Make a modified fls die?

[Willyp]

Does any one take ,say,a 308 WIN.die and open its neck up and inlarge the expander rod?
Would this be a good plan,so as to be able to open up the case neck to what you are loading in cast? Like to .309 or .310,so it can be done all at once?[ one step].
Or,would all you would have to do would be to let the die neck alone and just get a larger size expander ball on the rod?

[petroid]

If you only changed the expander it would work to expand your case mouths to the desired diameter. However, the sizing die would still be squeezing the necks down smaller than necessary which works the brass more. If you want to retain the option of loading standard .308 jword bullets then leave the die alone. If you are only shooting cast boolits then you can open the die up a little bit which will make your brass last a little longer in theory.

[Doc Highwall]

Look at a Redding full length bushing die then you can change bushings in .001" increments. As far as just using a larger expander in the die for cast will not work as you will need to also flair the case mouth, this will require an extra operation that will be done better by just using a Lyman M die to expand and flair at the same time.

[Maven]

Why not telephone RCBS Customer Service and ask if they have a large diameter expander ball + rod for your die?

[reed1911]

I think it would be helpful if you told us why you want to do this. In short, yes you sure can, and lots of ways to do it for various reasons, the why would help us lead you to what you want as a final output.

[country gent]

All my rifle ammo is loaded on bushing dies redding, Meacham, and home made conversions to same. I use a decapper rod with out the expander ball just the right size bushing to get the desired neck tension wanted. The redding dies are available in most calibers as full length and neck sizing with interchangable bushings of .001 increments. Makes an interesting test trying diffrent size bushings and the effects on accuracy.

[wallenba]

Look at a Redding full length bushing die then you can change bushings in .001" increments. As far as just using a larger expander in the die for cast will not work as you will need to also flair the case mouth, this will require an extra operation that will be done better by just using a Lyman M die to expand and flair at the same time.

Best solutions, both work great. Measure your case neck thickness, double it. Then add your sized boolit diameter, subtract .001-.002" for neck tension. That will be the bushing diameter to order with the Redding die.

[geargnasher]

To answer the original question, I enlarge the necks of most of my rifle dies used for cast boolits to fit the boolit size and chamber necks of my rifles. I also install larger expander spuds/buttons when possible, and bump the neck out the last thousandth or so with an expander/flaring die.

I also tend to "partial size" with these if loading for just one rifle, meaning I back the die off the shellholder 1/16" or so so that the brass still fits snug in the chamber.

Most factory FL dies choke rifle necks down about 4-8 thousandths more than we want for cast, and just installing a larger expander is a band-aid that doesn't stop the brass from getting overworked or mitigate the potential for all that extra, unnecessary squeezing/stretching to form the neck off-center from the case body.

Gear