AI vs. Standard

[morgaj1]

In reading, I have thoroughly confused myself. I am looking to have my Rem 700 semi-custom 30-06 rebarreled to a 30-06 AI. Can I use my Forster Micrometer 30-06 seating die and Lee 30-06 Collet neck sizing die with the 30-06 AI?

 

[Hard rock]

In reading, I have thoroughly confused myself. I am looking to have my Rem 700 semi-custom 30-06 rebarreled to a 30-06 AI. Can I use my Forster Micrometer 30-06 seating die and Lee 30-06 Collet neck sizing die with the 30-06 AI?

Once your fireformed too your ai chamber I don't see why not but i stand too be corrected never done it but my reloading experience says you can trust but verify

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Just get, a New, AI Sizer Die and you "should be",.. good to go.
That's what, I'm gonna try with, a .22-250 AI

 

[slikmrc]

I've used a Forster 308 seating die for 06-AI. backed the die off from the sleeve bottoming out adjusted the seating stem. Think it was 165 grain bullets.

 

[JuddL]

No in the seating and I don't use Lee Collet does but I think they bump or at least make contact with the shoulder and you're changing that angle.

You need AI to both. I have used an AI Wilson seating die in a non AI and you can go that way, tough to go the other direction because the shoulder change.

Good luck.

 

[Patton243]

I would seriously consider rebarreling to a 280 AI instead of the 30-06 version. There's actually a good aftermarket for it, and Peterson and Nosler both make brass for the 280 AI which requires no fire forming. Not to mention they're both long actions. Just a thought for you to consider. Dies would be cheaper too I would imagine over the 30-06 version. And to answer your question about the dies, you will still need to buy new ones the standards don't work on the AI versions.

 

[smokey3]

Maybe you could contact Forster and see what they have to say about it. I'm not sure but you could ask them if it would be possible to send them your old die and possibly have them modify it for you. Once again I'm not sure if that could be done but at least you're going to get an answer from the manufacturer that actually made the original die in the first place. Phone calls are cheaper than a new die or doing something you should not.

 

[264MHC]

Forster Seater dies have a sliding sleeve that is reamed to slightly larger dimensions than a resized case, similar to the actual chamber in the rifle. This is why they are sought after for loading straight ammo, but unfortunately means the seater for the standard case will not work for the AI as the sleeve will not fit over the blown out case. The Hornady seater dies have a floating sleeve that only contacts the neck of the case, so they are not cartridge specific, only caliber specific. This makes them great for AI cartridges because the seaters for the standard cartridges do work for the improved variants. Same goes for the Lee collet neck sizers. They only contact the neck, and the "shoulder" inside the collet is 45*, so no issue with the 40* AI shoulder.
Sizing the body of the case is the only thing that requires a cartridge specific die. For my improved 6.5x55, I use a Lee Collet for 6.5x55, a Hornady seater for 6.5x55, and a custom Whidden body die that was based on three pieces of twice fired brass I sent them. On the improved cases, you can get by just neck sizing for at least the first four firings on the brass normally because the design limits brass movement, maybe more with less than max loads. Because of this you can still shoot the gun for quite awhile while waiting for the custom die that you will eventually need. Mine took 10 weeks to get a couple years ago, probably be longer now. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I cannot get an AI case into any of my standard dies, and definitely not into a comp seater die.
Unfortunately, unless you only buy factory ammo, you need both die sets to create the parent cartridge to fireform.
I rarely fireform with bullets, I use COW and Universal powder at a 1/3 of normal charge with a twist of TP in the case mouth…done.

Cheers.