Thread: Can The Lee FL Die Do A Shoulder Bump?

As per the title. I have access to a lee press and die setup. I've tried to bump buck the shoulder 20 thou but found the results slightly inconsistent.

I am setting the die up different to the instructions as I have a gap between the case holder and the die.

Maybe these dies only do a full length resize and I should neck resize a few times before doing another FL resize.

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If you set it up differently to the instructions it probably wont work?

If the die is sitting too high off the shell holder then you aren't even touching the shoulder.

I assume you are trying to bump the shoulder 2 thou not 20 thou?
Bumping more than .002" is unnecessarily over working the shoulder and neck.

What are you using to measure the shoulder bump? How do you know it's inconsistent?

Originally Posted by Beetroot

If the die is sitting too high off the shell holder then you aren't even touching the shoulder.

I assume you are trying to bump the shoulder 2 thou not 20 thou?
Bumping more than .002" is unnecessarily over working the shoulder and neck.

What are you using to measure the shoulder bump? How do you know it's inconsistent?

Yeah, I have to start too high and slowly adjust the die till it is 2thou ( my bad, not 20thou) less than original. I use the hornady comparator tool. There is always a slight variation.

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Might be getting a bit of spring back. Has it been annealed

Originally Posted by blip

Might be getting a bit of spring back. Has it been annealed

Thats a real possibility. I do anneal but I try to only anneal the neck.

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You need to anneal neck and just past the shoulder.

So do most of you shoulder bump or fl resize? And can it be done with a standard lee die?

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Originally Posted by Rn-85

So do most of you shoulder bump or fl resize? And can it be done with a standard lee die?

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FL sizing and bumping the shoulder is the same thing, bumping the shoulder the method of trying to work the brass as little as possible, rather than sizing it back to Sammi specs which would be unnecessary if using the brass in only one rifle.

What brass are you using?
How many firings?
What cartridge?
Depending on all the above would help diagnose the issue.

Personally if you have slowly adjusted the die so that you have minimal bump and they all chamber, and the brass has only be used a few times, I'd just load them up and see what happens. Slight variations in brass wil make next to no difference for most shooters anyway.
So long as they reliably chamber that's all the really matters.

I used to fl size now I just neck size. Seen the flavour of the month change a few times since Ive been reloading

Originally Posted by blip

I used to fl size now I just neck size. Seen the flavour of the month change a few times since Ive been reloading

Doesn't the case get too long for the chamber after 3 or 4 firings? Or the case get too hard to chamber?

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I trim the cases. Once they get hard to chamber I anneal and fl size

I dont actually measure. Having a good feel for mechanical stuff through my job I can tell by feel when things need doing. Others will rely on measuring etc

I think I'll go to that method after all I really like using my lee loader.

Is the correct process to trim before fl resize?

Sorry for the newbie questions.

Originally Posted by Rn-85

I think I'll go to that method after all I really like using my lee loader.

Is the correct process to trim before fl resize?

Sorry for the newbie questions.

Its a good question and Dicko is correct. Folk do seem to confuse it tho. Just remember the case is length stretched in two actions. First is when you fire the round and the case expands to the form of the chamber which is always larger and longer to allow the round to be chambered. Second is when the case is sized forcing it back to original dimensions. Both instances cause the case to lengthen. The brass walls thin a tad under firing pressure and sizing. The brass has to go somewhere and it flows into extra length. You can test this by trimming to length say 50 cases before FL sizing. Then gauge again. A few will require retrimming. It won't be consistent because cases still vary in wall thickness in the body. And it will be a very marginal amount. Nevertheless it is enough to affect accuracy to some degree. In very tight chambers it may cause difficulty closing the bolt. In a tolerant chamber it probably makes little difference for hunting.