Die ?

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Hombre0321

Guest
I ran into something of an unusual problem, at least for me it is. I bought a set of Redding Competition Bushing dies for my new 6.5X47 L. Loaded up some new unfired Lapua brass to fireform for a match this coming weekend ( the 28th). Got ready to resize this fireformed brass. Installed a .290 bushing for the no turn neck 6.5 and resized all of the cases ( 100). Then got ready to seat a bullet and man were these necks reized. They measure .248 inside the neck. That is a little more than my usual .003 neck tension, like now they are 0.15 or .016 neck tension.

At first I thought it was the bushing, but no the bushing is marked .290 and measures that as well. Turns out the die itself is to small. The hole in the neck that the case passes thru before it gets to the bushing is doing the resizing. The die itself is marked correctly at 6.5x47 Lapua. I don't have a measuring tool, that get in there but I can see this is the problem. I am sure that Redding made a mistake and I am sure they would correct it, but I need to reload now for this match.

So my question is can I "Drill" out this hole without ruining anything? I suppose that honeing it would be better, but that is not an option I don't have the honeing tools. So it's drill or nothing. Don't want to make anything worse. Can I do this safely?

Roland
 
Roland, if you have their Competition dies,the ones with a sliding sleeve and a micrometer on top, then yes, it'll drill. Those dies are made to only size the neck and do nothing to the body. Any other die that Redding makes, that I'm aware of will be too hard for normal drilling, but cuts o.k. with carbide. If that's what you have(type S?), take it to a machine shop and have them open it up. A carbide chucking reamer will make quick work of it, and it's not critical dimensionally.--Mike
 
Mike, Thanks!! It is a type S die and IT DOES NOT have the sliding sleve. I thought that it may be to hard to drill and wanted to check with you guys first.

But mike how's about if I go around the barn another way. I do have a set of dies-- Type S Match Die Set ( Redding) in 30BR. It is the same set but different caliber. Can I use this 30BR die body and use the .290 Bushing?

Roland
 
Hombre0321,
Yes, I had that same issue. The body was a very nice fit with my chamber, so I chose to open it with a carbide
tipped chucking reamer. A little polish in that area and It worked quite well, with no further problem.
 
Hombre0321 said:
Mike, Thanks!! It is a type S die and IT DOES NOT have the sliding sleve. I thought that it may be to hard to drill and wanted to check with you guys first.

But mike how's about if I go around the barn another way. I do have a set of dies-- Type S Match Die Set ( Redding) in 30BR. It is the same set but different caliber. Can I use this 30BR die body and use the .290 Bushing?

Roland
Click to expand...

Maybe...I'd have to look up case dimensions for both, compare, and blah,blah,blah. The fix i mentioned is good, simple and fast. Why not do that or just call Redding and get another die?--Mike
 
Thanks again Mike. Of course you are right. Not many machines shops here in the country but Redding is just a call away, and there is Overnight Shipping. I will take your advice. Thanks again.

Roland
 
Actually in my case, I was not unhappy about the die. I think sometimes the area preceeding the bushing is to large and this
gave me an opportunity to bump a bit more area on the shoulder. My 30Br die actually started life as a 6BR small base, because
I couldn't find a 30BR die that sized the case sufficiently at the base. By doing that, I again was able to increase the area
on the shoulder when bumping.
 
Well guys "I" figured this problem out. There was nothing wrong with the die at all, it was the correct size . Trouble was it was a 6MMx47 Lapua and not 6.5MMx47 Lapua. Made me feel like a dumb ass becuase I was the one who ordered the wrong die's in the first place. I guess on the bright side I could now have a good excuse to build another barrel in 6MM.

Roland
 
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