.338 edge dies with micrometer top? and other edge related questions

locotrician · #1 01-10-2010, 06:52 AM

i searched and didnt find much i saw that redding is supposed to have dies for this but i didnt see them on their site. i am probably going to end up buying the reamer for this from ptg should i just buy .338 rum dies or .338 win dies and then ream them with the reamer or does someone make a good set of dies for this round i would like to have a micrometer on the seater die but it dosnt look like thats gonna happen. where are you guys that shoot the edge getting your dies from and what style of die are you getting? seating for oal or ogive ? how far are you pushing the shoulder back and how often ? what neck dimensions should i order on the reamer and is it wise to have it throated to the 300 smk as this is what i plan to shoot ? i will be running the seekins mag system . sorry the questions are not in a good order just what running through my head.

Mike6158 · #2 01-10-2010, 08:00 AM

I bought my dies from Defensive Edge. They use and sell a Redding Micrometer seating die as well as a Full Length "S" bushing die with a .364 bushing and a tapered button.

Here's a few things to think about-

.338 Edge; .338-300; et al is a .300 RUM case necked up to .338. Win dies wouldn't be useful to you.

Your sizing die will need to have a tapered expander ball and it will need to size the neck for .338 caliber bullets.

Since Shawn sells a FL sizing die and it's .300 RUM brass it's not much of a stretch to see that he is using a .300 RUM FL die.

I'm mostly typing all of this for my own needs. I'm trying to get my head around the dies that I need, even though they are coming, and the processes that I'll need to go through to "make bangers".

locotrician · #3 01-10-2010, 09:36 AM

so i can just buy a .338 taperd expander ball and put it in a .300 rum die ? what is the advantage of the bushing die?

Mike6158 · #4 01-10-2010, 09:52 AM

I don't think that's what Defensive Edge is selling. I think the sizing die is a full length sizing die (for the .300 RUM body) with a bushing that lets you set the shoulder back for a .300 RUM yet let you size the neck for .338. The tapered expander ball is for the "necking up" part. It "should" make the expanding process smoother with less stretch and stress on the brass (just my thoughts). The neck diameter of the .338 RUM is .371 vs a neck diameter of .344 for the .300 RUM. I'm assuming that the .364 bushing is for proper neck tension for the .338 bullet.

The die set is a combo that DE sells and I'm sure you can get it from other places. I don't remember what DE charges for their dies but he doesn't inflate his prices from what I can tell.

I can see why people came up with the .338-300 vs just shooting the .338 RUM (aside from the fact that when the .338-300 first came a long the .338 RUM wasn't around... at least I don't think it was). The brass has a lot of similarities (shoulder angle, COL for similar weight rounds.) but the .300 RUM is just a little longer (more powder capacity).

locotrician · #5 01-10-2010, 10:15 AM

i didnt mean that DE sold the expander i just meant the die set with the micrometer top seating die and the sizer die already modified to neck up to .338. i found a place that sells a set of dies with and inline seater and a fl size die they want around 150. i was also thinking of buying a set of die blanks and just having the smith ream them with my chamber reamer but i dont know if i do it that way if i need to send the dies out for hardening after the reaming or not.