Inconsistent Shoulder Bump-Redding 30-06 FL sized cases

[JDinFbg]

Great, bet it was the expander, and havig a hard stop using the Competition Shell Holder helps.

Whether the expander was the OP's primary issue or not, I have a general disdain for expanding bottle-neck cartridge cases by dragging the expander button in the sizing die out of the neck as part of the case sizing process. I have found it difficult to adequately lube the inside of case mouths to eliminate the excessive friction without leaving so much gunk in the case mouth that powder granules stick during the charging operation (this is worse with flake and ball powders). For this reason, I have almost exclusively gone to a 3-step process by using a dedicated neck expander die for my bottle-neck cartridge cases like is done with straight-wall cartridge cases. Not only does this "push" the expander button into the case, but it also allows me to expand only the portion of the neck needed based on the particular bullet I shoot. In my 30-06, one of the loads I have developed is with a 125 gr. bullet which engages only a small portion of the neck. So, why stretch the entire neck when only the outer portion needs to be expanded. To each his own, but that's the insanity method I use.

 

[jmorris]

3 thousandths longer than when fire formed!

My first thought was the expander being pulled back through the neck yanked it out.

I also tried the test with the expander ball and decapping pin removed, again with the same results.

That crossed that off the list though.

Pleasant update! Tried several different methods to shoulder bump consistently:

1. Removed the expanding button from inside the sizing die
2. Annealed before sizing (technically I did this before too, but just wanted to include that it was done for consistency)
3. Purchased Redding Competition Shellholders.

You had already removed the expander and annealed so that would make it the shell holder. Hadn’t seen that one before.

 

[Dale Alan]

I would try this again when you have shellholders you can cam over with .

Good to see you figured it out.

 

[Dale Alan]

Whether the expander was the OP's primary issue or not, I have a general disdain for expanding bottle-neck cartridge cases by dragging the expander button in the sizing die out of the neck as part of the case sizing process. I have found it difficult to adequately lube the inside of case mouths to eliminate the excessive friction without leaving so much gunk in the case mouth that powder granules stick during the charging operation (this is worse with flake and ball powders). For this reason, I have almost exclusively gone to a 3-step process by using a dedicated neck expander die for my bottle-neck cartridge cases like is done with straight-wall cartridge cases. Not only does this "push" the expander button into the case, but it also allows me to expand only the portion of the neck needed based on the particular bullet I shoot. In my 30-06, one of the loads I have developed is with a 125 gr. bullet which engages only a small portion of the neck. So, why stretch the entire neck when only the outer portion needs to be expanded. To each his own, but that's the insanity method I use.

I do it both ways , depends on the cartridge . A quality die with a smooth expander with a properly lubed neck will not cause cause enough friction to move brass. Note I said properly lubed neck, down in that neck/shoulder juncture.

 

[Alex G]

Great, bet it was the expander, and havig a hard stop using the Competition Shell Holder helps.

Definitely could’ve been, and agreed. That little bit of camover (nothing crazy, just a little bit) seems to have helped iron out any inconsistencies.

It was the shell holder?

Could’ve been either that or the neck expander ball, I didn’t test independently with just the new shellholder and leaving the expander ball in.

For this reason, I have almost exclusively gone to a 3-step process by using a dedicated neck expander die for my bottle-neck cartridge cases like is done with straight-wall cartridge cases.

That’s what I’m planning to do ^
I’ve got a Lyman M-Die for 30-06 that should be here tomorrow. Checked to see if Redding made one but couldnt find anything for 30-06.

You had already removed the expander and annealed so that would make it the shell holder. Hadn’t seen that one before.

It’s a definite possibility. I think the camover action helped provide some consistency there as well.

Note I said properly lubed neck, down in that neck/shoulder juncture.

How do you lube your case necks? I SS tumble after the sizing and trimming operations, so lube inside the case isn’t an issue. I started off with some RCBS liquid lube on a brush or barrel mop, which did well but was time consuming. Also tried spraying a little alcohol lanolin inside the necks when sizing in bulk, and also dipping them in Redding dry case neck media (some kind of powdered graphite or mica on the little ceramic balls).

Regardless, sizing and depriming (swapped the expander ball for the simple depriming cap) in one step instead of sizing depriming and expanding in one step is definitely easier and smoother.

 

[Metal God]

Sizing die has been setup for light cam over, and using the +.010 shellholder gives the perfect amount of desired shoulder bump.

Thank you for doing this . I knew after the first few sentences what was going on , press/linkage flex/deflection . It seems many don't think this is an issue because every time this issue comes up the reply's rarely suggest the correct fix . The Redding comp shell holders are the best tool not needed to reload haha .

 

[Alex G]

Thank you for doing this . I knew after the first few sentences what was going on , press/linkage flex/deflection . It seems many don't think this is an issue because every time this issue comes up the reply's rarely suggest the correct fix . The Redding comp shell holders are the best tool not needed to reload haha .

Absolutely! I definitely feel that they have improved the consistency. Taking the slop out of the threads/linkage only makes sense, and when were talking only 1-2 thousandths, that can easily come from somewhere!