Inexpensive die suggestions?

bryan

bryan

Bryan Armatys
I have a 6.5-284 with a .294 neck. Been on the back burner for a long, long time but I decided to finish it.
Lyttleton RSA action, 29" barrel, Shehane MBR tracker stock. I just plan to shoot informal 1000yd with friends. What dies can
I get for this thing that won't break the bank? I would prefer to minimally size the brass, but will obviously need a bushing die.
Thanks!
Bryan
 
Sticker shock, I guess

Last die set I bought was around $65. FL bushing die and seater. Now they seem to be about double that. Guess I'll have to buy a-la-carte to get the price under $100.
ba
 
Well, you're the ex-bullet maker, right?

You could get a .284 die from Lee, and do "something" about the neck...

http://leeprecision.com/2-die-set-284-win.html

With a .294-neck chamber, you could also skip a bushing die. Get a regular one & just polish out the resize portion of the neck. Leave it a little small, & use a mandrel (easy to make) to open to up to whatever you want. One more step in sizing cases, but a lot cheaper...
 
?

The standard 6.5-284 neck is .300, and would be properly established by the expander ball exiting the stock case. I have no idea what the die would size the neck to MINUS the expander ball. I'm looking for a .290-.291 loaded round and neck walls of .0135 or so. I don't fully follow what you are suggesting.
ba

Yep, ex bullet maker.......for the moment.
 
Last edited:
bryan said:
The standard 6.5-284 neck is .300, and would be properly established by the expander ball exiting the stock case. I have no idea what the die would size the neck to MINUS the expander ball. I'm looking for a .290-.291 loaded round and neck walls of .0135 or so. I don't fully follow what you are suggesting.
ba

Yep, ex bullet maker.......for the moment.
Click to expand...

Bryan,

One plan: Dunno if Carstensen is still making a bushing die from a "regular" die for $35. If so, you could start with a plain old .284 FL like the Lee & have him make a bushing die from it.

(An aside: I'm surprised the "standard" neck for a 6.5/284 is .300. That (.300) minus .264 is .036. Divide by 2, = .018. Unlikely the case walls are anywhere near that thick... That's a LOT of clearance... But never mind).

Alternatively:

As long as a regular, i.e., non-bushing die, sizes the neck down enough -- say .289 in your case -- you can make up a couple mandrels to screw into your holder (you've got a mandrel holder for something, like expanding up .220 Russian to 6mm, or 6BR to .30, or something, right?)

Use the mandrel to take you up 1, or 2 or even 3 thousandths. Once you figure out what neck tension you want, size down with the "regular" die with the expander ball removed, then follow that sizing with the specific mandrel.

Yes, it is one more step in reloading. Also probably the most accurate way to get even necks. If I'm going to a big match like the 1K Nationals, I use a .001 smaller than normal bushing, then size back up using a mandrel.

I base all these suggestions on the notion that you have or have access to a lathe -- drill press might work -- and can make certain pieces, but can't make a full FL die. Most of us don't buy the extra reamer needed to make FL dies, but can make mandrels.

Same notion with a Wilson seater -- a blank is about $35 as I remember, at least for the 12L14 steel ones, and a regular chambering reamer is used to make the seater. Probably could be any suitable 6.5/284 reamer. It doesn't really have to match your chamber *precisely,* you know, though that's nice...

If Carstensen is still willing to turn "regular" dies into bushing dies, that would be simpler, of course.,
 
Thanks

Thanks, Charles
I had Jim do a die for me 5 or 6 years ago. I'll see if I can find his contact info and see what he says.
Bryan
 
Some time I enjoy being stubborn.

load an empty case with the bullet you intend to use and send it to Lee. They will make a custom collett die for you at VERY modest price. For variability, you can get custom size Mandrels as well. Or, chuck up the mandrel and take a half thou off the area where the collett squeezes the case and you can not only slightly change the seating pressure, but can "feel" if a particular case isn't responding like the others when you drop the press down and the mandrel comes out of the 0.5 thou groove.
 
Normmatzen said:
Some time I enjoy being stubborn.

load an empty case with the bullet you intend to use and send it to Lee. They will make a custom collett die for you at VERY modest price. For variability, you can get custom size Mandrels as well. Or, chuck up the mandrel and take a half thou off the area where the collett squeezes the case and you can not only slightly change the seating pressure, but can "feel" if a particular case isn't responding like the others when you drop the press down and the mandrel comes out of the 0.5 thou groove.
Click to expand...

Exactly!.

Seems that there are three points we want to size with a case. The neck, obvious reasons. The base (read up on bolt click), and the shoulder (read up on "the @&^% bolt won't close.") And if you look at enough cases where the head clearance was set back, the specific point at the shoulder we actually set back is at the body/shoulder junction.

Sooo. Very strong chance that a Lee .284 FL die (shoulder & base), followed by a Lee collet die made as in the quote (neck), you should be fine. Should be around $60 total price.

Ideal & recommended? No. But the odds of it working are high. And yes, I've done something similar a time of two, and yes, it worked fine, except the the @&^% part about a couple extra needed steps when I'd left reloading to the last minute.
 
Forster makes a set for your caliber, and they offer the service of honing out FL die necks for a very modest fee.
 
Bryan--All you would need is a Lee Collet Neck Sizing Die (send them a couple of cases already neck turned) they do a excellent job on these, a Redding Body Die (FL) and a Wilson Seater (stainless micrometer if you can afford it, or the regular one). You probably already have a neck expander. Get a couple extra mandrels from Lee and work them down to where you need them. This stuff produces excellent match grade ammo. I load for the 6.5/284 w/ .294" neck. Maybe a buddy can help you out getting the cases neck turned and sized that has the dies etc.
 
Bryan--If you want to minimally size the case and still push the shoulder, the Redding form/trim die will do this being that it is built to chamber dimensions. They also work well.
 
A 300 Wby Lee Collet neck Sizer works fine for the 308 Baer. Maybe somebody here knows if the 6.5 Swede Lee Collett Die with or without a few modications would work for the 6.5/284. I think people have stated here that they used a 6 ppc Lee Collet Neck Sizer for the 6 br, however, I'm not sure. Just thinking how to save money for you.
 
All help....

Dan, all help is appreciated. I have some research to do on all of this, and look forward to any suggestions.
bryan
 
Please post here on the board how this all turns out...... PLEASE.

I'll go on record stating that IMO your chance of achieving success (success being the ability to reload a case 20 times in a row) with this agglomeration of off-the-shelf parts is slim to none.

I'd love to eat these words :)


al
 
Bryan--What Charles said about sizing then opening up the neck .001" w/ a mandrel works real well for me too.
 
Al.........

I'm in no big hurry to finish this project, been 5 or 6 years laying around now anyway, BUT....I have done that very thing in the past.
6ppc with a universal decapping die only. Fitted necks for 2 seasons.
Another rifle was shot with neck sized brass, lubed inside and out with moly powder, and opened up ever so slightly over a mandrel. I never lost a case....most loaded well in excess of 20 times.
Caliber? It was a .22 Hornet, and shot a lot of little bitty groups.
A FL die does 5 things to my way of thinking, and the same could be done individually if necessary, with the same or better accuracy.
ba
 
alinwa said:
... IMO your chance of achieving success (success being the ability to reload a case 20 times in a row) with this agglomeration of off-the-shelf parts is slim to none.
Click to expand...

Well, success can also be $$$ spent per year. Even back when I was shooting 10 matches a year (this in 1,000 yard BR), 20 reloadings on a case in Light Gun was maybe 3, 4 years, if I'd started with 50 cases...

Alvin Johnson, who should have gone over the Gold Level in the Long Range Marksman Program was, when at 99.5 points, still using the same barrel on his Light Gun that he started IBS matches with in 1995. A K&P he'd bought new, and just never fired except at a match.

So it's like if you've got your 'vette for drag racing between Dairy Queens, a Lambo for when there are curves (both kinds, & one kind needs to be impressed), you still need your Ariel Atom for track day. Somebody's gotta get short shrift when spending the bucks...
 
oooohhh Ariel Atom, which reminds me........ dude over in Amboy has a '23 T-Bucket frame for sale.....with an exposed knuckle Vette rear....hmmmm
 
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