I've been wanting to build a wildcat barrel for awhile now but have always been detracted by the cost of dies.

The other day I got to thinking about a way to possibly side step that cost. I have started using lee collet dies exclusively for my bolt guns. looking at the design of them I could very easily modify one for the cartridge so that would solve the neck sizing, a bullet seater is a bullet seater.

could I use a chamber reamer to make a shoulder bump die off of a piece of the blank? I know the chamber is larger than a sizer reamer but would it not work to bump the shoulder when needed? I even considered machining it to accept redding neck bushings.

now is a body die that critical for a bolt gun? for example if I resized the brass in it's parent case's die prior to fireforming or used virgin brass shouldn't the brass stay the same as the chamber only needing the shoulder bumped after a few firings?

Thanks for any help. Yes a off the shelf option would be easier (6br) but I'd really like to have something different, without the huge cost of dies. I can stomach the reamer but dies push it over the edge for me.

I'm wanting to make a improved 6x45 with a 30' shoulder and some of the case taper taken out, but not all of it. then have the throat setup for the new 105gr nosler RDF. would use a 1:8 twist

Quickload shows good potential with velocity in the high 2700-low 2800's from a 26" tube. I like the fact it uses .223 brass as many of us have mountains of and since I'd own the reamer I could build a smaller/lighter rifle later on down the road when my kids are old enough to hunt as a first deer rifle. I'm sure I could get a good hunting bullet to work in it as well.