Anybody have any experience with this Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die?

[Bucksnort1]

In 2002, I was on active duty with the Air Force Reserve for a six month tour of duty in Virginia (I live in Colorado). While there, I met a retired Master Chief who told me Navy coffee is best at sea because it's made with "certified bilge water".

Unfortunately, I am not clever enough to think of something like the modified die you have for your bulging cases. I was lucky enough to talk someone else into buying the Willis die, which he did and which he gave me. I will load 7mm mag for him when he has time to come to my house and watch the reloading process and to be quality control for his ammo.

[Bucksnort1]

Thanks for the blog advice. The new thread I will post is about the differences in minimum to maximum loads for the same caliber, powder, bullet style and weight from one reloading manual to another.

[Bart B.]

Pogybait, note my body die was made (as well as those by others) to get rid of the sharp edge ridge a few thousandths in front of the belt caused by cases expanding to maximum diameter after peak pressure had pushed their back end against the bolt face. By then, the belt had backed off from the headspace ridge in the chamber and left that few thousandth part of the body unsupported.

That ridge (only a couple thousandths high) often interfered with the case chambering without binding on subsequent reloads unless it was sized back down to about new case diameter right in front of the belt. Standard full length sizing dies don't get that far back on fired belted cases.

Belted case headspace (case head to front of the belt) specs is .212" to .220" for the most part and belted chamber headspace from bolt face to the belt ridge is .220" to .227". Depending on the cases used in your chamber, there can be up to a .015" spread in head clearance; the distance from the bolt face to case head when the round's full forward in the chamber. It's usually much less, so there's not much of an issue.

In belted 30 caliber magnum match rifle barrels, fired cases so sized shot just as accurate as new ones used to win the matches and set the records until about 1990 when 24 and 26 caliber bullets began being used when good ones were finally available for use in smaller cases that bucked the wind about as good and were much easier to shoot accuratly off ones shoulder; less recoil before the bullet left the barrel.

[F. Guffey]

Pogybait, note my body die was made (as well as those by others) to get rid of the sharp edge ridge a few thousandths in front of the belt caused by cases expanding to maximum diameter after peak pressure had pushed their back end against the bolt face. By then, the belt had backed off from the headspace ridge in the chamber and left that few thousandth part of the body unsupported.

That ridge (only a couple thousandths high) often interfered with the case chambering without binding on subsequent reloads unless it was sized back down to about new case diameter right in front of the belt. Standard full length sizing dies don't get that far back on fired belted cases.

I ask" "Who measures?" I do, I have measured the bulge in front the belt on magnum cases, .002" as in a couple I would not have noticed, I have found case head upset that measured .013", I know how that confuses most, out of 250 cases there was nothing between .513 and .526", 40 were .526"+.

Bart B. Not sure why you would choose the 338 Remington, the case body is shorter than the 8mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag, 300 Weatherby mag etc..How is that working out for you with sizing the case body for the longer cases.

and most of the 308 W fired in the M1 Garand were mistakes, then there was that claim the 308 W was nothing more than a short 30/06.

F. Guffey

[Bart B.]

Not sure why you would choose the 338 Remington

There is no such cartridge.

the case body is shorter than the 8mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag, 300 Weatherby mag etc..

Dies for those cartridges don't have the same body taper angle as the cartridge my die was made for. Nor was it important to have my body die contact the full length of the case from belt to shoulder. Just align the case well with the die's axis and size down that ridge immediately in front of the belt. I found that stripped die at a gun show for $5.

How is that working out for you with sizing the case body for the longer cases?

What longer cases? Cases longer than the cartridge I made the body die for? I did use in on a few .300 Win. Mag. cases without issues of any kind. Didn't matter if the top of that body die squeezed in those longer full length sized cases a little bit back of their shoulder; never measured any to find out exactly how much it was. They shot just fine twice sized after firing.

most of the 308 W fired in the M1 Garand were mistakes

Only those few hundred (several hundred?) fired in 30 caliber Garands were mistakes.

Tens of thousands of 7.62 NATO and commercial .308 Win rounds were intentionally fired in the converted ones. Plus a dozen or so test fired in 30 caliber M1's at the USN Small Arms Match Conditioning Unit to investigate what would happen as they knew it would.

[F. Guffey]

Correct, I am forming cases for wildcats, I am starting with a 350 Remington, then to another and another, I should have checked, the die with the short die body, it is the 350 Remington and then the longer 338 Winchester Magnum.

F. Guffey