Larry Willis Belted magnum case-bulge dies

[rooster721]

Anyone use these? I ordered one to re-size the bulge in my 264 brass... but am having problems pulling the case out of mine once it's up and inside. I'm using RCBS case lube, & definitely not shorting on the lube* Cases go "in" nicely, yet it's a nightmare pulling them out ??? Are they supposed to be so difficult to pull out?

Case-head edges are getting bent from the force needed to pull them out, and the few I put through it have become useless afterward anyway... really not impressed so far. Figured I'd post to see what others' experiences have been with "theirs" before I make the call to shelf the thing & start fresh with new brass.. sad part of it is that the brass I'm sizing has only been fired twice! Now being loaded the 3rd time. (They been full length sized each time too*) Bumped 2-3 thou in my factory chamber, 1-2 thou in a custom-chambered barrel. My FL die is set within a 1/16th or so of the belt when the shell is up & inside the die and the ram at the top, the die where it is-is giving the 1-2thou shoulder-bump, so headspace there is good...

How can I make those cases easier to re-move from Larry's Dies, and avoid bending the case-head edges? I am puzzled and frustrated. Would greatly appreciate some feedback from anyone regularily-using these dies

 

[dig]

Yes great product. I have not had an issue with Redding or spray can Rooster Lube. I go lite on the lube. If you are over lubeing may be getting the suction effect. Give Larry an email or call he is helpful.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I had this happen as well. I e-mailed Larry several times back and forth, and he sounded as if it never happened to anyone else. I ended up bending the case rim of several cases trying to get them out.

Of note, the only way I could eventually make it work was to use a traditional press (I normally use a Forster Co-Ax), buy several different brands of shellholders to find the one that fit the tightest, and even then I eventually broke the base off from the aluminum press due to the extreme pressures involved. The press was held to my workbench with lag bolts, but the wood of the bench eventually "gave" enough to allow for the crack to occur.

I have since purchased a cast iron press to use soley for this die, but then switched to using Redding body dies for most of my calibers so haven't had to squeeze any magnum cases lately. As the Redding body dies go down virtually to the entire length of the body they do what the Willis die is supposed to do anyway, and also can be used to bump back the shoulder.

Eventually I'll probably sell my Willis die and my unused new-in-box press since I no longer use them.

 

[Dosh]

Rooster, I had hard bolt lift on some .257 Wby cases and ordered a Redding body die. The first attempt did not help much, after reading on line I set the die to cam-over and used Imperial sizing wax. All cases chambered like butter and measured to spec. Was willing to try the Willis if the Redding did not help. I now have the Redding body dies for all my belted calibers. It took 6-7 months to receive them after ordering. Good luck

 

[kraky2]

I've got a LW die. Have had it a while and used it some but not alot. Its always worked perfectly for me.
My contacts w/Larry have always been good. Maybe you could send him some offending brass and the die and see what he comes up with?

 

[rooster721]

Appreciate you guys' replies..

Got my name on a back-order body die, and am going to give that a go once it comes-in to see whether it does solve the problem. Actually have a body-die for another caliber (non-belted caliber) but honestly, it didn't even occur to me to try one for 264...

on a side-note, person's supposed to be able to run brass through the body-die "loaded" if you had-to bump back the shoulder.. (so) I have 60rounds of brass prepped and primed but not-yet-loaded (which were working in my last chamber before re-barreling/hence them prepped & primed, ready to go) which are ALL tight to chamber in the new-chamber because of the bulge on them. Could a guy run them through that body-die once I have it and "save them"? Have you guys put primed (but un-loaded) brass through body dies without issue??


Vette: What you are saying is exactly what's happening here for me... it definitely be my-luck to be one of the only "two" guys to run into this problem, ha! Thanks for the post

 

[boomtube]

Sounds like you may be lubing the wrong thing. Your cases should need little if any lube but the steel-to-steel contact surfaces of the collet and die body sure does. A bit of oily case lube or, better yet, STP should do wonders for you.

 

[Dr. Vette]

I suspect it may have to do with the tolerances of your die and mine. They are probably on the tight end, and that's all it takes.

It did improve a small amount with use, and eventually I did about 100 7mm Rem mag cases before the press broke. However it really seemed to take a LOT more effort than it should have.

You could run the brass you have through the body die, but what are you going to do about neck sizing? Do you use a bushing die?

 

[rooster721]

I suspect it may have to do with the tolerances of your die and mine. They are probably on the tight end, and that's all it takes.

It did improve a small amount with use, and eventually I did about 100 7mm Rem mag cases before the press broke. However it really seemed to take a LOT more effort than it should have.

You could run the brass you have through the body die, but what are you going to do about neck sizing? Do you use a bushing die?

The brass I have primed has already been sized, so the necks shouldn't need to be re-sized. A body-die alone shouldn't affect the neck dimension. I have always been under the impression that (as stated in my last post) a body die (could) be used on loaded brass to bump shoulders on cartridges that had become too-snug due to neck-only sizing... so if a guy can do that to a loaded round, I can't see just-primed brass' necks being affected ?? I've personally never put loaded-rounds through my other body-die (simply been under the impression it can be done) That's why I brought it up-- curious if others "have-so" and could verify that it works is all. In this-case, it would save me the use of 60 pieces of brass that's been prepped & primed (for the old chamber) and enable me to fire-form it now to the new one & carry-on from there... otherwise I've got 60 wasted brass w/60 live primers in them, which would be unfortunate.

 

[kraky2]

Absolutely loaded ammo can go through redding body dies. Just be sure shellholders don't pressure the primer area...I know of none that do.
I've done it many times w/ rcbs, hornady, and lee shell holders.

 

[Dosh]

Rooster, per Redding the body dies do not touch the neck.

 

[CogburnR]

If the cases go into the chamber easily but do not come out easily and show bright spots above the belt it may be a problem with the chamber. I had a 300WM that developed this problem. I eventually had to polish the chamber to resolve the problem.

I also bought the Innovative collet die which I lubed with die wax. I also resized loaded rounds in it without issue.

It did what it was supposed to do but it only made the cases easier to chamber. Cases were sticking in the chamber until I polished it.

 

[MagnumManiac]

The Larry Willis die is a huge money wasting gimmick. If you size your brass correctly you will NEVER run into this so called bulge, the bulge is caused by FL sizing after every firing, you need to bump the shoulder .002" and headspace off the shoulder, not the belt. The belt dimension CANNOT change, but the shoulder can, and this shoulder movement causes EXCESSIVE stretching just above the belt where the web ends.
I have several belted cartridges and none have ever had this problem because I resize to MY CHAMBER DIMENSIONS, not the FL DIE dimensions.
Please help yourself and resize your brass correctly and shelve that Larry Willis die, it is NOT necessary and will only damage your brass, as you have already found.

Cheers.
gun)

 

[kraky2]

So...because YOU have never run into the problem it doesn't exist? The rest of us are idiots that don't know how to size brass. We should get YOU a forum topic headline here......."Ask MagnumManiac what YOU are doing wrong".