new to bushing / competition dies a few questions.

[locotrician]

I have been reloading for 11 years now but have yet to use anyting but "standard" die sets , regular seater and fl die. i have just ordered my first set of competition dies redding s bushing fl die and micrometer top seater. i can make several assumptions on how to use these but i need to ask to be sure this may be a little more basic than i need but i want a good understanding so here it goes
1. How do i use the micrometer seater to change distance from the lands or amount of freebore?
2 How do i know what size bushing to buy ? will i need more than one ?
3 How do i set up each die in the press is it any different than standard dies?
4 how do i know how much i am setting the shoulder back ? say i want to set it back .002 how do i know i have doe that ?
5 Any little tricks to help keep my ammo concentric ?

cartridge is .338-.300 RUM

 

[nicholst55]

Re: new to bushing / competition dies a few questi

1. You will need a means to measure the distance of your bullet's ogive from the lands in the chamber throat. Then you can adjust your seating depth. Sinclair has these.
2. Mike the neck diameter of a loaded round, then order a bushing at least .002" smaller. That may, or may not work with all bullet/brass combos. I usually order bushing in a .003" spread - .001 under, .002 under, and .003 under.
3. The dies are set up the same as 'regular' dies.
4. You <span style="font-style: italic">must have</span> a means to measure this, such as an RCBS Precision Mic or a Redding Instant Indicator. First you measure your fired brass, then size, adjusting your die down as you go until you get the amount of shoulder bump that you want.
5. Some guys insert a rubber O-ring between the top of the press and the die lock ring. Some insert a shell holder and then run the ram up against the bottom of the die before they tighten it down. I'm sure there are a lot of other little tricks that I'm unaware of.

I strongly recommend that you order a catalog from Sinclair International. They carry all of the reloading gear that you're going to need, and they're an excellent source of information.

http://www.sinclairintl.com/?mc_id=10000

 

[bdh308]

Re: new to bushing / competition dies a few questi

Another good way to set your headspace is to buy the redding comp shellholders. The shellholders are set in .002 increments. Expensive but works very well.

Depending on your rifle you can remove the the firing pin allowing you to set the die up to your fired cases so the bolt just closes thus giving you a perfect fit everytime. This is more important on a benchrest rifle than a tactical rifle. On a tactical rifle I would recommend setting it up so your bolt closes fairly easily.

With your new Comp seater die I would recommend a bullet comparator as you will be able to set the die up for the measured ogive thus allowing you to sort your projections.

 

[Downzero]

Re: new to bushing / competition dies a few questi

Get a chamber gauge. If you have to ask how to set your sizing die, you're not ready for the fancier ways of setting it up to reduce shoulder bump to the minimum.

If it fits in a chamber gauge, it will fit in your gun. Without it, you're just shooting in the dark.

 

[locotrician]

Re: new to bushing / competition dies a few questi

If you read my post you would see that I have been reloading a long time, plenty long enough to be "ready" for the fancier work as stated above some of my questions are more basic than I probably needed to ask but the " fancier" way of loading is new to me and that's why I asked the question as inhave never had a set of competition dies I am not sure if there is additional steps in setting them up properly and I have at one point or another read all 11 reloading manuals that I own but none of them mention the competition style dies so I did assume they were the same set up wise but I know what happens when I assume and with something as potentially dangerous as relaoding can be I would rather be safe than sorry. Thanks to all who have replied your info is much appreciated

 

[MitchAlsup]

Re: new to bushing / competition dies a few questions.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: locotrician</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
1. How do i use the micrometer seater to change distance from the lands or amount of freebore?
2 How do i know what size bushing to buy ? will i need more than one ?
3 How do i set up each die in the press is it any different than standard dies?
4 how do i know how much i am setting the shoulder back ? say i want to set it back .002 how do i know i have doe that ?
5 Any little tricks to help keep my ammo concentric ?
</div></div>

1. You build a dummy round (no primer, no powder) in a sized case with the bullet you intend to use. Seat this bullet 0.15 long, and use the rifling in the gun to push the bullet back down the case neck. Then you measure the position of the ogive (optimal but OAL also works with less precision).

Setup the competition die in the press, and seat a bullet long. Measure the ogive and compare this number to the previous measurement. Dial the micrometer head down the measured amount. Run this catridge through the seater again. Measure that you got the ogive pushed to where you wanted it. At this point you are "on the lands". Now dial the micrometer head donw your chosen jump distance (say 0.015) and seat this bullet the third time. Measure and verify the bullet is where you expected it to be.

Now the micrometer head is dialed in, and you can just run cartriges through the die as if it had no micrometer head. However, if you want to run jump distance experiments, seat 5-10 bullets at one setting, dial in another 0.005" run 5-10 bullets, dial in another 0.005" and so on.

2. Measure the obturated neck size from a fired round. Measure the neck in a cartrige with a bullet seated in the neck. If the first measurement is more than 0.006 larger than the second you will need two bushings. The first bushing is 0.002 smaller than the second measurement, the second bushing is half way between the first measurement and the first bushing size.

3. Not really, the microeter measurements simply verify setup.

4. Use a RCBS case micrometer or Stoney Point (n.e. Hornady) tool to measure the sholder in a fired case. Run fired case through the sizing die. Meaure the position of the sholder (again), and compate measurement of before and after. Verify the fit of the sized case in the chamber of the rifle.

5. Lub the sliding sleave of the sizing and seating dies. Clean dies just before use. Use the pressure sensors in your lever arm to detect anything strange happening in the sizing die. Measure stuff relentlessly. Use a good lube. If a case needs to be run through the sizind die more than once, give it a second roll over the lube pad. Don't worry about 0.003" (or smaller) in concentricity errors.

 

[locotrician]

Re: new to bushing / competition dies a few questi

Thanks info is much appreciated .