just starting to load for 300wm and 7mm rem mag and have been doing a lot of reading about the bulge problem above the belt,i read the post from 2015 and saw a lot of argument about it
just starting to load for 300wm and 7mm rem mag and have been doing a lot of reading about the bulge problem above the belt,i read the post from 2015 and saw a lot of argument about it
One of these days I am going to purchase one simply because I like gadgets. That being said I have never had an issue not using one. I view them same as small base dies. I own a small base dies in .223, 308 and 30-06. In over 100K loaded I have never had to use one with the exception of a batch of 5.56 that was fired in a SAW.
ive been going thru my brass and had about 40 out of 350 300wm cases with a noticeable bulge and about 25 out of 300 7mm cases,i ordered one cause like you I like gadgets lol
I don't have one as I have never had a problem loading for the belted cases with normal dies. I don't push my loads until the bolt gets sticky or the primers flatten badly so I don't get the bulge.
Okay - please pardon my ignorance. I have loaded 338 WM, 458WM, and several Weatherby cartridges for years and don't know about the bulge?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cwtebay
http://larrywillis.com/
Belted magnum cartridges have been around for over 50 years, and most shooters that reload them are familiar with the case bulge problem that occurs "just above" the belt. This usually happens after just 2 or 3 firings - wasting perfectly good cases. Many shooters have discovered this problem when they find their handloads begin to stick in their chamber, or when they no longer chamber at all.
Unlike non-belted cases, the belt prevents conventional full length dies from traveling far enough down the case. This limits the amount of resizing, and brass is plowed rearward. The brass builds up just above the belt at each reloading, and cases expand. Neck sizing dies don't bump the shoulder back or resize the tapered case wall. The best solution is to full length resize accurately, and use this collet die to reduce case width.
Our patented Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die solves this problem and has other unique features. The top of this die is a case width gauge that shows when a little "extra" case resizing is required. This resizing die is used to eliminate the case bulge above the belt, after using your full length (or) neck sizing die. Our collet die ensures that your belted magnum ammo will always chamber properly and your cases are now able to last for up to 20 firings, even when using the hottest handloads. Our resizing die uses a collet that fits over the cartridge case, until it bottoms against the belt. The case is then pressed into the sizing die. The collet allows your case to go farther into the die where it only reduces the area "just above" the belt.
This ONE die and collet is universal and works on ALL of the popular belted magnum calibers including: .257 Weatherby Magnum, 6.5 Remington Magnum, .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Weatherby Magnum, 7 x 61 Sharpe & Hart, 7mm Remington Magnum, 7mm Weatherby Magnum, 7mm STW, .300 H&H Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .308 Norma Magnum, 8mm Remington Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum, .350 Remington Magnum, .358 Norma Magnum, .375 H&H Magnum, .416 Remington Magnum, .458 Winchester Magnum, .458 Lott Magnum and several belted wildcat cartridges. There are no extra collets to buy when resizing different calibers. The U.S. Secret Service was one of our first customers to purchase this product.
This popular collet die is now used by well over 6,000 shooters. Sometimes, the high cost of manufacturing this item requires us to build a waiting list before the next production run is back on the shelf.
I hope not to have a problem and regular dies may fix the bulge im seeing,may not be as bad as I think,but if I do ill have the tool to fix it,ive never had a problem with 5.56 myself but I do have a set of small base dies just incaseQuote:
Originally Posted by M-Tecs
Thank you! Guess I'm a little lost as to why I haven't encountered this? I do full length resize each time and get 7-10 uses out of each piece. I just went through my bins and can't see (or measure with calipers) a bulge in the few I grabbed. Is that because I do full length resize?Quote:
Originally Posted by M-Tecs
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Guess I'm not one of the shooters that know about the bulge problem in belted mags but what do I know I've only been loading for the 7mm RM for 35 years and never had a bulge in a case with brass that has 10 loading's on it. Haven't loaded for the 300 WM nearly as long but I have yet to see a bulge as well. Sounds like a solution looking for a problem kind of like the small base dies people think they need to load 223.
This is just a guess on my part so take it for what it's worth. I can see great benefit if you are using brass fired in a larger chamber that has issues when chambered in a tighter chamber. That is no different than small base dies. When I shot 1,000 yard Highpower with a 300 Win Mag. loosening primer pockets was my only case related issues. While not belted mag when I neck size only on bottlenecked cases I do have to use a shoulder bump die occasionally to bump the shoulder back. Shoulder bump dies do not size the body. Never had an issue with cases binding above the web.
I have been using one for about 5 years now. The version I have works for any belted mag based on the 300 H&H so my 7mm Rem mag & 300 WBY fall in this category.
I was getting about 3 reloads on the 7 mag when the cases started to get difficult to chamber. I even sent my dies back to RCBS to see if they were out of specification and when they came back as OK then I thought is was the case stretching so I got a neck trimmer and turner. NO luck. I was running mid range loads not primer crushers or rip snorters. I was having to replace brass that, other then being sticky, was good. I started doing Internet research and came across the Collet sizer and decided to give it a go.
It has the case checker that you drop the case in and if it goes plunk then it is good to go. I now drop the cases in the Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die after cleaning and sizing just to be sure they are in spec before reloading. My belted mags are big game hunting guns and I now run them as magnums using premium jacketed bullets. I quit worrying if the next round was going to chamber when 3 miles in from the road and was lined up on a big bull. It was worth every penny I paid and has paid of itself just from the cases I have salvaged that would not chamber.
M-Tecs and Minerat thanks for your input.
What I want to know is, if the case comes out of the rifle without a hard lift and pull on the bolt, why won't it go back in and how did the bulge get there while the case was out of the camber. I shoot several belted mags and haven't had this problem. I did pick up some 300 H&H cases that not only were bulged ahead of the belt but were over sized at the belt and had loose primers as well as very flat primers. Those went in the trash. If I ever run into a problem of bulges ahead of the belt I'll drill a hole in a piece of 7/8 14 all thread and ream it to the proper size and fix the bulge.
When I first started loading I had a problem with some 7mm mag cases breaking off just ahead of the belt. I learned to back off on the sizer die until it just didn't set the shoulder back. No more case head separation. I load all my bottle neck brass that way now and am getting good case life.
All my hunting ammo is checked in the rifle before I go to the field with it. You never know, something could have happened even in a storage box on the shelf.
The question I have is why some folks have issue and some don't? Is it just luck/bad luck or something specific or a combination of things that makes it an issue for some?
Good question as in all my loading and shooting 7mm rem mag 300 win mag 264 win mag and 30-338 I have never encountered this either , and would be inclined as to a chamber specific problem on some rifles or bad brass , glad mine do not have the issue , but if one did I would get his die to use for that firearm or try a new barrel.
Yes, good question.
I do not shoot a lot of magnum rounds but I do have and load for several magnum rifles in a number of different magnum cartridges and while I am aware of the Willis collet sizer, I have not needed one yet.
If I needed one I would buy one but as long as that “dog lays sleeping” why spend the money?
Three44s
I think it is luck of the draw. My 7mm is a 1980' Savage 110, my 300 Weatherby is a 1990 model. I did not start having problems with the 7mm until about the 3rd reload and total chambering failure at #5. The WBY has never failed to chamber but it gets difficult at around #5. My buddy shoots a 7mm Ruger 77 that dates to the 1980's and he has the problem at #4.
I also think that it is more common then we think but most guys just pitch the brass if it gets finicky and never figure out the cause. I find it at the range and pick it up to see if it has the problem. The test is fast and simple so if the pickup does not pass it goes in the recycle bin. I figure it has been reloaded at least as many times as mine so just don't trust it.
Hi...
I don't reload a great deal of belted magnum rounds but have never experienced this problem.
I used to reload .264Magnum for a friend with no chambering issues or any other problems for that matter.
Now that I am reloading for my 7mmMagnum I have had no problems whatsoever.
Having said that, this is good information to have and will keep it in mind going forward.
Not going to buy this tooling until I have a demonstrable problem however. Should this isuue manifest itself I will probably get one and see if it alleviates the problem.
ive shot a ruger m77 mark ii 300 wm for years but not often so I never loaded for it.now im restocking it,doing a trigger job and adding a terminator muzzle brake and building my wife a Remington 700 with a brake.so ive started collecting brass for these 2 and reading a lot about reloading them,when I started checking brass was when I found the cases with this issue so I ordered the collet die,i don't think my ruger has a problem but ill be checking it out when its ready to fire
I use a combination of the RCBS neck sizing die, and a Redding Body die and have never had the bulge problem. I can "usually" get to a dozen reloads before the primer pockets start to get loose, and I run them on the warm side. I also have a RCBS BAR sizing die that I use once if I'm using brass that was shot in a different rifle than mine.