What dies should I buy?

[waveslayer]

For my competition AR I run RCBS dies and Forster dies. I remove the expander in all my dies, it is excessive brass wear .

Even in my AR I don't full length resize because the Grendel is such a low pressure round I have never had any problems. I simply shoulder and neck size my brass.

I have been using Whidden dies as of late for some wild cat rounds. I really like their dies

 

[VanJansenburgh]

Can someone explain (or direct me to a resource to explain) why or why not the expander is necessary? I watched the Long Range Only video on setting up the dies in regards to bumping back the shoulder to set headspace properly and it made perfect sense to me. I was surprised and that I had never been told/learned that I needed different case bases.

 

[338 dude]

Can someone explain (or direct me to a resource to explain) why or why not the expander is necessary? I watched the Long Range Only video on setting up the dies in regards to bumping back the shoulder to set headspace properly and it made perfect sense to me. I was surprised and that I had never been told/learned that I needed different case bases.

Basically if you have a bushing die you can control your neck tension that way or if you use an extra step and use an expanding mandrel to control neck tension that way people say the expanding ball pulls the neck out of being concentric

 

[freddiej]

Van Jansenburgh, after 40+ years reloading I have come to one overwhelming conclusion. some people can not explain things in the best light. AKA they leave stuff out. I am guilty of this myself. so yes, it tends to figure that FL sizing might be less supportive. but you are only 0.002" from being perfect length of the chamber, the headspace is -0.002" on your case to the chamber. that is for reliably closing the bolt. the shoulder of the case might be a tiny bit shorter than the chamber but they mate up nearly perfectly. this is just like neck sizing without the reliably closing of the bolt. for competition I neck size only. for hunting I full length size to get the more reliable bolt closing. both methods will get you nearly the same results. Full Length sizing is strictly for your hunting in my opinion. neck only sizing is for competition so you can waste time messing with the bolt if needed or eject the cheeky bastard oversized case and put a new round in.
Now, do you understand or have I confused you more?

 

[rsnell]

Go with the Forster dies and forget the neck sizing die. Learn how to use the full length die properly. Get one of the Forster bench rest seating dies.

 

[ButterBean]

I agree with everything that has been said and I have or have used all the dies mentioned and they all work as described but I have come full circle and ended up where i started with the Lee Collet die sets, I use the Collet die for the neck, I remove the expander and drill the FL die out and use it as a body-bump die ( I FL size every loading)and i use the bullet seater in the kit, Keep in mind I'm not a competition shooter nor will i ever be but I'm a fanatic just as the rest of us are and the Lee dies provide excellent results with minimal run out for a fraction of the cost, I have loaded just as accurate ammo with Lee as I have with any other, Just my 2 cents

 

[Rick Richard]

I FL size using a Redding or RCBS Gold Match bushing die set without the expander. This setup works plenty good enough for me being a noncompetitive shooter and Hunter.

 

[ButterBean]

I FL size using a Redding or RCBS Gold Match bushing die set without the expander. This setup works plenty good enough for me being a noncompetitive shooter and Hunter.

I' done that as well and it works great, yields about .0035 of neck tension

 

[VanJansenburgh]

well, I ordered a set of forster, FL die and bench rest seater, tried to get some XBR and H322 seems like the XBR is sold out all over. as well as some hornady 120rg match ELD's

 

[VanJansenburgh]

What about shell holders? I didn't find a set of shell holders only sold individually. How do I know what # to get in order to set my headspace correctly as demonstrated by the Long Range Only video?

 

[338 dude]

What about shell holders? I didn't find a set of shell holders only sold individually. How do I know what # to get in order to set my headspace correctly as demonstrated by the Long Range Only video?

 

[VanJansenburgh]

OK, thank you, So it seems like Redding is the only one making "sets" and I would get the size: #12 for the 6.5 grendel, based on the shell holder # reference chart.
I have read more than a couple reviews already stating that these shell holders don't measure correctly. Has anyone here who has both; a high quality set of Calibers, and who knows how to use them properly, measured their shell holders to see if they are accurately sized? They are not crazy expensive but not all that inexpensive either.

 

[338 dude]

OK, thank you, So it seems like Redding is the only one making "sets" and I would get the size: #12 for the 6.5 grendel, based on the shell holder # reference chart.
I have read more than a couple reviews already stating that these shell holders don't measure correctly. Has anyone here who has both; a high quality set of Calibers, and who knows how to use them properly, measured their shell holders to see if they are accurately sized? They are not crazy expensive but not all that inexpensive either.

Mine are size exactly how they are labeled

 

[Eric H]

Can anyone tell me what are the benefits of using a smaller mandrel for my 6CM? Currently using .2415.
Will it significantly increase pressure?