Cool. Obviously you took in what you saw.Originally Posted by Ernest T
Cool. Obviously you took in what you saw.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
I especially liked his video on fliers :)
Yeah, but he says a lot and there are a lot of videos!
Here's where I'm at. I still haven't given up on the arbor press and dial indicator to seat bullets, but I need to make a other improvements anyway.
1. I want to use a full length sizing die to bump the shoulder back .002". I've read you can do that with just about any non-collet die by removing the mandrel with the sizing ball. I need to determine if my Lee sizing die is up to the task.
2. To set neck tension with an expander mandrel, I need an expander die body and mandrel .001-.003 smaller than bullet diameter.
3. I need to get a better bullet seating die.
4. Stop crimping bullets.
Does that sound reasonable?
Look at Eric Cortina's method for setting FL size dies. I would not be concerned with how many thousandths it is set back, just that it is 'enough' to fit your chamber and allows for smooth action. Why would you remove the mandrel? Just curious.
Why can't you use the proper mandrel with your FL or neck size die?
Its just a different method I read about.
1. Full length sizing die with ball
2. Bushing die
3. Using a expander mandrel
With number one, you are limited to combos provided by the die maker. Two might be inconsistent if your brass is not a consistent thickness at the neck since you are sizing the outside of the brass neck. With three, you know bullet diameter and can choose the inside neck diameter to give you whatever tension you desire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXU9oSX0qAY
Ernest T, what is Your end goal ? You are delving into some aspects of reloading that are precision methods for competition. Do You intend to compete, and if not, how will You judge Your success ?
...
I don't have an end goal except small groups at 100 yards. I don't shoot competition, but I am working my way towards shooting at 1000 yards. I'm at 500 and that was surprisingly easy to accomplish. I'm thinking I need to tighten up my reloading technique as the range increases.
Right now, I can tell the neck tension in my loads is not consistent just by the way the bullet seats. The force required is inconsistent, so I'm trying to address that issue. I can shoot six five-shot groups and get three of them into 1/2" and three with flyers in them. At first, I thought it was probably my shooting, but it could also be my loads.
I figure I'll try different things until I get it right or get tired of fiddling with it.
So lets assume you wanted to switch from sizing the case neck with an expander ball in a full length sizing die, to using an expander in a separate step so you could adjust neck size for different neck tensions. Your options are to buy a full set of 11 expanders for $174 or the individual expanders for $21.50 each. I'm thinking that most of those sizes, included in the set, aren't going to be used as they cover a pretty wide range of sizes. The question is, which size expander do you start with? I don't have a cylinder gauge small enough to measure the case neck I'm getting from my Lee full length sizing die, but the expander ball measures .262". That seems like the logical place to start -- and maybe buy the size .001 above and below that expander. They also sell sizes expanders .0005 above and below .262 so you can get half sizes. Any opinions?
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