Good tight shell holders

[abunaitoo]

I mostly use Lee, because their cheap, and RCBS.
Have a few Lyman, and some with no ID on them.
I've noticed that they are all loose holding the shell.
Is it kind of a "hit and miss" as far as shell fit????
Which brand is better????

[tazman]

Brass rim size and thickness varies a lot. You need the shell holder to be a bit loose so it can still work with all the variations.
I can't say any brand is much better than another.

[lefty o]

they arent supposed to hold the casing tight. they are loose so the casing centers in the die, and it isnt compromised by the press, die, and shell holder all having to be perfectly aligned.

[abunaitoo]

I only noticed it when I started using an old tilt back press.
On some cases I have to guide the case into the die.

[tazman]

I only noticed it when I started using an old tilt back press.
On some cases I have to guide the case into the die.

That is an issue specific to the tilt back press design. It's going to be that way if the case rim is slightly small.

[Bent Ramrod]

I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but it seems to me that the few Redding and Hornady shell holders I’ve run across are a little less “loosely-goosey” in the rim cuts than the average RCBS, C-H or Lee.

But then, a lot of brass with uneven or overgenerous rims or shallowly-cut rimless grooves will come along, and I’ll need to dig out the sloppier shell holders in order to process them.

I’ve long since acquired the habit of guiding the cases into the dies by hand regardless of how they fit into the shell holders.

[daboone]

If you want to control the fit there are 2 options I'm aware of. The Quinetics Self-Adjusting Multi-Caliber Shell Holder and the CO-AX press. Never use the Quinetics but it looks like it would be slow readjusting for each case every time. The CO-AX shellplate jaws are fast, efficient and one set fits a large cross section of calibers.

[Kevin Rohrer]

The tightest ones I own are made by CH/4D.

[str8wal]

I mostly use Lee, because their cheap, and RCBS.
Have a few Lyman, and some with no ID on them.
I've noticed that they are all loose holding the shell.
Is it kind of a "hit and miss" as far as shell fit????
Which brand is better????

Does a "loose" fit give you problems? I've never had an issue with my RCBS shellholders. I have seen some brass fit tighter than others tho and a little wiggle room accounts for discrepancies.

[mdi]

Personally I would think there are only a very few manufacturers of shell holders, and they sell them to the reloading equipment makers/vendors to be sold under their own name (although I do have a really nice Redding shell holder for my 9mm). I agree with the fellers above, there is no need for "tight" shell holders. Actually tight shell holders can be problematic. I have an RCBS shell holder for my 38/357 reloading and it is a bit tight (rim diameter) but works well with 99% of my brass. I have a few Winchester cases that are a wee bit too big in rim diameter (mebbe .003"-.004" larger than my other brass) and I either have to search for a "loose" shell holder or trim the rims...

[NoAngel]

I wouldn't want a tight shell holder. You get some pieces with a ding or two in the extractor groove and you can't get them in the shell holder. As it is, I run into brass that have to turned a certain way to get them into the holder.

The ram and die would have to very accurately aligned. Better the be a little loose and let the die set things into alignment.

[country gent]

A tight shell holder has caused more issues for me than looser ones have over the years. Having shot Garands and M1A-M14s for many years ( they are hard on case rims) bent dinged rims in a tight shell holder can bind and make inserting removing hard. a close to fit and the die wedges the rim into the tight shell holder and you are fighting to remove it. Heres a thought though, The stack up of clearences in the ram shell holder are going to add up quick. .003-.005 ram to casting, .005-.008 shell holder into ram. there is normally a spring to hold it in place and location but it is over ridden with sizing force. rim to shell holder of .005-.008. this gives a stack up of .015-.020 wiggle room. Everything being straight and square is more important here. a straight true ram and casting bore with very square head same with the shell holders. this allows the wiggle room to work for you centering up with the die. Unfortunatly you need these clearences to work smooth and easily, and insert remove shell holders.

[gwpercle]

CH4D and Redding
Trying to make a shell holder that will fit several different cartridges winds up with a shell holder that fits only one well and the rest poorly .
A lack of quality control , hand machining and finishing can also lead to poor fit. By and large Lee does a fair job , considering cost , but their shell holders could stand some improvement . I was having problems reloading some 9 mm Luger, took out the Lee shell holder I had been using , installed the CH4D holder and the problem disappeared ! Sometimes a Lee will be "off" .
CH4D and Redding have always been top drawer in fit and finish .
Gary

[Ole Joe Clarke]

The only "loose" one I have is a Lee that is supposed to be used for both 9 mm and .40 S&W. I didn't like the sloppy fit on the 9 mm so I bought a RCBS # 16. Problem solved.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[jmorris]

they arent supposed to hold the casing tight. they are loose so the casing centers in the die, and it isnt compromised by the press, die, and shell holder all having to be perfectly aligned.

Yes, look at the Co-Ax, everything is "floating" on it.

[mdi]

I was going to bring up my Co-Ax, but I figgered someone would maintain the jaws hold a case "tight", and not be appropriate for this thread. By far, the easiest and best way I've found to hold cases for reloading is the Co-Ax system, just stand a case up in the jaw holder and raise the ram. No "tight" shell holders, no twisting shell holder, so slot is on wrong side, and no looking for the slot...

I'd still like to know who manufacturers "universal" shell holders, as I'm sure Lee, RCBS, Hornady, Redding, C-H, etc. don't...

[AZ Pete]

they arent supposed to hold the casing tight. they are loose so the casing centers in the die, and it isnt compromised by the press, die, and shell holder all having to be perfectly aligned.

+1


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[omgb]

Lee shell holder have the most open tolerances. They frequently expect a shell holder to fit a much wider variety of cases than anyone else...unfortunately, they can and will let you down in many instances by not properly gripping the case when case forming etc.

I wrote a blog about this awhile back. My problem was with the 32-20 and Lee shell holders. I solved the problem by going to Redding. I ran into this again with the .348 Win. Lee was loose as a goose and difficult to keep centered. I went to an RCBS shell holder and the problem was resolved. Lee shows the same holder for 45-70 and the .348. Nobody else even attempts that claim. There is a very real difference in rim diameter and thickness between the two.

My take: Lee is OK for a lot of things, others, not so much. You get what you pay for. Note: I still buy Lee stuff

[abunaitoo]

If you want to control the fit there are 2 options I'm aware of. The Quinetics Self-Adjusting Multi-Caliber Shell Holder and the CO-AX press. Never use the Quinetics but it looks like it would be slow readjusting for each case every time. The CO-AX shellplate jaws are fast, efficient and one set fits a large cross section of calibers.

I have one of those Quinetics universal shell holders.
First time I used it, one of the fingers broke.
Good idea, but maybe poor quality material.