280 Ackley

[flatsticks]

Hello everybody.

Recently picked up a 280 Ackley from my Dad .

It is the oler wildcat verion not the new improved version.

He had redding fl sizer die for it ( not sure if he ever used it or not ) and according to redding website it is the older die for the wildact version .

Shot some rounds that were firformed from 280 that he had with at least 2 firings on them .

Sized them and cant get the shoulder to bump 2 thousands , they measure longer in the comparator than the fired version before resizing .

it is RP brass not that should matter .

Checked plenty of lube and my press sizes 6.5 creedmoor fine.

The shell holder is contacting the die, turned it down some and no difference .

Tried RCBS and redding shellholder .

Did remove the expander plug from the die also .

Should I look at having a few thousands taken off the shell holder ?

First time reloading this cartridge and have fireformed some norma brass but dont want to ruin any of it trying to get the die set up .

Thanks for your thoughts

 

[AJC1]

Hello everybody.

Recently picked up a 280 Ackley from my Dad .

It is the oler wildcat verion not the new improved version.

He had redding fl sizer die for it ( not sure if he ever used it or not ) and according to redding website it is the older die for the wildact version .

Shot some rounds that were firformed from 280 that he had with at least 2 firings on them .

Sized them and cant get the shoulder to bump 2 thousands , they measure longer in the comparator than the fired version before resizing .

it is RP brass not that should matter .

Checked plenty of lube and my press sizes 6.5 creedmoor fine.

The shell holder is contacting the die, turned it down some and no difference .

Tried RCBS and redding shellholder .

Did remove the expander plug from the die also .

Should I look at having a few thousands taken off the shell holder ?

First time reloading this cartridge and have fireformed some norma brass but dont want to ruin any of it trying to get the die set up .

Thanks for your thoughts

I hear that you want to bump the shoulder, but is the case fully formed and needs a bump. Is it chambering tight or does it still have room to grow?

 

[Blue68f100]

For a test try putting a shim under the base of the brass and the shell holder. This will be the same effect as shortening the sizing die or reducing the height of the shell holder. You can use feeler gauges or even card stock as a shim.

 

[AJC1]

For a test try putting a shim under the base of the brass and the shell holder. This will be the same effect as shortening the sizing die or reducing the height of the shell holder. You can use feeler gauges or even card stock as a shim.

I like tape because it stays.

 

[flatsticks]

Thanks for the suggestions so far .

One of my questions with the firforming for this caliber , since the shoulder was a pretty big change , wondering how many firings could it take to be fully formed .

I know the rp brass has at least two firing on it maybe more .

The Norma stuff was fired once and came out with a nice shoulder .

Was worried about not having a little room for the next firingto be on the safe side .

Picked up a 7mm sincliar length gauge to try and firgure out how long the max brass length will be once I am sure the sizing is correct .

Will give the shim a try and see what happens and see how it chambers .

 

[flatsticks]

Applied one layer of painters tape to the bottom of the case and resized it . did not get any shoulder bump .

Put the sized case in the gun and closed the bolt , was very hard to closethe bolt.

Took a clean fired case of the same brand and it closed very easy .

 

[murray brook]

Sounds like you may have to shave/file/sand the top of your shell holder till you get the bump you need. That or machine some off the bottom of your die. I would try the shell holder first. JMO

 

[AJC1]

Applied one layer of painters tape to the bottom of the case and resized it . did not get any shoulder bump .

Put the sized case in the gun and closed the bolt , was very hard to closethe bolt.

Took a clean fired case of the same brand and it closed very easy .

Never tried to size a case with the tape. If the bolt closes hard after sizing I'm guessing your chamber is larger in diameter than the die, and it's growing in length. If that is true your comparator should show that. If you need just a tiny help sizing, a feeler guage below the case head and shell holder will raise it a smidgen. Should this cure your problem your die could be shortened a few thow in a lathe. Because that operation may be expensive, you probably only want to do it once. Any chance you have a friend with a surface grinder.....

 

[Blue68f100]

Applied one layer of painters tape to the bottom of the case and resized it . did not get any shoulder bump .

Put the sized case in the gun and closed the bolt , was very hard to closethe bolt.

Took a clean fired case of the same brand and it closed very easy .

Painters tape is only about 0.003" thick maybe less compressed. Try some card stock or several layers of tape and see if it does the trick. If it does remove the tape and measure it's thickness, this will be the amount that needs to be removed.

 

[flatsticks]

Appreciate the thoughts.

Would rather mess with the shell holder than the die , they are not easy to find ( the older version )

Figured the tape would have a lot of give.

Dont have any feelers gauges .

Do have a grinder though , may have to try that on a shallholder .

See what happens when I can get some time to work on it .

 

[troy fairweather]

Try different shellholder if you have any.

 

[murray brook]

Try different shellholder if you have any.

That is a good idea. Not all shell holders have the same deck height.

 

[AJC1]

Appreciate the thoughts.

Would rather mess with the shell holder than the die , they are not easy to find ( the older version )

Figured the tape would have a lot of give.

Dont have any feelers gauges .

Do have a grinder though , may have to try that on a shallholder .

See what happens when I can get some time to work on it .

How does the fired brass compare to the sized brass.... you may not have a good fit between chamber and die. Has this combination produced good reloaded ammunition before?

 

[flatsticks]

I have tried RCBS and purchased a new redding shellholder .

The fired brass shot well .

May Dad had a local guy relaod them for him , that reloader has since passed away .

The fired brasswas zeroed on the comparator 0000 and the rezised stuff was coming in at +.0020 .

Tired to sand one the rcbs shellholders down by hand with some oil and 150 grit paper and got to +.0015

Tried to be on an even bench to do it , still not sure that I dont have a high spot .

Starting to wonder if my Less single stage press challenger breech lock and the bench plate kit are flexing too much with the bigger brass .

 

[troy fairweather]

Remember it's a Ackley there setup with about .004 shorter neck in that chamber so you will get a little crush feeling in the bolt when loading a round. Sanding your shellholder looks to be working so maybe do that some more just turn it a 1/4 turn or so every now and then to keep it ture.

 

[AJC1]

I'd get a new shell holder and take the die down the excess plus .005. This will give you the ability to size the case -.003 and then have .002 in reserve for brass spring back. You could do the same with the shell holder but it needs to be even, flat and still square to the ram.

 

[flatsticks]

Thanks on the most recent comments . getting that shellholder flat and square does not seem easy with the hand sanding method.

Would like to get to that -003 like you mentiond for some cushion.