Better grade reloading dies?

[Laelkhunter]

Just got my .340 Wby Mag back from the gunsmith. Had a new Lilja Match barrel installed with a bunch of other work. Factory loads chamber with no effort, but my reloads won't chamber, can't close the bolt. Looking at the brass I try to chamber, I see where it is getting stuck in the chamber on the shoulder. It is not a problem in the head area in front of the belt. Brass fired in the new gun resized in my RCBS dies work fine also.
Just wondering if there is a brand of reloading dies that might be able to resize the brass from the "old gun" so I can use them. I have close to 500 cases I need to work on.

 

[Snowrun]

Just got my .340 Wby Mag back from the gunsmith. Had a new Lilja Match barrel installed with a bunch of other work. Factory loads chamber with no effort, but my reloads won't chamber, can't close the bolt. Looking at the brass I try to chamber, I see where it is getting stuck in the chamber on the shoulder. It is not a problem in the head area in front of the belt. Brass fired in the new gun resized in my RCBS dies work fine also.
Just wondering if there is a brand of reloading dies that might be able to resize the brass from the "old gun" so I can use them. I have close to 500 cases I need to work on.

Are you saying that you are you are able to resize a case and chamber it but not one that has a bullet seated? How much are you crimping?

 

[Laelkhunter]

Sorry for the confusion. The loads I already had loaded ( for the old Weatherby), functioned fine in the old Weatherby, but I can't close the bolt on those loads in the new Lija Match barrel. They were full length resized in the RCBS dies, no crimp.
New factory loads function fine in the new rifle, and I have some Virgin Norma brass that was loaded, they work fine in the new rifle.
Fired brass from the new rifle fit without resizing, and after I reload them, they fit the new rifle.
I'm thinking the brass fired in the old Weatherby stretched so much in the shoulder area, that the RCBS dies can't resize them enough to fit the Match Chamber on the Lilja barrel.
My question was, I guess, Is there a brand of dies that would be more to a match grade (tighter tolerance), and size the cases to a smaller dimension.
As I said the RCBS die resizes the cases fired in the new gun, but not the old brass that was fired in the old Weatherby. I was hoping to find some sizing dies that would resize the 500 brass I have that has been fired in the old rifle.

 

[pyroducksx3]

New rifle get new brass for me. I never use brass fired in another rifle. I've never had a problem.

 

[Pdvdh]

You could grind a little (like 0.010") off the bottom of the resizing die so that the die can be screwed down a smidgeon further into your press. The shoulder will then be easy to set back a few more thousandths, which is what I suspect is needed for the casings to chamber. You'd shouldn't have to grind much off the base of the FL sizing die at all. I'd only take 0.010" off and see if the die will then set the shoulders back far enough to chamber. It won't compromise the function of your reloading die in any way.

I'm surprised the factory RCBS die won't set the shoulders back far enough to chamber the cases. I'd blacken a couple of the casings with a black felt pen - then attempt to chamber them - then inspect carefully to confirm the location of interference.

Edit add-on: Or if you know someone with a lathe, they could remove 0.010" from the base of you die and it would look a little better than if done on a bench grinder. But a bench grinder will gitt'er done too.

 

[Laelkhunter]

Thanks phorwath. Sounds like a better idea than buying another set of dies.

pyroducksx3- Also a good idea. I just ordered 100 New Norma brass from Midway.

 

[flashhole]

You might consider using a shim in the shell holder under the brass before grinding on your die. Same effect, the shoulder will be bumped back a bit more. I took a few thousandths off a shell holder to get the appropriate bump on a tight chambered gun. In general, I find Lyman dies size cases to the small side as compared to some of the other brands.

 

[Dosh]

L, had the same occurrence with my .257 Wby. Ordered a Redding body die, followed the instructions to cam over the press by turning the die in increments till the shoulder is bumped to spec. These dies don't touch the neck, just the shoulder and body. Then neck size after shoulder is correct and chambers normally. We all know Weatherby brass is pricey, this extended my brass life. I have the body die for all my Wby calibers except the .270 Wby which is not offered by Redding. A smith suggested the 7mm Wby body die would work for the .270Wby, but I'm not sure. Good luck

 

[Laelkhunter]

Instead of grinding the die, I used a bastard mill file, and filed the shell holder. First I removed .08, and that didn't help, then I went to .10 still no go. Finally ended up at .15 off, and the bolt still won't close. I don't want to take much more off the shell holder. I'm thinking the die just isn't sizing the shoulder of the case small enough.

 

[Pdvdh]

You can't see where the interference is after blackening the shoulder with the felt pen? If it's the OD at the shoulder, then that won't be corrected by setting the shoulder back further.

If the interference is on the angled portion of the swept shoulder, setting the shoulder back further should correct the interference. 1st step is to confirm which location on the casings are preventing the closing of the bolt... good luck.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I can see where the case has a shiny spot on the body near the shoulder, but not on the shoulder or the neck. I wish I could post a photo, but I can barely post a reply. It is on unloaded brass fired from the old gun.

I know, clear as mud right ??

 

[Pdvdh]

I can see where the case has a shiny spot on the body near the shoulder, but not on the shoulder or the neck. I wish I could post a photo, but I can barely post a reply. It is on unloaded brass fired from the old gun.

I know, clear as mud right ??

Gotcha. Well then shortening the reloading die or grinding down the top flat surface of the shell holder won't help, because you're saying the interference is on the straight sidewall of the body, just back of the shoulder. That sounds as if the chamber in your old barrel was larger in diameter at that location than the chamber in your new barrel is, and the reloading die you have is too large in diameter at that location to reduce the brass that were fireformed in the old barrel's chamber - in order to chamber in the new barrel/chamber. Talk about a run-on sentence....

I think a body die from Redding may be the way to go. They aren't too expensive. At least for the standard cartridges. Dunno about in .340 Weatherby.

You should put your calipers on a casing fired in the new barrel/chamber, and compare the diameter at the location of interference to the diameter of one of the casings that were fired in your old barrel/chamber. If you're correct about the location of interference, the casing from the old barrel/chamber should be larger in diameter at the location of interference than the casing fired in the new barrel/chamber. If so, that would increase the confidence you've identified the correct location of interference... lightbulb

Let us know what you get for measurements...

 

[Laelkhunter]

Let us know what you get for measurements...[/QUOTE]


O.K., here they be. The shoulder area on the old resized (in the RCBS dies) brass is .4932 , and the fired from new rifle shoulder is .4614
I guess that screams loud and clear what the problem is.
I guess I need a new sizing die.

I might contact RCBS Monday, and see if they could help me with a die the correct size of my chamber, maybe I could send them 4 or 5 fired cases.

 

[Pdvdh]

Wow! That's a huge difference. I wonder if your old chamber is an Improved variation of the .340 Weatherby. Is your original .340 Weatherby a factory barrel and chamber? Do you know the history of the original barrel/chamber?

I can't imagine the shoulder diameter being 0.032" different between any .340 Weatherby Magnum chambers. Do you have a typo in either 0.4932" or 0.4614". Because that's simply too much difference in shoulder diameter for any .340 Weatherby chambers, match or not, in my opinion.