Choosing .22BR dies?

ehkempf said:
If you read my posts I said that my chamber is .254 (known for sure) . . .
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Though we were talking about "Bold Lion's" chamber.

Kinda wondered about that "Bold Lion" bit, too. A Penn State fan? Or just wants to make sure we don't mistake him for a wimpy lion? And why don't we see more wimpy lions? Or just normal lions. They can't all be bold, can they?
 
Charles E said:
Though we were talking about "Bold Lion's" chamber.

Kinda wondered about that "Bold Lion" bit, too. A Penn State fan? Or just wants to make sure we don't mistake him for a wimpy lion? And why don't we see more wimpy lions? Or just normal lions. They can't all be bold, can they?
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Charles,

I can't remember how I came up with this name...thought it was Hemingway.

Al,

Just loaded up 50 rounds using the regular Forster die. Tried seating some that I necked down using the form die but they wouldn't hold a bullet. After measuring about 25 of them I got a reading of .249" but I would like a little less neck tension than I had this time. There were really no problems but there was a little bit of shaving when seating. Maybe just .001" less neck tension would be good?

Kyle
 
If you're shaving brass you've got to fix your casemouths.

Here's what I do. I first trim them, then chamfer in and out, then spin them @ 100rpms with steel wool held against the end.

I do this all over AGAIN after 2-3 firings, then my cases are ready to go.....

The mouth of the case is an important part of the accuracy equation.




IMO





al


BTW I figgered Bold Lion meant you were an on-fire charismatic Christian firewalker type.....
 
Bold Lion,

I agree with Al about the importance of case mouths. From time to time, esp. on long range rounds where so much can go wrong, I even use the Wilson chamfering tool, in the holder, to make sure it is even. & an even fussier guy than me -- Jim Hardy -- uses a 45-degree chamfering tool for flat-base bullets, but a 33-degree tool for boat tails.

Now I'll allow I haven't read all of the 40-some posts. I've read a bunch, but not all. So if what follows has been covered, forgive me.

Bushings aren't all that expensive. If you have a pretty good idea of your chamber neck diameter, why not order 3. One "what you think you need," and one .001 over & one .001 under (what you think you need). And if that still doesn't do it, buy another.

A trick I use is to make up a few mandrels, .001,.002, and .003 under bullet diameter. Now use your factory FL die without the expander ball, & expand up with your mandrels. Then buy the precision bushing (sort of an oxymoron, that). But I have a lathe, & if you don't have access to one, you're in for buying a lot of drill rod & chamfering some steel. Easier to just buy a few more bushings.

And a by-the-way -- I use the mandrels even after I've determined the bushings I need, but with a bushing die, going just .001 under, then expanding up with the mandrel. Again, this for long-range rounds where you don't fire very many, & each has to be as good as you can possibly make it.

Lots of ways to do the job, both to determine the best set up, and for loading. Given the cost of components, spending a little on loading equipment will save you in the long run.

BTW, "Bold Lion" could just mean you liked that old Finnish rimfire competition rifle. A good rifle in it's day.
 
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Al,

I did the steel wool trick but maybe didn't use it enough. So using the calculations with my .249" loaded rounds, I really dont want anymore neck tension then I have now. I think ill go with a .250", .249" and .248"?

alinwa said:
If you're shaving brass you've got to fix your casemouths.

Here's what I do. I first trim them, then chamfer in and out, then spin them @ 100rpms with steel wool held against the end.

I do this all over AGAIN after 2-3 firings, then my cases are ready to go.....

The mouth of the case is an important part of the accuracy equation.




IMO





al


BTW I figgered Bold Lion meant you were an on-fire charismatic Christian firewalker type.....
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You need more tools.....

You need a TRIMMER to cut the nasty edge off the case and you need CHAMFERING or at least deburring tools to clean the burrs off. Then you smooth it all off with the steel wool.

I can't imagine why you'd want a .250 or .249 bushing for .249 loaded round diameter.

al
 
alinwa said:
You need more tools.....

You need a TRIMMER to cut the nasty edge off the case and you need CHAMFERING or at least deburring tools to clean the burrs off. Then you smooth it all off with the steel wool.

I can't imagine why you'd want a .250 or .249 bushing for .249 loaded round diameter.

al
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Al,

I have the tools. I have my Wilson trimmer and used a regular chamfer/debur tool. Then used the steel wool.

If I wanted .001" less tension than I have now wouldn't it be a .250" bushing? I don't know thats why im asking. Thanks.

Kyle
 
Bold Lion said:
Al,

I have the tools. I have my Wilson trimmer and used a regular chamfer/debur tool. Then used the steel wool.

If I wanted .001" less tension than I have now wouldn't it be a .250" bushing? I don't know thats why im asking. Thanks.

Kyle
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cool on the tooling.....

Now, I'm missing something. If your loaded round actually measures .249 over the bullet then the .250 shouldn't give you any neck tension at all. The .250 shouldn't even touch the neck of a loaded round...


???


al
 
Al,

I think I'm a a little confused now. If I want less neck tension than I have now and my loaded neck diameter measures .249" then how would I go about determining the proper bushing size?

I'd like to get a bushing that gives me the tension I have now and then .001" less tension.

Kyle
 
Bold Lion said:
Al,

I think I'm a a little confused now. If I want less neck tension than I have now and my loaded neck diameter measures .249" then how would I go about determining the proper bushing size?

I'd like to get a bushing that gives me the tension I have now and then .001" less tension.

Kyle
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What was the size of the bushing that you used to get the current loaded round size of .249? If you used a .247 try a .248. That would give you .001 less.

Ed
 
ehkempf said:
What was the size of the bushing that you used to get the current loaded round size of .249? If you used a .247 try a .248. That would give you .001 less.

Ed
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Ed,

I didn't use a bushing die. I just used my Forster FL die to load up some rounds.
 
Bold Lion said:
Ed,

I didn't use a bushing die. I just used my Forster FL die to load up some rounds.
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At the risk of getting blasted by Al. here is what I would do. You may have said this in a earlier post, but have you fired any rounds thru this gun yet. If not shoot some of the 25 rounds that you have loaded. Once fired these now "fireformed" brass should be resized using the bushing type die that you have chosen to use. I would start with the largest size that you feel comfortable with, for talking purpose lets say a .248. After it is sized try hand seating a bullet, if it slips in too freely than you need to go down in size say a .247, and so on. The converse is also true. if after the first sizing you can not fit a bullet by hand you might want to stop there or try on the next round a different bushing, say a .249. Again these bushing sizes are for talking purpose only.
 
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As long as you remember 6mmBR seems to be more interested in making money while passing on generalities. Good generalities, but...

For example, in the article referenced:

With custom bullets, the 22BR has done well in NBRSA short-range Benchrest.
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Uh, no, it hasn't. Well, T.J. Jackson found some joy with it, but he's a gunsmith/Hall of Fame shooter & a lot of other special things, who passed away in the 1990s. He also used higher BC bullets, as I remember. Etc. I can't remember seeing a .22 BR on the equipment lists in quite a while.
 
I did not mention the 6mm BR site to say that it good benchrest caliber. It and its big brother the 6 MM BR are not popular with short range benchrest shooters. The 6 MM BR seems to have a good following with long range shooters and they seem to show up at a lot of "Grounghog Shoots" and "Egg Shoots". I only pointed to the article because of the piece on forming 22 BR Brass and for the load data, which might be helpful or not. I don't know what Bold Lions intended use is for his rifle, I had mine made up because I wanted one to go with my two 6 MM BR's for informal shooting and as a super accurate "chuck" guns.
 
Bold Lion said:
Al,

I think I'm a a little confused now. If I want less neck tension than I have now and my loaded neck diameter measures .249" then how would I go about determining the proper bushing size?

I'd like to get a bushing that gives me the tension I have now and then .001" less tension.

Kyle
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OK Bold Lion I'ma' wade back in for another round, I'll refrain from commenting on anyone else's ideas (generally they aren't lissening to you anyway) :) it's confusing....


but I need some help from you.



Run a couple cases into your regular Forster die. NO expander mandrel and DO NOT LOAD A BULLET.....


Just do like you did to load the 50, but measure the necks.


Now tell me the resultant measurement and I can answer your question. Just measure the sized neck. I will prognosticate that you'll give me a number significantly smaller than .249....... something like .246-ish I'll guess.


guessesby





(educated)





al










et al














of course ;)
 
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