Help With Rifle Reloading

[Olympus]

So I've always been a handgun reloader, but just got dies for rifle reloading for Christmas. I got two sets of Lee Deluxe rifle dies for 243 and 6.5x55. I am using them with a Lee Classic Turret press.

First question: For my handgun calibers, I use the Lee Auto Disc powder thrower and one of the handgun dies has a place to screw the powder thrower in at and it drops the charge through the die into the case. My rifle dies do not have anything like that. Can I still use my Auto Disc powder thrower with these rifle dies? If so, what do I need? If not, what else should I be using for measuring the charge and to drop the charge in the case?

Second question: The Deluxe die sets have something called a Collet Neck Sizing die. The instructions say it makes your brass last longer and that it doesn't require lubrication. Am I supposed to be using this die in place of the full length resizing die or along with it? I'm only using brass that has already been fired in my guns. I've bought factory ammo, fired it in each gun, and I'm reusing the factory brass again if that matters.

 

[witchhunter]

The collet die only sizes the neck. It will work with brass fired from your gun. Any other brass needs a full length sizer die. I don't know about the powder measure on a Lee.

 

[Scimmia]

First question: You can use the Auto Disk if you can get it to throw enough. You'll want a double disk kit (http://leeprecision.com/double-disk-kit.html) and a rifle charging die (http://leeprecision.com/rifle-charging-die.html). I know people use them with 223, no idea if it'll throw enough for the cartridges in question.

Second question: The collet neck sizer is great *IF* you're going to be firing the same gun that the brass was fired from before and the gun in question is bolt action. You would use it instead of the full length sizing die, although you will need to use the full length die after a few times to bump the shoulder back.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Can I still use my Auto Disc powder thrower with these rifle dies? If so, what do I need? If not, what else should I be using for measuring the charge and to drop the charge in the case?

Yes you can but you need to buy a Lee Rifle Charging Die which will take the place of the powder through pistol die that comes with your pistol die set.
https://fsreloading.com/lee-precision-rifle-charging-die-90194.html

 

[royesses]

1: Lee Rifle charging die.
http://leeprecision.com/rifle-charging-die.html

2: You would normally use one or the other die. The collet neck sizer for using only cases fired in your rifle. After X number of reloads the full length sizer may be needed to get the cases to chamber easily.
The Full length sizer for cases not fired in your rifle, neck sized cases that are hard to chamber and new cases never fired. Purported increased case life and accuracy with the collet die. And no need for lube. For all semi auto rifles use the full length sizing die or if chambering is difficult a small base die may be needed in semi auto rifles.

 

[higgite]

Full length sizing also sizes the neck, so you don't need the neck sizer if you full length size.

You mentioned the brass was fired in your guns, plural. Neck sizing is generally for brass that will be used in the same rifle that fired it. Otherwise, brass from one rifle may well not fit the chambers of other rifles. In other words, brass fired in different rifles probably isn't interchangeable without FL resizing it.

If any of your rifles are auto-loaders, I suggest you FL resize the brass that will be used in them. It eliminates most auto feeding/chambering problems.

Edit: I'm a slow typer and others beat me to some of it, but you get the gist.

 

[Vol46]

I cannot help with the auto disc powder measure - don't use one. The collet neck sizing die is a good alternative to full length sizing for fired brass that will be fired again in the same chamber. It squeezes only the case neck down to a size that will provide the necessary tension to grip the bullet - the rest of the case is not " worked", but it has already been fire formed to your gun's chamber. This theoretically should result in better alignment of bullet with bore than a full length sized case, which has been made a little smaller by the sizing process & will have a little more room to move slightly off center. Lube is not needed, as the collets are only squeezing the case neck, unlike a full length sizing die that has to slide down over the brass, & pull an expander ball back out through the neck.
A couple of caveats - neck sizing is best done for bolt action guns - auto loaders should probably be full length sized to assure proper feeding. Also, after you have neck sized the same brass several times, it will enlarge to the point where it will become a bit too " snug" in the chamber & begin to cause difficulty closing the bolt. When it reaches that point, you have to use your full length sizing die ( screwed down only far enough to " bump back" the shoulder a few thousandths) to allow the brass to chamber freely again.

 

[Olympus]

Thanks for the quick help. I will look into whether the auto disc will throw enough powder. If it won't, what else should i get in place of it?

Yes, only one gun for each caliber. Bolt action for the 6.5 and single shot for the 243 (Ruger No1). No autos. Should I still mount the full length resizing dies in the turrets just in case I need them in the future or just leave then in the box?

 

[Scimmia]

You will need the full length sizer; you can only neck size only so many times before it just gets too tight and you have to bump the shoulder back a little bit. You use the full length sizer for that.

There are a lot of powder throwers on the market, it depends on what fits into your process. Personally, I use the dip and trickle method with rifle loads where I use a Lee dipper, or combination of dippers, to get it close then a powder trickler to get the charge I want.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you're new to reloading I would suggest you use the full length sizing die. When you use a neck sizing only die eventually you will need to bump the shoulder of the cartridge back and until you get some experience you might not know when or even if that's the problem.

If you don't intend on making a lot of rifle ammo you might not want to spend the money on an additional powder measure. Like said above, you can add a double disk kit and if that doesn't throw enough powder you can always throw a 1/2 charge twice. In a .243 w/100gr bullet you will need to throw ~33gr to 43gr of powder. if you need a throw of 40gr and the measure will do only 35gr you can throe 20gr twice to achieve the weight you require.

 

[gamestalker]

Personally, I've always considered high powered rifle cartridges more of a precision process, and therefore feel powder charges should be weighed individually on a beam scale. If I'm going to go to the trouble to carefully prep bottle neck brass to a dimensional standard specific to that of the firearm it will be fired from, I'm certainly going to go to the trouble to weigh each charge. So I wouldn't concern myself with powder measures in this respect, IMO.

And the neck die is just another method to preserve fire formed brass to specific firearm fit. Bumping the shoulders will be necessary from time to time, but it's better than having to expose the brass to a full length die every time it's reloaded. Constant FL sizing can reduce case life considerably, as it tends to over work the brass. But this to can be managed very well simply by making sure the die is properly adjusted, so as to not push shoulders back more than is absolutely necessary, thus minimizing working of the brass.

GS

 

[witchhunter]

Gamestalker is right on with the precision reloading of rifle calibers. That is why we reload, to make better ammo (accurate). I single stage everything. You could use a Lee powder dipper and a trickler, use an empty case to trickle powder after you use a dipper to get close....slower, but more consistent. Pistol loading more volume, less precision. rifle loading more precision period.