Curious sizing die from Hornady

[RainDodger]

For 40 years I've had this old set of RCBS .30-30 dies. They're kind of ugly, as I'm the 3rd generation to use them, so I decided to get myself a set of Hornady New Dimension dies to replace them. Besides... I like the stackable boxes.

Long story short.. The first thing I noticed was the sizing die required considerably more force than the old RCBS die. The next thing I noticed was that the newly resized cases rattled around inside the L.E.Wilson case holder on my trimmer! I figured I'd better do some measuring.

The book states the case diameter just ahead of the rim of a .30-30 case should be .421". My newly sized cases measure .414". I sent a note to Hornady and asked about it and I think they figure I can't measure correctly or something. They asked me a couple questions and I have not heard back from them. Meanwhile... back to using the RCBS sizing die.

I just thought it was curious. I've always liked Hornady dies and I've never had a problem with them. Any similar problems out there?

 

[TNBilly]

I'd be more convinced myself if you measured some test cases before sizing, then again after sizing. You can/could also measure the die itself to confirm if it's actually undersized. My reason for doubting the sizes as you state is it's almost impossible to affect the size of the web which is just ahead of the rim without destroying the case trying.

 

[conrad427]

I have not had any trouble with Hornady dies. But I have noticed that they always take more effort on the press lever than my RCBS dies. I once had a sizing die for 22.250 from RCBS that was too long. I tried to lower the die but nothing worked. I took it to the gunsmith and he turned a few thousandths off the bottom and presto. Sparks flew everywhere!

I hope Hornady makes it right for you. Maybe they make small base 30-30 dies now!