness at the neck.

 

[Rod79]

I was under the impression the GAP Hornady die set was a custom ream but I’ve been wrong many times before lol. I went with an LE Wilson FL bushing die & a Matchmaster seating die; haven’t used either yet as I’m still collecting everything to get my 6GT up and running.

Does anyone know if the 6GT Hornady brass that GAP is selling is LRP or SRP?

 

[John Glidewell]

Does anyone know if the 6GT Hornady brass that GAP is selling is LRP or SRP?

All 6GT brass is small rifle primer.

 

[Rod79]

Well google sucks then lol! Thank you John

 

[CK1.0]

Are the GA Precision Hornady dies (out of stock right now) just the standard "custom" set from Hornady, or are they actually, as you say, "custom-honed?" Is GA Precision just telling us that these come with a .266" neck diameter?

Hornady 6mm GT die set w/ Microjust Seater

2 die, full length, non-Bushing; 6mm GT die set w/ Microjust Seating-Micrometer

www.gaprecision.net

It says:

• The full length sizer die is cut with a .266" neck diameter - Perfect for about .002" neck tension with the Alpha Munitions or Hornady 6mm GT brass.

It does not actually say that anything custom was done to the standard "Custom Grade" die set. The word "hone" is not used. And the price does not appear to match Hornady's custom honing service, which is performed with fire formed brass so that it is more than just the neck but the whole length of the brass (which I have seen talked about online but cannot find on Hornady's web site). The price at GA Precision is about the same as ordering the standard die set from others (along with the micro just seating stem).

Note that "Custom" is in the name of the die set, differentiated from their "Match Grade" die set.

Of course, it should be about the right size for Hornady brass as-is, right? It's the same company. I am a little surprised to find out that it is also the perfect for about .002" neck tension on Alpha, too. I thought Alpha and Hornady brass might be different thickness at the neck.

The set from GAP is custom honed to .266”… peep the small print:

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

The set from GAP is custom honed to .266”… peep the small print:

View attachment 8343652

Just ordered.

I also ordered the Lock-N-Load O.A.L. Gauge, but I just realized that I forgot to order the 6 GT modified case for that gauge. I'll call them in the morning when they open to see if I can add it to the order and not order separately and end up paying shipping that is more than the cost of the 6 GT modified case.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

2. The part I linked above is so you can still decap with the Hornady die without using their expander ball. The mandrel die body and mandrel I use (actually called a “turning mandrel”) can be found here:

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL GENERATION II EXPANDER DIES | Brownells

Our Generation II Expander Dies completely capture the mandrel within the die so the mandrel cannot pull out. An O-ring in the die cap allows the mandrel to float a bit and find its own center within the case neck. All three Generation II dies are...

www.brownells.com

SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL 6mm (0.241") TiN Turning Mandrel SKU: 749019014 | Brownells

Check out the SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL 6mm (0.241") TiN Turning Mandrel SKU: 749019014 available Online at Brownells Today and many more Case Neck Turning products are available in our Reloading Department.

www.brownells.com

The turning mandrel is out of stock, so I asked them to notify me when it is back in stock, at which time I will pick up these two items. I am using virgin brass for now (Alpha), so I am assuming maybe this step is not as important or even necessary, compared to reloading brass after firing and cleaning the brass.

I ordered the VLD deburring tool (what they call "chamfer") from RCBS.

With virgin brass, I assume I can simply chamfer, prime, dump powder, seat bullet? If I am reading this correctly, that is what Austin Bushman does with his virgin brass:

Austin only does one thing to brand new Alpha brass before he loads it: “I do chamfer the inside of the necks to avoid the necks damaging the bullets as they are seated. I don’t do this step again unless I trim the brass. To chamfer, I just use a VLD chamfer cutter chucked in a cordless drill.”

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2023/06/25/the-prs-champs-load-data-reloading-process-austin-buschman-shooter-spotlight-part-3/

I ordered the OAL gauge, and I am going to order the bullet comparator, and I guess at that point I have everything I need to figure out my bullet seating depth and get started with virgin brass.

Then I will try to figure out powder charge and seating depth.

This is my first foray into reloading. My rifle has been shooting Hornady factory 6GT up until now, but the pierced primer issue caused me to stop shooting until I could get started reloading.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

The set from GAP is custom honed to .266”… peep the small print:

View attachment 8343652

Small print says "cut." That doesn't mean it's custom honed. Just like an off the shelf non bushing Redding die for any cartridge is cut to a certain size.

Also the use of the wording "custom grade" instead of just custom means they are using the word custom to convey quality.

"Custom Grade" is a product line of Hornady dies. They have "Custom Grade" and "Match Grade" product lines. Match Grade are bushing dies. Custom Grade are non bushing dies.

Zero actually custom about either.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

Also, they are far too cheap of a price to be custom. A 2 die custom set from Hornady is minimum $200. So even with large bulk orders, you'll never get it down enough that $87 is making a profit.

 

[CK1.0]

@Malum Prohibitum the mandrel is nice but isn’t make or break for starting out, the supplied Hornady expander ball actually isn’t too bad and I’d just use that for a while until you get your mandrel.

Whether the GAP dies are actually custom honed or just called “custom”, it sizes closer to .266” than .260” like most standard dies do and works great.

This site is filled with guys thinking more $$$ = more performance… I finished higher than a whole bunch of them at a match this weekend using my “cheap” dies, “cheap” Match Burners and lowly “cheap” Harris bipod…

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

@Malum Prohibitum the mandrel is nice but isn’t make or break for starting out, the supplied Hornady expander ball actually isn’t too bad and I’d just use that for a while until you get your mandrel.

Whether the GAP dies are actually custom honed or just called “custom”, it sizes closer to .266” than .260” like most standard dies do and works great.

This site is filled with guys thinking more $$$ = more performance… I finished higher than a whole bunch of them at a match this weekend using my “cheap” dies, “cheap” Match Burners and lowly “cheap” Harris bipod…

I don't have any need to use the expander ball or the full length resizing die on new Alpha brass, though, right? I apologize in advance if that is an insanely stupid, ignorant newbie question, but my plan is in post # 34.

 

[CK1.0]

I don't have any need to use the expander ball or the full length resizing die on new Alpha brass, though, right? I apologize in advance if that is an insanely stupid, ignorant newbie question, but my plan is in post # 34.

Yes, your plan is sound. On the first loading a mandrel is nice, if you had one I’d say use it, but it’s not make or break. Just chamfer/deburr because virgin brass is sharp at the mouth and you’ll be all set.

 

[Taylorbok]

I've got dies from Hornady, RCBS and Whidden. I will say the Whidden dies seem to run much smoother than the other 2.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Just ordered.

I also ordered the Lock-N-Load O.A.L. Gauge, but I just realized that I forgot to order the 6 GT modified case for that gauge. I'll call them in the morning when they open to see if I can add it to the order and not order separately and end up paying shipping that is more than the cost of the 6 GT modified case.

Called yesterday and they added the modified case to my order. They also said the Hornady dies are not custom honed, but they come at .266 from Hornady, which apparently works out almost perfectly not the neck.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

The turning mandrel is out of stock, so I asked them to notify me when it is back in stock, at which time I will pick up these two items. I am using virgin brass for now (Alpha), so I am assuming maybe this step is not as important or even necessary, compared to reloading brass after firing and cleaning the brass.

@Malum Prohibitum the mandrel is nice but isn’t make or break for starting out, the supplied Hornady expander ball actually isn’t too bad and I’d just use that for a while until you get your mandrel.

It's in stock! I just got the email from Brownell's. And I had not actually started reloading yet, being too busy with life generally and a little intimidated by the whole process, so now I will get to load the virgin brass after using the .241" TiN turning mandrel.