I got the Whidden 7 Max dies and it seems like the seating stem is a little short. Trying to seat 162 AMAXs for fire forming I have to screw the stem and micrometer almost all the way down to get the bullet to seat at all. And all the way down seats the AMAX at almost all the way to the base of the neck. Needs around another .100 to get there. No big deal. One thing that really stinks is once you bottom out the seating stem the internal sleeve stops moving and you can crush the shoulder of the brass. I haven't tried to seat the 195s yet but hopefully the dies are better suited for those than the 162s. I can't say I care for the Whidden dies at all. My preference would be Redding Type S sizer and Forster mic seater. The threads on every piece on both Whidden dies are sloppy loose fitting. The 7/8-14 thread on the seater die body seems under sized and is very sloppy in the press. I worry about concentricity issues once I start loading after fire forming.
7mm sherman max
- Thread starter elkaholic
- Start date
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seekoutside
Well-Known Member
That doesn't seem right... Have you reached out to Mr. Sherman?
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Was just alerted about the dies.
I suspect that the seating issue is because the stem was made for the longer bullets and it wont be a problem with the 195. As to the sloppiness, etc., I would contact Whidden and see what they say? They should also give you a stem for the shorter bullets.
Just FYI, there wont be anymore Whidden dies. Ill be going with Hornady Match grade on the next order. Let me know how things go with Whidden.
I suspect that the seating issue is because the stem was made for the longer bullets and it wont be a problem with the 195. As to the sloppiness, etc., I would contact Whidden and see what they say? They should also give you a stem for the shorter bullets.
Just FYI, there wont be anymore Whidden dies. Ill be going with Hornady Match grade on the next order. Let me know how things go with Whidden.
seekoutside
Well-Known Member
Were there problems with the whidden dies?
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Sounds like problems with those!
Hornady will save $100/set, for one thing, and I've had really good luck with their Match dies.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
Sounds right. Id start with .315"
I'm not sure the dies have problems per se. I have a pile of match grade dies from Redding and Forster and the Whiddens just don't compare. Especially not for the cost. I typically buy Redding type s sizing dies and Forster seaters. Even for my rando calibers that I don't need match dies for. .30-30...yeah I have match grade .30-30 dies...and no .30-30 in the safe. What is wrong with me...
@elkaholic Rich, what's the neck diameter of the reamer? I may have to turn my brass a bit for 4-5 thou optimal clearance.
elkaholic
Well-Known Member
7 Max is .320". loaded round should average .316". Turning .0005" to true things wouldnt hurt a bit for .005" clearance
N570 arrived, Kwik Klip arrived, Ordered the brass and Go gauge today. Should have the barrel ordered Monday...
