which dies?

[Hoot]

Well, I got the "gee that's too bad" response from Hornady. The person I spoke to said that if they had a Grendel die in stock, I could buy a replacement for the cost of the entire die set elsewhere, but they don't. Apparently and not unexpectedly, they do certain die calibers on a seasonal production run and when they're all gone, then you have to wait until the next run, which could explain most vendors not having them in stock as well. So, I'm facing either $33.00 for a Forster fixed die or $100 for a Redding S type and one or two bushings. If this were for a bolt action BR gun, that I actually shot in competition, I could see the $100 for a single die, but we're still recovering from unwittingly under-withholding from the tax man and will be for the next month or so. Judging from the sooting I got on the cases I did using the too-large die and following up with a Lee FCD, I'm probably not getting sufficient neck tension and will have to buy something soon. Comfortable shooting weather is just around the corner.

Hoot

[bwaites]

Hoot, my Grendels, and every other one I've ever seen, along with every .223/5.56 I've seen, produces a LOT of soot around the neck area.

My bolt action cases have almost none, I honestly think I could brush them out and resize them and be fine.

AR cases, well, that's a completely different ball game!

[LR1955]

Good Lord! Do you grease your bullets to get them in? On a more serious note, how often do you anneal? Are your necks turned to thin them up? Hoot

Hoot:

I use Dillon spray lube. Toss the brass into a plastic coffee can, squirt once and shake, squirt again and shake. Then let them sit for a minute or two and run them through the sizing die.

I haven't worn out a piece of Lapua / AA brass but tend to get rid of them after about twenty firings because the rims get chewed up. I get six or eight firings from the Wolf and 7.62 X 39 brass before the primer pockets open up too much for my liking. Not sure how long the Hornady brass will last but I suspect fifteen or so shots.

I do not anneal brass at all. Waste of time that probably ruins the brass more than it helps. I don't clean primer pockets but will toss the brass into a tumbler once or twice during its life cycle. I do that only because it makes visual inspection easier.

I don't neck turn any brass I shoot. That includes brass I use solely for long range competition. It is unnecessary if you use good brass such as Lapua or Winchester. It is totally unnecessary if you are shooting a semi-automatic rifle.

There isn't an iota of need to trim any of the Grendel brass types. The 7.62 X 39 is shorter anyway and the Lapua and Hornady brass are just fine out of the bags. I will take out the burrs in the necks though before loading the first time.

I think the combination of good lube and a bushing type of sizing die makes the difference between overworking brass or seeing that it functions for its life cycle.

LR1955

[Hoot]

Well, when I called my local reloading shop, John said they had the Grendel S die and every bushing in stock on Tuesday. After scrounging around for the disposable money, I went there at lunch today and though they had the dies, all the .287, .288, .289 and .290 bushings were gone. Every other size was hanging there but them. I asked when he would get more bushings from Redding? His reply was "I've had an order in for several months now. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe September. No way of telling with the fellow running them now."

I took that as a sign that I should stick to fixed dimension dies and bought a Forster BR sizing die instead. We'll see how it works out.

Hoot

[bwaites]

The Forsters are really good dies, just don't have quite the versatility.

I use them for my 7mm WSM and have been happy. Of course, there is only 1 kind of 7mm WSM brass!

[Hoot]

The Forsters are really good dies, just don't have quite the versatility.

And How!

As soon as I got home from work, I inspected, cleaned and mounted the die in my press. I cranked through 10 once fired, unsized cases and they are perfect. All ten were exactly .289 OD, .262 ID. With the die adjusted down to meet the shellholder, it just snugs up to the shoulder firmly, but there was little to no sense of bumping.

Hornady could stand to learn that there is more to strive for other than being the cheapest date at the dance.

This is my first Forster and if it is an example of all their dies, I can see me buying that brand again.

Can't wait to shoot some of these, but there's large rain system moving in that is not slated to move out until I go back to work on Monday. I'll have some ready in case there's a break in the weather. It's only 8 minutes to the range.

Hoot

[bwaites]

Good to hear!

[aashooter]

Well, when I called my local reloading shop, John said they had the Grendel S die and every bushing in stock on Tuesday. After scrounging around for the disposable money, I went there at lunch today and though they had the dies, all the .287, .288, .289 and .290 bushings were gone. Every other size was hanging there but them. I asked when he would get more bushings from Redding? His reply was "I've had an order in for several months now. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe September. No way of telling with the fellow running them now."

I took that as a sign that I should stick to fixed dimension dies and bought a Forster BR sizing die instead. We'll see how it works out.

Hoot

Tuesday night I placed an order of steel bushings from Sinclair.com, .284, .286, .288, .290. Midway also had most of them, but they won't ship to Canada.

Once I settle down with a diameter, I'll probably get the TiN coated one.

Regards,

Aashooter.

[davidj]

Hornaday Dies

UPS just delivered my 6.5G hornady dies from www.Natchezss.com.
$29.99 + shipping. Send in some paperwork and hornady will send you a box of bullets.
(Naturally there is no 6.5 on their list)

[appleseed-kdc]

It looks like when I bought the Grendel from AA, as well as the Sheridan gauge, I also bought one of these:-

http://www.alexanderarms.com/item/13/44/65GrendelReloadingDies.htm

The case on the left, the Red Lee engineering box.

Is it worth me keeping these reloading dies or should I try and get other ones.

I won't be reloading the Grendel before Christmas/New Year by the looks of things.

[bwaites]

The best of the loading dies use neck bushings to achieve the best results. Given the choice, I would use something other than Lee dies, though I'll admit that I loaded thousands of rounds with Lee's until I got my bushing dies.

[LR1955]

Hold on there! All of the above dies will do the job, but will they do it without out excessive runout and other accuracy issues? The answer is NO. If you want the best die set that produces the most concentric ammo and at an affordable price, then look no further than the Forster BR die set.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct...tNumber=759032

MS:

Cartridge run out -- with a gas operated rifle? This came up on the other forum and I have never really tested it but here is my take on run out when it comes to an AR type of gas gun. When the cartridge feeds, the bullet gets angled upward because the bullet hits the feed ramp but the brass is still being held by the magazine lips. So, there is a-lot of force that would destroy bench rest quality of cartridge run out.

I haven't measured before and after but I would suspect rather significant run out simply due to the action of feeding.

I think run out has its place, for sure. Probably not with a gas operated rifle unless someone feeds each bullet into the chamber by hand.

LR1955

[QuadCam]

I bought the hornady dies. I haven't reloaded any grendel ammo yet, but I have cleaned and resized over 100 pieces of the wolf grendel brass with with the hornady dies. They all check out perfectly in the sheridan function gauge.

what is it that the redding neck bushing do that other dies don't do? sorry for the relaoding noob question.

[pappy42]

"what is it that the redding neck bushing do that other dies don't do? sorry for the relaoding noob question."

Case neck wall thicknesses vary among manufacturers. The bushing dies allow a reloader to adjust neck tension to a consistent measurement. Accuracy nuts worry about such things. As a practical matter; if you don't have enough neck tension, your bullets can be pushed into the case causing a failure to feed. Some believe, that a bullet pushed into the case, if fired, can cause pressure problems. My belief is if one is using a powder charge near correct loading density; over pressure shouldn't be a problem. Changing seating depth from shot to shot, can affect your accuracy.

Probably too much info; but I'm a geezer and that's my excuse.

[pinzgauer]

Just a couple of thoughts:

- If money is not an issue, then the Redding Neck dies are probably the best answer for Grendel for the reasons mentioned above. There is variation in neck thickness across the mfg's. It's easy to say buy once, but you are looking at 3X the cost of Forsters or more. Long term, it makes sense if you can swing it up front.

- If money (up front cost) is a challenge- then the Forsters are a good compromise. Quality wise, I'd put them against any of the mfg's. They work well with Hornady brass as well as IMI 7.62x39. They will be a bit loose for some wolf brass (thinner necks). I've not shot Lapua, so can't comment, but it appears that Hornady & Lapua have similar necks.