bullet runout

I have bought the new hornady runout guage and have been mucking around with diferent dies and seaters.
so far the lee two die 308 set and the 338 lapua forster ultra dies are making the most concentric ammo at .5 to 3 thou run out when measured just in front of the case.
I have been trying the 6.5 x55 lee collet die and it is producing similar results to the hornady f/l sizing die at .5 to 5 thou run out.
I am wondering if I should try putting the amax seating stem into the seating die to see if it improves run out, Has any body tried this system .
The other option is to get the hammer and smash the concentricty tool into little bits and get some sleep!
Bssically what is considerd or proven to be the most concentric bullet seating die

Cheers Andy

When I run out, I buy more. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by gimp

When I run out, I buy more. Hope this helps.

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yep i know about that as well,just had to replace my 6.5x55 barrel as the throat getting shagged!

How many through it?

Do you run an expander in the dies?

There are many things that may cause run out these can be tested after every step of the reloading process, but one thing alot of people forget to do is check if there fired rounds have good run out numbers before even starting reloading. The expander ball like spanner pointed out is one of the first things to check as they cause alot of the run out trouble in sizing dies. A rubber O ring under the die can help and may be worth a try. Different dies may get you better results, I've had good success with Redding competition sizing and setting dies. An over size chamber can also cause trouble as the dies are sizing the case excessively.

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Originally Posted by gimp

How many through it?

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all have expanders except the collet die.i will borrow my mates sinclair guage and check some cases as the hornady will only do loaded rounds.
the 6.5 would have had approx 2000 rounds through it

That's pretty low. How fast were you pushing it? Was it still shooting?

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Originally Posted by gimp

That's pretty low. How fast were you pushing it? Was it still shooting?

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not pushing to quick but speed has dropped of with same load from 2720 down to 2640.could easily have had more rounds than two thousand as havnt counted the empty amax boxes but there seems to be a few. as for accurate check the horopito gunslinger report!

I don't know where to find that, so... was it still shooting?

http://www.gunslinger.net.nz/rifle_c...ch_report.html

Team hillbillie had a good day!

Very nice. Not worth changing if it's shooting that well in my opinion.



Unless I'm reading that horribly formatted page wrong.

To late, put the new barrel on friday made twenty bombs up went to mates place zeroed chronied and then got my ten year old son to shoot his first two deer at 317 and 415 yds. one thing i noticed that the es is way better and running where it used to be at about 2740 with the 140 amax.
I just JBed the barrel before i fired a shot and it stayed clean as a whistle after 15 shots

I've found the Forster Ultra Micrometer seating die absolutely first class for loading my 6.5mm SAUM ammo.

The Forster die uses a sliding sleeve that the SAUM case sits perfectly in - exactly like the chamber of a rifle. This ensures that the bullet is in perfect alignment with the case neck.

Of the last 40 rounds I loaded, 10 showed the worst runout at .003, while the other 30 were between .000 and .001.

I got my die from Sinclair International. I think it was about $57.00 US landed here in NZ.

I forgot to add that I use Redding dies along with my Forster seating die - I use a 7mm SAUM 'S' type neck die with bushings for sizing the neck and a Redding 7mm SAUM body die for bumping the shoulder back when cases get too long.

The Wilson seating die is the easiest to use to make accurate ammo and gives good feedback on neck tension.

If you use an expander ball type resizing die try loosening the nut on the stem a tad so that the expander will have a better chance of being concentric as it is pulled up through the neck. You run a higher risk of breaking a decapping pin but it's worth it.

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Originally Posted by 10-Ring

If you use an expander ball type resizing die try loosening the nut on the stem a tad so that the expander will have a better chance of being concentric as it is pulled up through the neck. You run a higher risk of breaking a decapping pin but it's worth it.

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+1 Another trick with those type of dies is to put an o ring under the locking nut/ring. Might have already been suggested as this is and old long thread.
Another thing to do, if the position of the expander ball is adjustable on the decapping rod (lots aren't of course), is to adjust the ball as high as possible so that the ball is drawn back thru the neck very soon when you operate the press handle to drop the case out of the die.

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Originally Posted by zimmer

+1 Another trick with those type of dies is to put an o ring under the locking nut/ring. Might have already been suggested as this is and old long thread.
Another thing to do, if the position of the expander ball is adjustable on the decapping rod (lots aren't of course), is to adjust the ball as high as possible so that the ball is drawn back thru the neck very soon when you operate the press handle to drop the case out of the die.

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+1 Good info.

The expander ball of some make of dies (RCBS is one) can be improved by smoothing the leading, top edge angle with a drill and wet and dry 400. The idea is to just smooth this approach angle and not reduce the diameter of the expander itself as that would increase the case neck tension.

Also, if using your standard type reloading press, try using a rubber band to secure the shellholder on the ram instead of the heavy spring clip which has a tendency to cock the case and thus the case neck slightly as it enters the resizing part of the die.