Redding Type S FL Sizer Works As Bullet Seater Too!

[edward hogan]

Mostly I use Forster seating dies with sliding die chamber. Don't have anything but their standard seating stems.

Over the weekend, I was loading some lyman 180gr boolits to fireform some .30-06 AI cases. Used the S FL die with .335 bushing and boolits were just barely sung seated just over first lube ring. Tried the Forster and Redding seaters and the ogive being way out on the nose of the boolit was not giving me what I wanted, plus there was no crimp or tapering to cinch case tighter to boolit.

So... I checked the Type S FL neck clearance and the loaded round cleared easily. I put a .334 bushing in first and then stacked two other bushings of greater diameter on top and removed decap rod etc from the top plug.

Basically, I was able to size the neck .001 tighter and boolit was in a tight press fit.

Fired a bunch of these today. First one I lubed with Mobil 1 synth grease and the lube was so slippery the case did not expand. Next 24 I fired w/o lube and all formed up perfectly using virgin Win brass. Was using a Lee dipper to provide 50gr xmr4350 for forming load.

Barrel is a factory stainless that feels kind of rough. Ran bore brush sprayed w/WallyWorld carb cleaner through about 20 cycles and 2 or 3 sprayings and then one patch which came out pretty damn clean. Amazing for a straight Wheelweight alloy boolit at pretty high velocity and no lube or gas check...

Will brush out again tomorrow with Barnes CR-110 and see what I get. Was just firing to make the brass, offhand at @ 25yds, but accuracy was pretty decent and consistent. didn't even size the boolits...

Pretty interesting to use the Redding S sizer as a seater.

[kelbro]

Well, I found out that the Redding 44 expander die does not work so well as a seater.

Picked up the wrong die and sunk a couple of boolits way too deep before I realized what was going on.

:) :)

[nfg]

Ed...you just found out one of the truisms about reloading...

"Necessity is the "Mother of Invention"!!!! [smilie=w:

You can use bushing dies as BULLET SIZERS in an emergency if you just fiddle with the bushing sizes and use a hunk of steel rod as a bullet pusher...just the same as Lee does...just about ANY kind of lub will help and if you're only going one or two thou, no lube is required.

If you have a lathe it's easy enough to turn one end to fit a shell holder and turn down the other end to fit inside the sizer die then cut to length...and messing around with different neck, FL, and similar caliber sizers can accomplish the same thing....

I mix and match just about anything that will even come close to working until the correct dies arrive.

OOPs, I just gave away another "secret".

Necessity might be the Mother but being a copy cat(read thief) also helps. Hahahahahahah

[edward hogan]

Bought a Lee collet neck expander to use with cast rifle boolits, but still have yet to use it. Really just getting into rifle boolit shooting since last Summer. Saw that I could push-seat the boolit to proper depth and then just wanted to taper the neck enough for a firm hold.

I do have a Sherline lathe and make my own bushings for some Type S dies and taper and shape sizing buttons. Have also taken the heat treat out of one die and drilled/reamed the neck wider for another ctg and modified a .30-06 Forster die sleeve to take .338 bullet seater and now it is a .338-06 sleeve... Have shaved a few thousandths off top of a shellholder or two. Lathe is very handy. Really need to get up to speed on using the boring-bar. Have even rigged this little lathe to set forward a rifle barrel by few thousandths. The Sherline is very versatile and fast to setup and capable of very fine precision work.