Redding Competition Seater ?

[statjunk]

Hello All,

I just got my first Redding Comp Seater. I tried calling Redding but they are shut down for the first two weeks of Aug, so no phone support.

I read the directions that come with the die and I locked my die down into the press correctly. Just to make sure here is what I did. With shell holder in place I sent the ram to the top. I then dialed the die into the press fully compressing the sliding sleeve. I then backed out the die 3/4 turn to get the graduations to facing me.

The question is how do I, when seating bullets for the first time, make large adjustments to get the seating depth close before making the small adjustments with the micro meter?

Actually I'd like to set up the die so that I can seat directly to the lands with the micro meter set to zero-zero. That way I can dial in the exact amount of seating off the lands for a given bullet. How do I do that specifically?

Thanks

Tom

 

[Mikecr]

I confess I don't use one..
But it isn't a FL sizing die.
Nearly zero the mic and turn the die body down while seating some bullets till you're predictably close to max COAL. Tighten it's lock-ring, tweak the mic to zero & check it.
With the lock-ring locked, spin the die out & back in to hand tight & check it again.
Trial & error till ya nail it..

 

[MSLRHunter]

These are great bullet seating dies and I have one for everything I load for. On the top of the die there is a hole with an allen screw in it. Turning this screw with the provided allen wrench will change the seating depth without moving the micrometer setting. For example, if you wanted your 0 setting on the micrometer to be the seating depth that is touching lands, you would turn the micrometer to 0, then while holding the top of the micrometer so it wont move, either increase or decrease your seating depth by adjusting the screw. That is what I normally do with mine, I set them so that the micrometer reads "0" when the bullet is touching the lands, so if I want to back off 20 thous, I just turn the micrometer 20 thous and I'm there. I hope that explains it, let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[statjunk]

Thanks MSLR. I'm going to play around with it tonight with some junk brass and bullets and see what it does.

Thanks again.

Tom

 

[MrMajestic]

Refer to the Micrometer adjust and Zero section of the manual. Very detailed instructions there.

 

[statjunk]

You mean the one page insert that comes with the die? No there were zero detailed instructions.

Tom

 

[MSLRHunter]

All of mine came with a small insert that had a small paragraph about setting the micrometer, so I figured it out by trial and error. One of the features about these dies that I love since I load several different bullets, for example, for my 300 win mag, is that once I get my berger 190vld, 210vld, 208AMAX, and 200ACCUBOND set, I record the micrometer setting so that when I switch bullets I can dial right back to the same exact setting that I used before.

 

[MrMajestic]

Perhaps mine are newer/older however on that small, one page, insert there is a paragraph explaining micrometer setting and zero set and aptly titled so. You may be able to download it from their site or call/email Redding and they will provide a copy. Their service, like their products, is top notch.

 

[statjunk]

I'm not arguing that doesn't have instructions. They just aren't very detailed. I just don't want to ruin any cartridges in the final step of bullet seating by seating them in so far. I just wanted to be cautious.

Thanks to all.

Tom

 

[MrMajestic]

Understandable, I wish I had been more cautious a bit ago! I stuck a case in my 7mm STW S type full length size die. I had lubed the case and sized it, made an adjustment' thought I could get away with resizing with out re-lubing. I was wrong! Damaged the decapping rod on removal but was fortunate and didn't hurt the carbide sizing button.