Unorthodox methods that work for you

[Varmint_Poontang]

Responding to another thread about which dies we prefer made me think about the dies I use and a situation I think is somewhat unique and how I cope with it. Some may cringe to hear it, but it works for me and my loads shoot great. From the factory, I noticed that the decapping/expanding ball shaft inside my Redding Type S FL sizing die was not perfectly straight. In fact if I tighten it down in the die, it comes nowhere near the flash hole. So instead, I leave it just a cunt hair loose so it can find it's own damn way- which it does with no problem whatsoever. Every twenty rounds or so I spin it tight by the decapping pin and then just break it free. I have yet to observe any damage to either the die or any cases due to this, and all of my brass still meet spec.

Anyone else have something that will cause the OCD amongst us to sweat?

 

[TacticalBoltKnob]

I full length size, trim to start length, then full length size again.

I do this because you need to size before trimming, obviously … but I am almost sure that when I trim, my Lee trimmer tool is fucking up the case neck and mouth because there is some out of round in my cheap drill which I chuck up my brass in, so I full length size again to ensure all my necks are consistent.

It's more stress on the brass, but it does give me better consistency. I am not worried about it anyway, since I only get about 7 firings on any brass before case head separation is imminent. In other words, case head separation would occur way before any neck splitting, at least with my loads, so I am not worried about working the necks a little more.

 

[HodgdonExtreme]

I use a fine-tooth flat bastard file to dress the burrs off the outside of casemouths instead of using the female debur-tool sold for the purpose. I have 3 different female debur tools and none of them work well.

I generally just count on my Giraud, but there are certain instances where it doesn't do the trick: Namely, when starting with fresh Winchester brass. You don't want to shorten it to allow the the cutter to work, but it has a gnarly bur that needs to be removed. So I chuck the cases directly into the chuck of my 1/2" cordless drillmotor and give them a spin against the file, which is held at a 45º angle.

Doesn't take much and does a way better job for me than the tool made expressly for the purpose.

 

[HodgdonExtreme]

Another unconventional technique I use, is to size fired casemouths down a bit "undersized", and then use a sinclair (or K&M) mandrel to do final sizing to the INSIDE of the case neck.

In my mind, consistent neck tension depends on the difference in diameter between the OD of the bullet and ID of the case-neck... So why would you use a bushing to size the OD of the case neck, when it's the ID that matters? Of course, if you neck-turn your brass this does not apply.

For example:

My winchester 243 brass requires a .271 bushing to achieve .002" neck tension. So, I choose a ~.268" bushing to slightly undersize the neck. Then the .241" (OD) expander mandrel leaves the ID of the neck right at .002" under bullet diameter to achieve a consistent (regardless of neck thickness) .002" neck tension.

This is essentially the same as using a standard FLS die with the expander ball, except FLS dies greatly undersize the caseneck prior to the ball being pulled through, so my method minimizes coldwork of the brass, while maintainining the same ultimate functionality. Additionally, my testing showed that using an expander mandrel to finish size the neck resulted in better concentricity than the expander ball.

 

[4Quangs]

I'd be concerned about what that off-center expansion ball is doing to the case necks. Is it pulling the neck off-center or is the neck straightening the decapping rod? Midway USA sells the decapping rod for $15 if you're not comfortable straightening the rod yourself.

 

[SPEAK338]

I have a very sensitive canine tooth and I use it to seat primers.

 

[29aholic]

The thickness of a large primer is pretty much the difference between the lengths of a 45 Colt and a 454 Casull. I set my dies for the Colt then space the seating die out with a spent primer to load 454.

 

[Mad_Charlie]

The concept is fine, but why not get a spacer made?

 

[haroldwilson]

Another unconventional technique I use, is to size fired casemouths down a bit "undersized", and then use a sinclair (or K&M) mandrel to do final sizing to the INSIDE of the case neck.

In my mind, consistent neck tension depends on the difference in diameter between the OD of the bullet and ID of the case-neck... So why would you use a bushing to size the OD of the case neck, when it's the ID that matters? Of course, if you neck-turn your brass this does not apply.

For example:

My winchester 243 brass requires a .271 bushing to achieve .002" neck tension. So, I choose a ~.268" bushing to slightly undersize the neck. Then the .241" (OD) expander mandrel leaves the ID of the neck right at .002" under bullet diameter to achieve a consistent (regardless of neck thickness) .002" neck tension.

This is essentially the same as using a standard FLS die with the expander ball, except FLS dies greatly undersize the caseneck prior to the ball being pulled through, so my method minimizes coldwork of the brass, while maintainining the same ultimate functionality. Additionally, my testing showed that using an expander mandrel to finish size the neck resulted in better concentricity than the expander ball.

Have you tried a Lee collet die? It does a nice job of this in one step.