.458 Win Mag sanity check

[CJR]

Does your brand resizing die re-expand the case mouth as it's being withdrawn after resizing/decapping?

Best regards,

CJR

[offshore44]

Does your brand resizing die re-expand the case mouth as it's being withdrawn after resizing/decapping?

Best regards,

CJR

Hi CJR...no, it doesn't. I bought a Hornady New Dimension three die set. It has a sizing - de-capping die, a flare die and a seating die. The de-capping stem on the sizing die doesn't have the usual sizing button like you see on bottle neck case dies. The button is only a finger nut that holds the replaceable pin in, and is only, maybe, 5/16" in diameter. I took the de-capping stem out of the sizing die and use a Lee universal de-capping die because I like to de-cap and clean the primer pockets before running them through the polisher. I then size them so that the ID of the case is in the 0.458 - 9" range. The sizing die is actually backed pretty far out from stock settings. My rifle has a very generous chamber though, so it works for me.

I stopped using the flaring die because it gave a very abrupt flare that I thought over stressed the case mouths. I now use the Lee universal flaring die. (plus I needed it for the 7.92x57mm cast launcher anyway) It is a much gentler flare and is way more controllable...at least for me.

The seating die has a sleeve that aligns the bullet and the case as the assembly is started into the die. It does a very good job of that. Occasionally I'll get a bullet / case misalignment, but not very often. I roll each loaded case on the bench to check for straightness...well, at least eye-ball straightness. The hard core target guys have a fixture and gauges for that. The sliding sleeve irons out the flare almost perfectly, without hitting the crimp part of the sleeve. I had to hone out the bullet guide part of the sleeve quit a bit to get both the GC and the PP boolits to work right. I crushed about half a dozen cases before I was told about that little detail.

Does that answer your question CJR? I guess that was a lot of words to say "No, it doesn't."

I hope you weren't offended by my response to the rest question...didn't mean it that way. There just isn't anything high tech about my setup...

[CJR]

There are some that do not like the Lee Universal flaring tool, as it supposedly can cause a misaligned flare. I personally use Lyman "M" style mouth flaring dies, some of which I make, which maintains case alignment before and after mouth flaring. Then for most of my reloading, I use Forster Benchrest seating dies which hold the case aligned during the bullet seating operation.

I was not offended about your benchrest comments. I've got a pretty thick hide. My question on your rest resulted from some rest problems I've been having. I've been struggling through benchrest problems with a Caldwell Lead Sled DFT rest which I got a couple of years ago. It took me awhile to figure it all out, but I finally did. The front rest/cradle had a wobbly screw adjustment which would move under magnum rifle recoil if not extremely tightened. Likewise, the front rest/cradle had a spring loaded pivoting mechanism to achieve horizontal windage adjustment. So under heavy magnum recoil, the pivoting mechanism was "pivoting" and I was getting horizontal stringing on the target. Caldwell recently updated this rest to eliminate the wobble and the pivoting mechanism, but wouldn't stand behind their product and I had to pay extra for the upgrade. I stated my dissatisfaction with this product and Caldwell on the review section of Cabelas' website.

Best regards,

CJR

[offshore44]

I'm actually pretty jealous of all you guys that have access to machine tools. I'd go nuts making and trashing custom loading tools and casting molds, I can guarantee that! I'm in the position where I need to use what I can get my hands on...which isn't necessarily the best available. It's working so far... I haven't held in my hand to seen a Forster bench rest die. I hear that they are really nice though. It sounds like they operate kinda - sorta like the Hornady die...everything gets aligned in the die before any actual seating takes place.

I was looking at the Caldwell for sighting in and adjusting 'scopes. They always seem to end up back on the store shelf though. That's a lot of money, all in, just to hold a rifle steady. I've also heard that a heavy recoiling rifle can make short work out of a machine rest. I did run into a guy one time a few years ago who fabbed a rest up out of a scissors car jack and some other readily available parts. Heavy as all get out. It actually looked pretty good, and was very sturdy. No windage adjustments though. He was working on that... Shot a Siamese Mauser 45-70 conversion on it. That rifle is the gun that got me started with all of this craziness.

There for a little while I was interested in building a rail gun, I think they are called. One of those mechanical monstrosities with an action and a barrel bolted in them? Expensive, but very very precise. Not really easy to pack around the hills though, and set up would be a problem if you actually wanted to shoot something with it.