RCBS expander plug

[Wayne Smith]

I'll be reloading for a Arisaka 99 reamed with a 30-06 chamber reamer. The barrel apparantly slugs between .314 and .315 the best I could tell - appears to be unusual rifling. This appears to be a last ditch barrel screwed onto an earlier action, it has the mum. I say that because the barrel almost has the look of having fine threads on the outside it is so roughly turned.

Anyway, I'll be loading my 32-20 boolits as well as some condom .311 bullets. RCBS makes expander dies in .311 and .321 - nothing in between. Should I be safe with a .311 plug and my Lee flare tool or should I get Rick to make me one in, say, .312 or .313?

What I'm really asking is how much play do I have loading my cast in an undersized neck?

[Ben]

The inside dia. of the neck of an 06' case after using the RCBS .311 plug would be around .308 - .309 " .

Seating a bullet much larger than .311 may be difficult.

[RayinNH]

Can you take a .323 expander plug and chuck it up in a drill press and take it down with a file or emery paper to the desired diameter?...Ray

[Wayne Smith]

Ray, I'm sure I can in theory. In practice the problem is stopping at the desired size!

[Doc Highwall]

Just go slow and keep measuring as you go along.

[Shiloh]

Can you take a .323 expander plug and chuck it up in a drill press and take it down with a file or emery paper to the desired diameter?...Ray

Yes.

I have done it. Polished it for a finishing touch. have one in both .30-06 and .30-40 Krag.

Shiloh

[Wayne Smith]

Just out of curosity, how hard are they? I worked down one on a set of CH4D dies and ended up having to use a diamond sharpener - and ruined that. I was afraid of taking too much off and ended up finding that even a file would not take anything off.

[Pavogrande]

All the RCBS buttons I have are quite hard - file will not touch them -- I find it difficult to believe rcbs does not have 312/313 buttons --
Anyroad, if you want to try grinding down 320 buttons I can give you as many as you want --

[9.3X62AL]

I had Buckshot make me up Lyman-style M-die spuds in .312" and .314" to service my Way Fat 30 Caliber case mouths and boolits. I think the M-die with its small "step" at the end of the spud prior to the flaring horn is a much better design than either the RCBS or the Lee Universal. All three systems will do the job, but Lyman seems best to me.

[Wayne Smith]

All the RCBS buttons I have are quite hard - file will not touch them -- I find it difficult to believe rcbs does not have 312/313 buttons --
Anyroad, if you want to try grinding down 320 buttons I can give you as many as you want --

Got 'em yesterday - thanks.

[Wayne Smith]

I discovered that RCBS doesn't make a .311 tapered expander button. I e-mailed them and asked. Then I asked what they used in their .303 Brit and 7.65 Arg. dies. Answer .310

They do make a neck expander in .311 for cast boolits. Got one. Now need the Neck Expander die! Nomenclature is gonna drive me crazy.

[RayinNH]

Wayne, can you take the stem from the neck expander and screw it into a different RCBS die body, say a 45-70 or any one larger the the 30-06 sizing die that you have . I have a neck expander die with the .311 stem. The die is just a bored out die body to hold the stem.

I have an RCBS 30-40 die set and then use the .311 neck expander. Looking at them, it sure looks feasible. I did not try it however...Ray

[Wayne Smith]

Yes, but it takes a different thread at the bottom - thus a different rod. I didn't want to assume that the thread at the top of the die would be the same without seeing one. Thus I picked up a die as well.

Thanks to Pavogrande I now have tapered expander plugs in .312, .311. and .310. That otta do it.

[RayinNH]

Wayne your post #11 said you needed to pick up a die. I looked at mine, same thread therefore the suggestion to try another die.

You will like it, assuming it works for you. I like mine better than the Lyman M die...Ray

[Wayne Smith]

Ray, it was either pick up a die or pick up the threaded rod. I found a .375 die on eBay and it's on it's way. Like I said, until now I did now want to ass-u-me that the threads were the same as the other die bodies I have. Now I know.