Changed dies, now my loads won't "shoot"

slimjim

Wow, a reloading bud came over yesterday and with some additional checks this morning, here is what I found.

1) The original Redding Die I have doesn't size the base small enough to fit my rifle consistently.
2) The Hornady shell holder is at least 0.002 too tall so the shoulder isn't being pushed back enough.
3) Even in the S-type die that sizes the case correctly, Federal brass is soft enough that one in four cases springs back such that the base is too large to fit my chamber.

I can ditch the Federal brass and get the shell holder milled. I'll let you know what happens next.

Donut Slayer

Slim, I wont reload ANY fed brass except 308. Fed brass is WAY too soft, except for the 308 and I dont know why.

slimjim

Picked up some Nosler cases today. Time to pull bullets and get ride of the rest of the Fed Brass. Maybe I'll get back to the range this weekend!

slimjim

Well, two trips to the range and I am shooting the .270 with confidence again. Groups are back to being less than 1 MOA. I like the Redding Competition Dies and how they grip the case and align the bullet prior to insertion. There are several loading dies that do this. I'm trying a Hornady with my 6.8.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Elvis

great to hear you have got it sorted.

slimjim

Thanks, Elvis. It's important to have a straight case with consistent neck thickness and concentricity as a foundation to your loads. I think the standard bullet seating die that didn't align the case and bullet prior to insertion was the biggest part of my problem. I may just keep neck sizing with my Lee Classic Hand Die and use the FL-resizing die on brass that doesn't fit my chamber. The Redding competition seating die is pretty slick and is a keeper. Its soo easy to adjust the bullet seating depth with the micrometer head.