Hornady K-31 dies

[rvpilot76]

These are not the "run of the mill" 7.5 Swiss dies. These are specifically made for the K-31. Anyone use them? I'm trying to decide between the Hornady and Redding dies.

[Storydude]

Funny, GP11 is GP11. Same round is fired in a K31 as a K11 as a .......

I'm still wondering how a tight throat is effected by a different seating die....

That said, I was getting 5 shots outta PPY brass using Lee dies with full-house(46.1G Varget) loads using 170G SP. No seating problems, no overworking of the brass that cannnot be attrubited to full house loads.

[MtGun44]

I have the Hornady dies, I get really good accy from the ammo they put out. Order from
Graf, they often have them in stock, altho nowdays, who knows.

Do not oversize your brass, which is possible with these dies. Set them up to just reduce
the case enough to rechamber reliably and you are good to go. I do this routinely, but due
to initial failures to fully close due to the near zero throat (ball seat) demanding that Sierras
be seated very deep. I was thinking the cases had to be resized to the max to get reliable
feeding, too. Not so. So, seat the bullets deep and use normal case sizing, minimum necessary.

Bill

[mike in co]

Funny, GP11 is GP11. Same round is fired in a K31 as a K11 as a .......

I'm still wondering how a tight throat is effected by a different seating die....

That said, I was getting 5 shots outta PPY brass using Lee dies with full-house(46.1G Varget) loads using 170G SP. No seating problems, no overworking of the brass that cannnot be attrubited to full house loads.

yep gp11 is gp 11...BUT A K31 CHAMBER IS NOT A 1911 CHAMBER.
THERE IS A REASON WHY K31 DIES ARE AVAILABLE.( 5 reloads vs nearly unlimited, yet you claim the dies are fine...i suggest all is not well. i did not say they did not work...but your own data suggests you are over working the brass. i have seen over 50/FIFTY reloads from 308 win in high power shooting with correct dies.)
a reloader may not care, but an ammo crafter does...which is probably why he asked.

i use redding on my 4 k31's.
may i suggest that since no one has answered...you call them and ask how they compare size wise to the redding.

mike in co

[462]

I use Lee's neck sizing die set, for my two K-31s. No problems with jacketed or cast.

[rvpilot76]

Yes, the chambers are different on the 11 and K-31. There's a pretty good write-up on the Redding dies on another site, but I was interested in some before and after dimensions on the the case neck, body, etc. after sizing with the Hornady dies. I will buy a Lee collet die for this caliber, and if I could find one, a Redding body die.

[mike in co]

Yes, the chambers are different on the 11 and K-31. There's a pretty good write-up on the Redding dies on another site, but I was interested in some before and after dimensions on the the case neck, body, etc. after sizing with the Hornady dies. I will buy a Lee collet die for this caliber, and if I could find one, a Redding body die.


like i said call hornady and ask.

i have a lee collet for the swiss......my ammo did not perform as well as my redding ammo...having said that, it may be a simple case of working up a load with thier collet die( which i have not done...yet)
bottom line why do a collet if the redding works......

mike in co

[Storydude]

yep gp11 is gp 11...BUT A K31 CHAMBER IS NOT A 1911 CHAMBER.
THERE IS A REASON WHY K31 DIES ARE AVAILABLE.( 5 reloads vs nearly unlimited, yet you claim the dies are fine...i suggest all is not well. i did not say they did not work...but your own data suggests you are over working the brass. i have seen over 50/FIFTY reloads from 308 win in high power shooting with correct dies.)
a reloader may not care, but an ammo crafter does...which is probably why he asked.

i use redding on my 4 k31's.
may i suggest that since no one has answered...you call them and ask how they compare size wise to the redding.

mike in co

Seeing as I'm running 1.1G over listed max load with that brass, there is the reason of 5 firings. they might have lasted more, but brass is cheap. doctor bills are not. Because the K31 doesn't have a decent way to vent gas in a head seperation or case failure, I figure the 35 cents I can toss. If there is such a great difference between K31 chambers and K11 chambers, why is hornday the only maker making K31 dies? I"m not denying the differences(however slight) between a K11 and a K31 chamber, but even between my K31 and my friend's they each have different chambers, or more to the point, different throats.

the guys on Swissrifles.com already had this argument. they found out if you NEEDED the K31 dies, you'd need them. if not, all they did for accuracy and brass life was to suck more money from your pocket. Pick up some Berger VLD bullets and they almost match GP11 profile. Making die selection moot if it chambers.

the main difference between the hornday dies and all others is how far back it pushes the shoulder. don't full-length resize and you'll get the same results.

My 10 cents.

Oh and I wouldn't push brass much past 10 loads, never mind 50 no matter WHO made the dies. Lots of Annealing and work hardening going on there.

[rvpilot76]

Skip to Part II.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/swissreloading1/index.asp

[Storydude]

http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/topic/5865/t/Hornady-making-a-K-31-specific-die.html

Seeing as how most members are swiss, shoot the K31 in matches weekly, and have more exp. in this than me, I"m entitled to believe them.

[mike in co]

ok i hate posting this over and over.

there is a difference between an ammo crafter and a reloader.
yes i consider myself an ammo crafter.

i use NORMA brass in two of my k31's...and no i'm not rich...so i want max life from tha brass.

i have not owned c h dies but i have bought and owned the rest( not the new k31 horn). all of them are compromise dies based on the smaller 1911 chamber. yes they will work, no you will not get max brass life at full pressure loads. yes if you are shooting lite cast boolit loads your brass may last a long time.
my question...if a company offers the CORRECT die for your rifle/brass...why buy something less ?

my opinion of the guy with all the pics, claiming a non issue is he is an idiot, a reloader with no understanding of ammo crafting.

mike in co

[Storydude]

ok i hate posting this over and over.

there is a difference between an ammo crafter and a reloader.
yes i consider myself an ammo crafter.

i use NORMA brass in two of my k31's...and no i'm not rich...so i want max life from tha brass.

i have not owned c h dies but i have bought and owned the rest( not the new k31 horn). all of them are compromise dies based on the smaller 1911 chamber. yes they will work, no you will not get max brass life at full pressure loads. yes if you are shooting lite cast boolit loads your brass may last a long time.
my question...if a company offers the CORRECT die for your rifle/brass...why buy something less ?

my opinion of the guy with all the pics, claiming a non issue is he is an idiot, a reloader with no understanding of ammo crafting.

mike in co
Not to flame at all, but if a rifle is chambered in .308, and you buy a .308 die, why would you need a different die for a specific .308 you own? Hey, it's your money, not mine. I'll keep producing GP11 clones that shoot as well or if not better from my K31's with my "inferior" lee die sets. As for the "Correct" die sets, I'm sure the Swiss engineers at Sig knew what they were doing when they made the K31 to shoot GP11 ammo.

I"m sure Parashooter, holder of a few Camp Perry matches, and many shutzen trophies is lying to his forum members. I'm sorry you take such great offense to not using the mighty Redding or Hornday die sets that are "supposedly" cut to the K31 chamber.


I take anything I read at Surplusrifle.com with a BIG grain of salt. Remember, those are the same guys that advocate using oven cleaner to clean stocks and offer advice on how to bubba a firearm. I'm sorry I'm not an "Ammo crafter" like you claim to be. If I get acceptable brass life(which for me is 5-6 loadings) acceptable accuracy(equal to GP11) I'm happy.

YMMV.

[felix]

Mike, I have custom dies for each of my "accurate" guns. Charging beer can guns get standard dies when the custom dies do not work. ... felix