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Hey all, new to the caliber but not to shooting or reloading. I have been looking for a set of dies and of course they're on back order everywhere. In studying this some I'm seeing it suggested that the RCBS .264 LBC dies can be used interchangeably with the 6.5 Grendel dies. Has anyone here tried using the .264 LBC dies for a Grendel? I understand the LBC is a .295 neck while the Grendel is reported to be .300 but both are using a 6.5 bullet. Are there more variations than I am aware of in the two cartridges?
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Hey Inspector, I'll try to cover some of this, but I'm sure there are others on the forum that can dig deeper and explain better. There's only one SAAMI approved cartridge in question, that being the 6.5 Grendel.
The difference between the .264 LBC and the 6.5 Grendel is in the rifle's chamber design. The Grendel uses what's called a compound throat, where the taper into the barrel bore starts at 1/2 degree and then goes to 1-1/2 degrees to enter the bore. The LBC (and the {bastardized} Grendel II) have a segment of parallel freebore in the neck and then a 1-1/2 degree taper to the barrel bore. LBC does call for a 0.295" neck diameter while Grendel and Grendel II have a 0.300" neck.
Again, there's only one cartridge design. RCBS .264 LBC dies should stamp out a handloaded cartridge to the same dimensions as the 6.5 Grendel dies. The difference between the variations is in the specs on the reamers used to cut the chambers.
Hope this helps. -
12,
You can use dies marked LBC and Grendel interchangeably. The slight difference in chamber specs at the neck does not relate to what a sizing die does.
As long as your chamber has at east .001" clearance around the neck to be able to release the bullet safely then all is good. The outside diameter of a loaded round at the neck from either marked die will be the bullet and the thickness of your brass - typically no more than .2895". That is .0055" clearance in a .295" LBC chamber, and 0.0105" in a 0.30" Grendel chamber. That is plenty of room for safe bullet release in both types of chamber.Comment
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The dies I have are the same. 264 small base AR taper crimp. As soon as a shell holder gets here Tuesday or Wednesday I plan to make up a dummy shell from some once fired brass and see how it fits my chamber compared to a factory shell. I plan to drop the shells into the upper while it is off the lower so I can watch from the bottom how the bolt closes. With no fcg or firing pin in the bolt not too worried about testing in this manner.Comment
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Inspector,Originally posted by Inspector 12 View Post
Are you going to do this to check OAL - to find out when the bullet hits lands?Comment
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That and checking to see how the LBC die does sizing the brass, and seating / crimping the bullet. In the absence of a good case checker yet the chamber will tell me how it compares to factory ammo with the help of a black sharpie. For my 458 SOCOM I have a case checker made by Tromix that is a piece of material they make barrels out of that has been chamber reamed and then notched as a case checker.Originally posted by Klem View PostComment
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Inspector,Originally posted by Inspector 12 View Post
Sheridan make a good rifle gauge for this calibre however I find the Hornady headspace gauge kit more useful.
If the cases are from that gun then it stands to reason they will go back into battery without sizing. After sizing, they just get smaller so it won't tell you anything more than if the bullet is too long for the chamber.
You won't need to remove the firing pin, just the lower will do. Unless you plan to insert a long punch against the firing pin and deliberately whack it with a hammer it is not going to go off. Be also aware the firing pin prevents the cam pin from rotating and if you insert a BCG without a firing pin, the cam pin will pretty soon rotate and jam in the receiver cutout. Then it is a Chinese puzzle to get it out, and you will never do that again.Comment
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