Recent content by Phil3

I've not been a long time reloader at all, and in fact, am fairly new at it, but know enough through reading a lot, and with some experience, a few things. One, you can fiddle around with so many things when making ammo, it could drive you bat nuts. For some, this is fun, and others an...

I spent time with Bench Rest shooters as well, and there is much to learn. However, depending on how you use your rifle, some of it may be applicable, some may not. Super tight fitting cases in the chamber is not advised in a tactical or hunting situation. Still, these guys can teach you a LOT...

I will PM you. - Phil

I expect you and I would have a lot of fun. As a budding, novice amateur machinist, equipped with an old 9" Southbend lathe I rebuilt and a 5 x 20 Rotex horizontal/vertical knee mill (2 motors), and a keen interest in new tools to make the absolute best ammo, I would love to see what is on the...

From Hodgdon's site: http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Web%20Page%20Buying%20Surge.pdf Phil

I had mentioned what reloading tools one buys depends on what kind of shooting they do. Trickymissfit talked about powder measures. I don’t use these because I don’t need them and load one round at a time from what my RCBS 1500 electronic scale and dispenser spits out. Slower, but right now, I...

Kevin, You give me too much credit. I think I was F/L confusing bushing dies with neck ONLY sizing dies. I realize this after reading your last message and your use of bushing dies. My plan with my bolt action rifle is to use a F/L bushing die (or a Forster die honed to size), so the case...

Sorry, just completely missed that you were responding to the OP. I am setting the shoulders back a few thou for the AR-15. I was looking at the neck sizing die because of the working of the brass with the Redding F/L die. Fired cases from my AR show a .254" neck. Resizing with the...

I decided first on what kind of shooting I wanted to do and wanted to achieve (accuracy), and learned what tools would best get me there. That meant some high quality equipment to make the best ammo possible. Forster, Redding, Wilson, and Sinclair are amongst the brands of tools used. The...

I have the necessary gauges and set the shoulder back about .003" - .004" for now, taking the average of ten or more cases, and then adjusting the die to give a head-to-shoulder distance that is .003" - .004" less. I prefer not to use the small based die as they work the brass more. RCBS...

I do recognize this, but was having the same problems with Hodgdon H322 powder. This and the N133 have similar burn rates, so both could be responsible for the short stroking. Both loads were starting loads, also possible contributors. I know of others who have used both powders in an AR15...

I use N133, but in a 223 Remington AR-15, which happens to be the accuracy load from Sierra for 52/52 grain bullets. I tried it and it seemed to work great, plus it has a reputation for being clean burning. I know this is not all so applicable to the 6.5 Grendel, but it does seem to work in a...

I really don't think you are going to need a small base die. Your existing dies should be fine. I have compared some dimensions between once fired brass, new brass, and brass resized with a Redding full length die. The Redding die does not size it down quite as far as the new brass was, but...

I would say if the neck is not centered on the case axis, which I often find to be the case in new brass, then you could see the same wobble in the neck, even if the head is square to the case body. I am also referring to brass that has minimal neck thickness variation, which with a keen eye...

Regarding the 5.56 NATO case being used by Blackhills redbox ammo labeled as 223 Remington, I found this. http://www.savageshooters.com/showthread.php?3715-Black-Hills-223-Remington-New-Ammunition-(Red-Box) Availability and low cost are fine for choosing the NATO case, as long as it shoots...