Need some help....

[Hobo]

....... Up until last week my favorite "go-to" rifles for long range hunting were a pair of twin Remington 700 CDL rifles with stainless fluted factory bbls, bedded action (pillow block), floated bbl, and a 1# Jewell trigger in both .243 Winchester and .270 WSM.... Both of these rifle shoot right around 1' MOA and I wanted something to group a little better than this.....

Tuesday I went over to McWhorter Custom Rifles in Doerun, Georgia.... After spending the better part of the day with Tim McWhorter and Alan Rovig I learned alot..... Before leaving I had placed an order for a new custom long range hunting rifle in 6.5x47Lapua..... It's hard for me to comprehend the accuracy of these rifles..

Allan and Tim recommended using the 140 gr Berger VLD hunting bullet for this rifle with Lapua brass....

All this is leading me up to my "help" question:

They've recommended going with a Redding precision die set with a fl resizing die along with a micrometer adjustable seating die with a custom fitted seating stem just for the 140 gr Berger bullets..... Having never used anything but regular 'ole "off the counter" RCBS dies I'm at a loss!!! From what I understand I have to order special bushings for this Redding seater die...... How do I know which bushing to order with this die????

I'm hoping that perhaps some of you that shoot and reload for the 6.5x47 Lapua round will help me out..... I would also like to hear about some of your pet loads and experiences with this caliber....

Thanks in advance!!!

------------<" ){{{{{><

Ken Doss

 

[BuckSnort]

Go here... Tech Line and Tips | Redding Reloading Equipment: reloading equipment for rifles, handguns, pistols, revolvers and SAECO bullet casting equipment and select "Bushing selection"

 

[Casing]

I use the Redding dies with the micrometer on the bullet seating die and neck size with titanium bushings. The only way to go! I switched to all Redding dies. The best in my opinion. Redding can help you with the correct bushings.

 

[freebird63]

I have to agree with Casing, I used a comp seater micrometer redding die with my 300RUM and loved it, as soon as I can afford it I plan on getting one for my 280AI. They are just so much more precise. Redding all the way for me.
The reason they recomend a custom seater plug for the vld bullets is some seaters are not deep enuff for the long vld bullets and will damage the tips of the bullets. Good luck, lots of good info here.

 

[rscott5028]

The ID of the bushing will compress the OD of the neck to a given size.

The thickness of the neck case wall will make the ID of your neck slightly smaller than the bushing.

You want the ID of your neck to end up .001-.002" smaller than the OD of your bullet.

A=Case Neck Wall Thickness
B=Bushing Diameter
C=Bullet Caliber DIA

C - .002 + 2A = B

Case wall thickness will vary by individual case, by lot, and by mfg. Lapua is known to be very consistent. Light neck turning can improve consistency of the thickness around each individual neck to promote concentricity and even neck tension.

You may want to have a couple of bushings on hand.

-- richard

 

[Hobo]

RSCOTT5028

....... Thank you sir!!! This is exactly the information I was looking for......

... So you recommend two bushings, 0.001" and another one 0.002" less than twice the case wall thickness plus the diameter of the bullet,,,,, correct????

Where is the best source for ordering these reloading essentials??? Sinclair International???

Thank you VERY much for sharing your knowledge,,,,,, and a very sincere thank you to the others that also replied....

This sharing knowledge certainly beats the "School of hard knocks" as well as trying to reinvent the wheel!!!!!

Thanks again guys!!!!!!

---------<" ){{{{{{><

 

[rscott5028]

RSCOTT5028

....... Thank you sir!!! This is exactly the information I was looking for......

... So you recommend two bushings, 0.001" and another one 0.002" less than twice the case wall thickness plus the diameter of the bullet,,,,, correct????

Where is the best source for ordering these reloading essentials??? Sinclair International???

Thank you VERY much for sharing your knowledge,,,,,, and a very sincere thank you to the others that also replied....

This sharing knowledge certainly beats the "School of hard knocks" as well as trying to reinvent the wheel!!!!!

Thanks again guys!!!!!!

---------<" ){{{{{{><

Using calipers or a case neck micrometer, measure a sampling of your case neck wall thicknesses. You might get readings anywhere from .012-.018". Within a given lot of Lapua brass, I would expect something like .014-.016".

Take several samples from each case neck to see how consistent they are. If they vary more than .002" per case, then you may want to consider neck turning.

Once you have an average, calculate the required bushing size for the average and order that plus one each .001" greater and less than.

Size one or two cases with the desired bushing and measure the inside diameter. You can expect about .001" worth of springback from the brass. But, less than .001" worth of tension is too little and more than .002" is unnecessary and overworking your brass.

Sinclair, Grafs, Brunos, Midway, Russ Haydon and many others stock what you need.

You're most welcome to the information. I hope it helps. But, sometimes we lose important pieces in the translation.

If I've mislead you, then someone will hopefully jump in and clarify.

For the price of a McWhorter rifle, they should provide you with some handloading training. Enjoy the new rifle. I'm sure it'll be an excellent shooter.

-- richard

 

[Trickymissfit]

I would buy a Redding body die to bump the shoulder back, and maybe a standard full length die to size the body every five firings. Forget about the Redding seater and their bushing die! They are over priced for starters. I'd buy something like a K&M arbor press and a set of Wilson dies. You'll be out front right away! Even a Forster Ultra seater is better at about 2/3rds the price, but not Wilson quality
gary

 

[Casing]

I did not elaborate earlier but I have great luck determining bushing size by measuring the neck of a loaded round then deduct one thousandth and two thousandth and order those two bushings from Sinclair, or any other distributer who carries them. The bushing two one thousandth usually gives excellent tension in the calibers I load for. When the brass neck is re-sized it will usually "spring back" one thousandth of an inch giving proper tension. This procedure is a little more costly because you may have to buy some bushings that you will not use after testing but your ammo is much more precise if accuracy is what you are looking for. If this is not clear Redding has tech support that is top notch that can help you further.