Starting to Load 6.5 Creedmoor - which dies?

[MMH]

I have loaded for some time but never have been as good of a precision rifle reloader as I would like to be. I have all the basic equipment & have been loading for 5.56 & .308 but now need to get set up for 6.5 creed.

Plan on full length sizing - which die model & manufacturer? Always have used standard Lee dies but wondering if better dies should be used
Any point in getting a collet necksizer? I use it on 300 WinMag because I use a body die on that cartridge.
Which seating die? I have used Forster & Redding micrometer dies. Also, could a 308 seating die be used for a 6.5 Creedmoor?
Plan on getting a Little Crow case trimmer.
Plan on getting a Hornady modified case to measure bullet jump.

Thanks!

 

[918v]

New Lee collet dies require you to crimp after because they induce a pronounced flare at the case mouth. Current Lee owner claims it is wonderful.

I like seating with an arbor press and inline dies. I use a Sinclair press and Wilson micrometer dies.

I would go with a Forster sizer die with a .289” custom size neck and a mandrel die with a .263” carbide mandrel.

 

[John Glidewell]

Whidden dies - all we use

 

[Glowie]

I'm using a combination
Lee neck sizer, redding body die, redding seater for one rifle. Redding full length sizer and forster seater with another. I have a forster full length sizer that seems a little " rough " on the first piece I ran through it(scratches on case body) could be my set up. . Very happy with lee and redding dies

 

[918v]

That’s a good way to do it. I size my cases like that.

 

[918v]

If you send the Forster die back they will polish it out. You could take the opportunity to have them open up the neck from .284” to .289”

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

For the budget minded the rcbs matchmaster are hard to beat. Get used to using bushing dies...it is the way.

 

[CheapBasterd]

If you send the Forster die back they will polish it out. You could take the opportunity to have them open up the neck from .284” to .289”

I feel like they leave the off the shelf dies rough so you send it back for work…
I have two. One standard and one honed. Standard one is rough! And they said to send it in for polishing.
The honed one is much smoother.

 

[Ex E6]

Funny ALL loading Dies meet rigid specs otherwise their rejected . The ONLY dies I don't have or use are Lee dies ,as I have preferences to manufacturers . However ALL brand dies will do the job.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Specs and acceptance within their world. Redding dies are honed like shit and you end up with stuck cases. Had this happen with 3 different redding dies. They went in the trash. After switching to rcbs and wilson....no more stuck cases. Magic. If all dies were the same everyone would use shitty hornady or lee.

 

[ECK]

Mighty Armory universal decap die
Forster full length sizing die w/ neck bushing
21st Century mandrel die
Hornady seating die with micrometer stem (came with the Hornady FL bushing sizing die, but prefer the Forster sizing die instead)

 

[AllenOne1]

Mighty Armory de-capping die
Anneal (AMP is my preferred method)
Whidden full length bushing die, .288 bushing, no expander stem
Cortina precision mandrel die, mandrel .261?
Forster micrometer seating die (Whidden would fit nicely here too)

This is with a minimum spec SAMI chamber, some factory chambers are going to be cut larger so you will be sizing the brass down more each time.

 

[918v]

Specs and acceptance within their world. Redding dies are honed like shit and you end up with stuck cases. Had this happen with 3 different redding dies. They went in the trash. After switching to rcbs and wilson....no more stuck cases. Magic. If all dies were the same everyone would use shitty hornady or lee.

Redding dies need to be broken in. Once that’s done they’re fine.

 

[Nics00ss]

FYI - Mighty armory has 20% off until midnight tonight with code 20%OFF

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

Yea they need about 25k pieces of brass to smooth out shitty machinig/honing.

 

[R_A_W]

My .223 Redding FL w/ bushing has remained pretty rough inside

I personally don't understand paying for a Redding Type S FL Sizing die when LE Wilson is machined better at about the same price

 

[ZA206]

Yea they need about 25k pieces of brass to smooth out shitty machinig/honing.

Yea… I got the Redding Master Hunter dies when I started loading 6.5CM. I had to send the resizing die back in because it was so rough I couldn’t fully resize a piece of brass without bulging the brass. Never seen that before in my other Redding, Hornady or Lee dies. I’m sure i could have gotten a better resizing die if I had known. I never had that issue with my 223 and 308 Redding dies. I guess their QC isn’t what it used to be.

 

[Mauser48]

My .223 Redding FL w/ bushing has remained pretty rough inside

I personally don't understand paying for a Redding Type S FL Sizing die when LE Wilson is machined better at about the same price

Mine isn't great as well. It's not bad but it could definitely be better. The part in the bullet seating die where the seating stem and bullet travel through also need a polishing. They're not bad overall but I'd probably try something else if I had to do it again.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

My .223 Redding FL w/ bushing has remained pretty rough inside

I personally don't understand paying for a Redding Type S FL Sizing die when LE Wilson is machined better at about the same price

Wilson dies are like a work of art. Beautifully blended and radiused edges. It's amazing he can make them for 90 bucks. I run mostly matchmasters because with discount they are $75 a SET. But anything I need alacart or replacement for redding are wilson.

 

[Devildog]

I’ve had great luck with Forster and L.E. Wilson.

 

[918v]

Yea they need about 25k pieces of brass to smooth out shitty machinig/honing.

2 or 3 pieces of brass tops. Been using them all my life.

 

[Herb Stoner]

Went with SAC Modular sizing die for 6.5 and am very happy. Switch to them for 6mm as well.
Follow up with mandrel die from Porters Precision.
Totally happy with those.

 

[Ex E6]

I believe you answered your own ill stated response . " Everyone Does use Which ever Dies ". Sales will bear that fact . I also prefer RCBS as they've always had MY back . Hornady, Redding nor Wilson have Never sent Me an unacceptable product ever and I use them all .

As I stated previously I have several sets of Dies as over the years I've been attempting to " Permanently Lubricate the interior of the Dies " ,thus totally eliminating need for any lube . So Needless to say I not only have More Dies than any #5 reloaders combined but also a Brand variety bar None .

I've stuck more cases for obvious reasons than any #20 reloaders combined . I also have been successful at resizing #44 ,7.62X51 LC cases without any lube ,which came from a " Generous Chambered " , aka a Worn out M60 or more than likely a now discarded M240 weapon. Cases were considerably out of spec in other words. I've lost # 0 Dies and each and everyone regardless of manufacturer ,will still load sufficiently , so as to fit gas gun chambers or bolt guns in every caliber I load for .

IF we can ever solve the PDV or magnetron sputtering inside a small diameter cylinder ,it will revolutionize the shooting sports !. Chamber throats complete Barrel bores ,lasting 100K-200K rounds and more ,dies which need NO Lube . Any interior assembly such as expander balls which must be exposed as an exterior target can be placed in a High vacuum and done via PVD . PVD is Pulsed Laser Deposition . Less than half COF of that of Teflon with Diamond like hardness !. I have them and need zero neck lube . Coating is lifetime and mere microns in thickness .

Specs and acceptance within their world. Redding dies are honed like shit and you end up with stuck cases. Had this happen with 3 different redding dies. They went in the trash. After switching to rcbs and wilson....no more stuck cases. Magic. If all dies were the same everyone would use shitty hornady or lee.

Current report a new industrial application of aluminum magnesium boride AlMgB14 (BAM) coatings to enhance the hardness of tungsten carbide ceramic (WC-Co) and high-speed steel tools. BAM films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering of a single dense stoichiometric ceramic target onto commercial WC-Co turning inserts and R6M5 steel drill bits. High target sputtering power and sufficiently short target-to-substrate distance were found to be critical processing conditions. Very smooth (6.6 nm RMS surface roughness onto Si wafers) and hard AlMgB14 coatings enhance the hardness of WC-Co inserts and high-speed R6M5 steel by a factor of two and three, respectively. Complete coating spallation failure occurred at a scratch adhesion strength of 18 N. High work of adhesion and low friction coefficient, estimated for BAM onto drill bits, was as high as 64 J/m2 and as low as 0.07, respectively, more than twice the surpass characteristics of N-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) films deposited onto nitride high-speed W6Mo5Cr4V2 steel.

 

[R_A_W]