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Where were the factory loads splitting? If the neck of the case was split, it could be old cases that got brittle. I've seen that with old 30-'06 factory loads. You need a way to check the headspace on some of your friend's fired brass against the sized cases to see if you're setting the shoulder back to where it needs to be for easy chambering(this will also help you avoid setting it back too far, which will reduce case life). The easiest way I know of is to use the Stoney Point tool made for this. You need a vernier caliper to install this tool on, but once you have the setup, you can measure just about any bottleneck case. The old advice to screw the FL die into the press until the shellholder contacts the bottom of the die when the ram is raised is, well, not a very exact way to do anything. Different shellholders from the same manufacturer will give different degrees of sizing when using this method. Redding even makes a set of shellholders with different thickness so you can adjust the amount of sizing. Also, older brass that's harder will "spring back" from sizing more than newer, softer brass, and this could be causing some of your problem. Good luck.
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