Redding shell holders do anything? Help

[Yankee88]

Ok this is driving me up the wall and I can’t figure it out.

I have Hornady fired brass that is 1.533 to the shoulder after fired. I try to bump about .002, so I use the .002 holder, but sometimes the brass ends up being 1.535. Then I’ll put another piece in and it ends up being 1.528(that was measured 1.533 before resized). Then I’ll throw the .010 shell holder in to see what it does to the 1.535 or the 1.528 sized brass (you know to see if an extreme will change anything) and it does absolutely nothing. It seems once it is sized to whatever it wants to be (either way over or way under) it doesn’t change regardless of what she’ll holder I use.

Wtf is going on? My die isn’t moving, my calipers are giving me a consistent reading on all the brass before sizing (1.533) so I’ve ruled them out.

 

[mdmp5]

Ok, first, you are reading the shell holders wrong. It is not intuitive, so don't worry. The .002 shell holder is the largest amount of setback, and the .01 is the smallest amount. If you go straight to the .002, you are bumping 8 thousandths more than the .01. Always start with the .01 first and check. Then move to the .008 and so forth.

Sometimes the shoulder may bump forward to fill the die if the case is not being bumped back. In your case, it is unlikely that is the reason why it happened with the .002 holder. Did you try sizing it again with the .002? Sometimes if it isn't lubed enough, the case may stick in the die and push forward a bit too. The other possibility is measuring error. When dealing with calipers and a separate piece, and you are dealing with thousandths, it's difficult to have reliable repeatability.

 

[Supersubes]

Couple things, as I’m assuming you’re using Redding comp shell holders....

The .002 denotes the shell holder top surface height over a standard Redding shell holder. All things being equal, if you set up the die on a standard shell holder, then install the .002, you get .002 LESS sizing(case .002 longer in headspace). Putting a short case (1.528) that has been previously sized in the .002, through a cycle with the .010 will do nothing, the shoulder will be in air. For comp shell holders to work, they MUST be in hard contact with the bottom of the die. As your working down in size, if an air gap appears, additional steps down will not produce any more sizing. This is why you set up on the shortest shell holder first.


For initial setup, install a standard shell holder and adjust the die so you have good cam over on it. Then prep a line-up of fires cases ready for sizing. Install the .010 shell holder and size a case noting its pre/post sizing measurements. Work downwards in shell holder height till you reach the proper sizing. Initially you’ll probably notice the cases get longer in headspace due to the body being sized without touching the shoulder.


On another note, taking the same case and sizing it over and over (multiple trips into the die) till you get the right size is counter productive. Run a test case in once, measure, then set it aside, and use another fired case if an additional adjustment is needed. Brass is elastic. Running one case into a particular die setting two times will often show additional sizing from the second trip into the die.

 

[Yankee88]

So what would cause brass that is consistently measured at 1.533 before sizing to have measurements of 1.528 or 1.535 AFTER resizing using the .002 shell holder. Again, all my brass is consistently measured at 1.533 before any type of sizing so I’m positive my calipers are good. Wouldn’t I be getting a consistent 1.535 or 1.528 when using the same .002 holder not both?

 

[Supersubes]

Improper intial setup, inconsistent lube conditions, and a lack of press rigidity.


If the shell holder is not in contact with the bottom of the die, and your press is defecting under load, no you will not get consistent sizing.

 

[mdmp5]

Yeah make sure you are camming over. You will never get consistent anything, including seating without a cam over

 

[Yankee88]

Yea I have them installed to cam over. See why this is driving me nuts? Lol I might just try a new press. Mine is used but had never gave this issue in the past, even with these competition shell holders. It’s really weird.

 

[Supersubes]

What, if anything, is new in this combination?

New gun, new barrel, new die, new cartridge for you, etc.

What press are you using? Do you anneal? How many firings on this brass?

 

[Yankee88]

Nothing. This brass is going on 4x fired now with no annealing. It started doing it after 2x but I said fuck it and just ran with it. I figured if I’m consistently fucked up im still consistent and was still getting an sd of 7. I’m about to do it again but I’d just really like to know why I was able to get good reading the first few times and use the shell holders as intended, and now it’s just all over the place.

 

[B y r o n]

Maybe this video will help explain some of your sizing issues.

 

[Dooby]

At the top of the reloading forum there's a sticky on how to use the Redding competition shell holder. Link also below. Further on the 2nd page I had a similar issue.

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/hand-loading-for-precision-rifle-pic-heavy.186741/