Need help with 6.5-06dies

M

marlowjoe

New member
Guys, Those of you that shoot the 6.5, would you mind letting me know what your die sizes your I.D of the neck to. I have a set of custom dies and I believe they are reducing my neck to much. My inside neck I.D is 0.250 to 0.253 depending on neck thickness of my brass. That is coming out of the die with out the decap and expander. My expander ball is 0.261. I called the manufacter and they said that was right, but send them some brass and the dies, but they said as far as they could tell it was not the die...I even bought a carbide button to try to reduce case stretch, but no such luck..

thanks for any help in advance..Joe
 
i do not shoot 6.5'06..do shoot 6.5x55 swede.
first dies size the od of the neck when there is no button so tell us the od......
i know it sounds strange, but it is what the die is working.
( neck brass varies by maker, die makers have to build compromise dies that work it all well..not perfect)
if you do not like the current sizing, you have two options.
one have the neck sizing section recut...open it up to get what you want.

two have the die recut to use neck bushings and play with the neck tension.

lee makes neck sizing dies based on a mandrel...you can get them done custom...

i use a lee loader and am happy with my sizing....

mike in co
 
mike in co said:
i do not shoot 6.5'06..do shoot 6.5x55 swede.
first dies size the od of the neck when there is no button so tell us the od......
i know it sounds strange, but it is what the die is working.
( neck brass varies by maker, die makers have to build compromise dies that work it all well..not perfect)
if you do not like the current sizing, you have two options.
one have the neck sizing section recut...open it up to get what you want.

two have the die recut to use neck bushings and play with the neck tension.

lee makes neck sizing dies based on a mandrel...you can get them done custom...

i use a lee loader and am happy with my sizing....

mike in co
Click to expand...

mike thank you for your help. Here is what the od measures with out the stem in place. from 0.276 to 0.281. Loaded round is from 0.288 to 0.292 depending on neck thickness.

It is hard for me to believe there is as much as 0.012 difference , between sized and loaded.
 
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well when you pull the button thru it opens it back up so not 12 thou.......well not how the mfg looks at it.......but then the issue of stretching and bending necks...
mike in co
marlowjoe said:
mike thank you for your help. Here is what the od measures with out the stem in place. from 0.276 to 0.281. Loaded round is from 0.288 to 0.292 depending on neck thickness.

It is hard for me to believe there is as much as 0.012 difference , between sized and loaded.
Click to expand...
 
Yes Sir that's what I am talking about necks being pulled out of proportion. I could understand if it was only a few thou, not what I am getting. I tested some of my other dies and they are within 2-3 and they are full length dies also. The manu guy said if he was me he would buy a bushing die. Now why would i want to spend another $140.00 for another die, when the one I have is supposed to be right.
Maybe it's just me?....
 
Standard one piece dies have suffered from this excessive neck reduction for years. It is the reason that expander balls have gotten such a bad rap. Shooters did not figure out that if the ID of the die was the right size that the expander would not be much of a problem. Jim Carstensen of (I think) JLC Precision modifies one piece dies so that they will take bushings. For unturned brass, I suggest that you use a bushing that is sized so that you can just barely feel the expander come through the neck, on your thinnest neck. This should work out very well.
 
Boyd, thankyou for your help on this also. I will call him and ask if he can do this for me. And this is the first set of dies I have ever owned in my 30yrs plus of reloading that has been this tight. I did not name any names, because every one makes a mistake every now and then. and me included..

Thanks again Mike for your reply have a blessed day
 
I have a set of dies for a .223 that squeeze everything down so that almost feels like I'm forming cases. Although I've never measured the ID or OD of a case before it's been expanded up there's a real drag on the expander when it comes back out of the neck of a case. I've also got a .223 bushing die and have done what Boyd mentioned, selected a button that sizes the necks just enough that the expander only kisses the inside of the necks of the cases. It works well that way.

The first set of dies is barely used anymore.
 
Larry, I am glad I am not the only one that has had this happen. for a minute I thought it was me :rolleyes:
I am going to try to have some one fix it so it is a bushing die. I do not care to spend another $140.00 for another die.
And thankyou for your time to reply..
thx Joe
 
For as inexpensive the Lee Collect dies are they do a most excellent job!!!!!

If you can get your hands on some Lapua brass and neck size it with the Lee Collet die; you will be very happy.
 
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