How to set up Redding dies in .300 Winchester Magnum for single stage press?

[IMtheNRA]

For the first time in my life, I got a set that includes a neck resizing die, but there were no instructions in the box and I could not find the relevant instructions on Redding's web site. To further complicate matters, I have never reloaded a belted case. So, here are some beginner type questions for you:

1. How do I set up the .300 Win Mag neck resizing die in my single stage Rock Chucker? Do I screw it all the way down to the shell holder just like I do with my full length dies or does this die need to sit high above the belt on this case when the press handle completes the downstroke?

2. Same question regarding the full length resizing die. Does the die swallow the entire case, belt and all, or does it sit above the belt when the press handle is fully lowered?

3. Redding "Competition" Micrometer seating die... Does the internal sleeve accept the belted part of the case, or does it sit above the belt when the case is fully inserted into the die on the downstroke?

 

[JimKirk]

I suggest sticking with the full length sizer die .... It should be adjusted all the way down to the top of the raised ram ... depending on your press ... it make take a partial turn to take the slack out of the linkage of the press.... Of course this will all depend on your chamber ....I would try the unloaded sized brass for fit in your chamber before going any farther in the loading process ... get it correct now will save lots of headaches later...

I caution you to check the fit in the chamber and use the shoulder for the controlling headspace ... brass will not last very long if you use the belt only unless your chamber just happens to fit pretty close ...

Later after learning the reloading process well .... Then you may want to try the neck sizer .... Out of all my magnum cartridges .... I never even used a neck sizer at all ...

 

[Walkalong]

Agreed, good advise.

 

[dgod]

All the way down, plus 1/4 turn with the FL Die. Check for chamber fit in your firearm. I load 0.010 off the Lands and have have good luck.

Good Luck to you
Dan

 

[Reloadron]

.I would try the unloaded sized brass for fit in your chamber before going any farther in the loading process ... get it correct now will save lots of headaches later...

I caution you to check the fit in the chamber and use the shoulder for the controlling headspace ... brass will not last very long if you use the belt only unless your chamber just happens to fit pretty close ...

That would be my focus. Check the brass for form, fit and function before loading them. Really sucks to have a hundred cases loaded which won't fit and hit.

Ron

 

[philip brousseau]

your seater. the belt does enter the sliding chamber. reddings instructions are this: raise the ram to its highest point. screw the die body down to the point the sleeve is compressed to the die body. back off one turn, put the micrometer marker where its easy to read. Redding says jamming ram against the die body may damage the die.

 

[philip brousseau]

a couple of things that will really help with full length sizing and also trouble shooting any problems you run into with case fit. a set of redding competition shell holders and hornady head space comparators. with the comparetors you can measure your fired cases and use the shell holders to get the desired shoulder set back with the shell holder making hard contact with sizing die. the h&h shell holders also work with wsm and remington ultramag cartridges. even though you are loading a belted magnum you need to size cases with respect to the shoulder the same as you would with rimless cases like the 308. by not pushing the shoulder back more than is needed you will extend brass life by not stretching the case just above the web at every firing.

 

[fguffey]

a couple of things that will really help with full length sizing and also trouble shooting any problems you run into with case fit. a set of redding competition shell holders and hornady head space comparators. with the comparetors you can measure your fired cases and use the shell holders to get the desired shoulder set back with the shell holder making hard contact with sizing die. the h&h shell holders also work with wsm and remington ultramag cartridges. even though you are loading a belted magnum you need to size cases with respect to the shoulder the same as you would with rimless cases like the 308. by not pushing the shoulder back more than is needed you will extend brass life by not stretching the case just above the web at every firing.

H&H shell holder? Seems it would make more sense to order a #6 set, I paid $5.00 for the #6 set at a gun show, I checked them for correctness and found the #2, #3 and #4 were off by .001" each; for me not a problem because I would not have purchased the #6 set if they had they been asking for more money. A reloader should be able to determine if the belt needs to be thicker from the case head to the top of the belt and the reloader needs to be able to determine the distance from the shoulder to the bolt face. I sent a Model 70 Winchester back to Winchester with the ugliest chamber I have ever seen, as you would expect we had words. At the end I told them I wanted a chamber that fit my dies or I wanted them to make a set of Winchester dies that fit their chamber.

F. Guffey

 

[.308 Norma]

1. How do I set up the .300 Win Mag neck resizing die in my single stage Rock Chucker? Do I screw it all the way down to the shell holder just like I do with my full length dies or does this die need to sit high above the belt on this case when the press handle completes the downstroke?

I don’t have any neck only resizer dies for belted magnum rifle cases, nor do I full-length resize them. I use my full-length resizer dies to “partially resize” bottle-necked, belted magnum rifle cases.
There are several videos on the internet that demonstrate how to set up a full-length resizer die for partial resizing, or “bump” resizing of bottlenecked rifle cases, and there are instructions in some reloading manuals, so I won’t get into it myself. I’ll just say that I myself, set my belted, bottle-necked, full-length resizer dies up so that the reloaded cartridges headspace on their shoulders, rather than their belts, thus avoiding premature case failure (or so I’ve read) in the form of case separation just in front of the belt.

That would be my focus. Check the brass for form, fit and function before loading them. Really sucks to have a hundred cases loaded which won't fit and hit.

I actually do have a neck only resizer die for 22-250 cases. I’ve used it a time or two – never could see much advantage. Neck sizing only of cases makes it hard for me to close my rifles bolt, and impossible if the neck only sized case was fired in my wife’s 22-250 instead of my own. Besides, I’m a hunter, not a bench-rest shooter. And as a hunter, ammunition reliability and function is a hundred times more important than another quarter of minute of angle accuracy, or getting two more reloads out of a rifle case before tossing it.

 

[philip brousseau]

yes the #6 set is the one for the h&h case head. when starting with a new to me rifle i start with the # 10 and progress to the holder that gives the correct shoulder set back, checking with the head space comparator and make a note for which to use with that rifle. sometimes different brass may require an adjustment to be made with a different shell holder.

 

[witchhunter]

I adjust my FL sizer die to just make the fired brass fit and the bolt close easily. I have found that some rifles I have owned have larger chambers that can cause headspace issues when the die is adjusted so the ram is in cam-over, as recommended by the manufacturer. Always FL size hunting ammo, as you do not want to have a failure to fit. Make sure of your powder charges, especially if just starting out. Start at the low end and work up slowly while checking for pressure. Good luck.