RCBS Gold Medal bushing sizer die

[Dennis]

Ok, see the below picture which is straight from RCBS's instruction sheet. As seen below, the die comes with the Expander Ball installed and states it's needed for a "new lot of brass". Then it states in the next sentence the Expander Ball must be replace with the expander that comes in the accessory kit when used with the neck bushing!!!!!

There are not other instructions concerning the above!!!!! So "WHAT" expander do I use? On new brass (never fired), and of course I know what to use on fired brass!

The person I talked to at RCBS was scratching his head!!!!!! After reading what's in the picture, I am sure you will understand my question. There is no other information to go with this explanation.

[img width=600 height=450]http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae56/Dennis4437/DSC03856.jpg[/img]

[82boy]

OK, you should have two decaping pin holders/ends. One that is knurled and straight, the other has a bulge at the top. The one with the bulge in the top is a expander. Now if you have new brass, do not put a neck bushing in, and have the expander/decaping pin end on, this will expand the neck of the brass. To size the brass, remove the expander/decaping pin end and place the straight end on, and then use the neck sizing bushing you want to size the neck to.

If you was to use both the expander and the sizing bushing you are really working the brass, and causing other problems. When you would go on the down stroke the expander would expand the necks and then the sizing bushing would push them smaller, then when you would pull up on the handle you would take your sized neck, and then re expand it. You are defeating the purpose of sizing the necks. I seen people do this, and one guy I bought a barrel off of was doing this, and what he ended up doing was reshaping the neck, and shoulder area of the brass causing head space problems. The moral is just use one or the other not both.

[Dennis]

Thanks again Patrick, Lisa said HI by the way!

Now from what you explained, I should take the expander ball OFF and just leave if OFF! A loaded round measures .290 and I have a .288 bushing.

I will put the straight pin holder on the decapper pin with the .288 neck bushing in the die and size my new brass.

One the second once fire brass, I will measure the headspace and set the die accordingly before decapping.

Thanks again, let me know if I have the above correct, LOL

Dennis

[Slowpoke Slim]

For new, unfired brass, you need to use the expander ball. The decapping pin without the expander ball on it is for brass that has been fired already. New brass needs the necks uniformed with the expander ball before the first loading. Once the brass has been fired in your chamber, the neck opens up to fill the chamber, and is now larger in diameter than it will be once sized with the bushing. Thus the bushing can then squeeze the neck diameter down to the desired size (.288 in this case). New unfired brass may be inconsistant in it's neck diameter and may also be out of round. You may have new unfired brass that is already .288 or less in diameter, and will not get reshaped by the die if you don't use the expander ball.

I normally take my new unfired brass, and FL resize it in a FL die before I load it the first time. Only after it's been fired in my chamber do I switch to the neck bushing die and neck only size.

Hope that helps.

[Dennis]

Both of the above helps tremendously! Thanks to both of you!

Dennis

[82boy]

For new, unfired brass, you need to use the expander ball. The decapping pin without the expander ball on it is for brass that has been fired already. New brass needs the necks uniformed with the expander ball before the first loading. Once the brass has been fired in your chamber, the neck opens up to fill the chamber, and is now larger in diameter than it will be once sized with the bushing. Thus the bushing can then squeeze the neck diameter down to the desired size (.288 in this case). New unfired brass may be inconsistant in it's neck diameter and may also be out of round. You may have new unfired brass that is already .288 or less in diameter, and will not get reshaped by the die if you don't use the expander ball.

I normally take my new unfired brass, and FL resize it in a FL die before I load it the first time. Only after it's been fired in my chamber do I switch to the neck bushing die and neck only size.

Hope that helps.

+1

[Dennis]

I will be loading 6.5x47L's.

So do I use my bushing Gold Medal die without the neck bushing and with the expander ball for new brass?

Or just use a basic FL die on my new brass?

[82boy]

I would size them twice, One expanding the necks, and then sizing the necks.

[Dennis]

10/4