7.5x55 Dies conundrum

[nitrohuck]

Okay,

my first k31 Swiss is on the way here, will be arriving by Thursday... Thank you so much to all of the people who have been helping me out with my bullet mold inquiries, it has been very informative to say the least (and damn you HollowPoint for getting 1.5" groups at 200yrds that is insane to me)


Some of the members have been kind enough to assist me by sending some boolits my way so I can test them out before I commit to buying a mold, so I have dodged a financial bullet for a couple of weeks in that respect that I do not need a mold ASAP, but instead just need to get the simple reloading supplies to get me started on the journey...

So here is the issue: When it comes to dies, I am aware that some dies are to spec for the Swiss 1911 rather than the k31 which is a bit tighter, and can actually harm brass... Today I went to buy the Redding 7.5x55 (k31) dies which I could assume would work perfectly, but they sold out of their last one today!!! Harsh luck :(

In lieu of the Redding dies being out of stock (and literally about $30 more expensive on other websites than Grafs) I have come up with a few runner ups that I would highly appreciate opinions on and if you have experience with the dies all the better!

Lee 7.5x55 Dies

RCBS 7.5x55 FL Die set Group A

Anyone use them to reload for their k31 specifically? Am I supposed to only size the neck of the die and not push it all the way through the FL sizer? I know enough to ask the questions, but not enough to really get a clear picture on what is going on here...

Also, if anyone is by chance looking to sell Redding 7.5x55 Swiss dies I am looking to purchase ASAP (like today) otherwise I will probably just go with the Lee/RCBS sets pending responses from the folks here.

The reason I am rushing is simply because the rifle is already en route to me

thanks a ton fellas!
~Nitrohuck

[ukrifleman]

I use Lee dies to load for my K31 with no problems.
ukrifleman.

[madsenshooter]

nitrohuck, CH4D also sells a set for the K31. You can use the regular dies, but it does require a lot more force, and to me, it's a lot harder on the brass. Can't confirm that, I had my CH4D dies before I had the rifle. Their K31 dies set is $83.01.

[Charley]

http://www.handloadersbench.com/view_topic.php?id=19873&forum_id=4&highlight=7.5x55

Here's a test I did a while back on the "specific" K31 dies, vs "other 7.5x55 dies". Might be helpful.

[nitrohuck]

http://www.handloadersbench.com/view_topic.php?id=19873&forum_id=4&highlight=7.5x55

Here's a test I did a while back on the "specific" K31 dies, vs "other 7.5x55 dies". Might be helpful.


I just finished reading that writeup actually! Very informative and straight to the point of exactly what I needed to know, I'm sure many people are thankful for that side-by-side, myself included.

I think I will just go with the RCBS dies ($27.99) from Grafs and hope they work out fine... fingers crossed

[EMC45]

I use Lee and they work just fine.

[legend]

i used lee and they did not work. i bought redding and they are perfect........

[MtGun44]

I have Lee, Redding and Hornady dies for 7.5 Swiss. I have a pile of medals from ammo, mostly loaded
in the Hornady dies. Hornady produces noticably more accurate ammo than the others, IME.
Get the Hornady dies specifically marked as K31 dies, not just 7.5 Swiss.

Bill

[beemer]

There is close to 20 thousands difference in dia. at the shoulder on a new unfired military case and a case fired in my rifle. Using a set of Lee dies I tried three different presses and 4-5 different lubes, the sizing was very hard and usually noisey. I do have to admit that sometimes the noise was the case squeeling and sometimes me. I tried two sets of Lee dies with the same results. Some people have no problems with Lee dies for the Swiss, I wish I knew the answer. There are probably as many Lee dies on my shelf as all the others,no problems with any of them.

Anyway I bought a set of Redding dies and was well satisifed with them. They are expensive but very high quality.

Dave

[wrench]

I have 7.5 Swiss dies from Lee, Hornady, RCBS, and the magic Redding K31 dies. They all work fine, and produce accurate ammo.
The Redding dies work the shoulders less, but they all work.

[nitrohuck]

I will be mostly shooting cast rounds with lower charges, so hopefully the cases won't be too blown out and therefor will go through the press a little easier...

It is surprising how hit/miss this is, but thats the firearms world for ya... I guess I will update the results when they show up!

I am using the Hornady One Shot Case Lube... Latigo on the Swiss Rifle forums highly recommended spray lubes for the 7.5 swiss, but I've also seen other reviews absolutely bashing Hrn One Shot as the worst lube ever especially for rifles, so what gives?

I have a feeling someone will most likely recommend I try castor oil, have seen that mentioned a lot on tons of forums

[uscra112]

My experience was that the Lee die I bought shrank the shoulder too much for my K31. I certainly could chamber and shoot the Lee-sized cases, but felt it would work the brass too much. Bought the Hornady, and from somewhere I found an RCBS neck sizer. Now I'm comfortable.

I have swaged hundreds of .223 cases to .315" diameter all the way to the base, (it takes a hydraulic press), to make .25-20 Stevens and .22 Lovell cases. I never used anything but RCBS case lube, which is mostly lanolin, (I think). Why anybody would use anything else is quite beyond me. I use the ziplock bag method to apply it. No overspray, no waste, cleanup with hot water.

Never thought about it before, but will K31 ammo even fit into the 1911 rifles, if the shoulder diameter is larger?

[tgator]

96/11 and 1911 rifles have slightly different size chambers. Reloaded cases shot in K31 guns resized with the K31 specific dies will not chamber easily in the early rifles. If resized with standard 7.5X55 dies they will chamber in both.

The throats on early rifles tend to be much more user friendly for cast than K31 rifles. Do not use near max loads in pre K31 model rifles. The case head is not fully supported.

The NOE 311-247 shoots great in both my 1911s.



Tim

[Bob S]

I've been using a set of prehistoric CH 7.5 x 55 dies for all of my 7.5 loading for nearly 14 years now: a dozen K31's a few K11's several 1911-type long rifles and two 1889's. Obviously, this was way before anyone invented the "need" for special dies for the K31. Some of my case lots (reformed 284 Winchester) have been loaded up to 20 times. The only cases I ever had to discard were a few with collapsed shoulders during the reforming process (284 to 7.5): no failures or incipient failures for repeated firing/resizing cycles. Accuracy has been stellar out to 600 yards.

You certainly don't need special K31 dies ... the claims of increased case life and better accuracy are marketeer's BS ... but they won't hurt either as long as you load only for the K31. If you get any of the 1889/1911 rifles/carbines, you'll need to get another set of dies or at least the FL sizing die.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Maven]

The voice of reason from Bob once again! My experience with ancient CH-4D FL dies v. Redding FL dies for the 7.5 x 55mm (2 K-31's) mirrors the above exactly.

[craig61a]

Been using Lee collet die to resize my 7.5x55, also use it for 7.5x54 French, no problems.

[WineMan]

What I have found is that if you only intend to have a K31, a K31 die set is just fine (more $ though). I have two K31's and LEE dies, no problem, still have all of my original brass some with five reloads. No neck splits yet (have you ever seen a shoulder split???). The Swiss rifles are finicky about sizing. Set what ever die you get to allow the newly resized (empty) case to chamber without resistance. Your biggest issue is to be sure your COL is short enough to allow easy chambering. Most manuals are good for 96/11 and K11 rifles, but not K31's.

Dave

[VintageRifle]

Been using Lee collet die to resize my 7.5x55, also use it for 7.5x54 French, no problems.

I second the lee collet die. I have some brass that I stopped counting after 10 reloads. This is with cast bullet loads.