[marinesg1012]

Here is the deal, I had my die all set up and working well, but on Friday I received my sinclair bump gauges (that I am getting a lot more consistent readings with by the way) either way I figured I would reset up my dies and only try to bump the shoulder back .003 (before I was .004-.005) I figured with the new guage I would be able to get it really fined tuned where as before it got a lot of variance so I went for a little more bump back so everything would feed. Either way i measured 20 cases got my fired measurement. Then I set up the die as recommended and checked 5 cases, I was getting only .002 so I moved the die a little and re tightened everything down I then ran the 5 cases through and checked them, everything seemed good to go. So I went and resized all of my cases, then I grabbed 10 from the end of the resizing process and they were measuring longer then the amount I started with... so I went to reset up the die again but of course the lock ring moves the LNL part of the setup, and I can't just move it a little to know where it should be becuase the whole die moves when I am trying to undo the locking nut or anything else.... is there a trick to getting it right or is this just part of the fun and frustration of reloading?

Thanks for the help.....

 

[paulosantos]

I take a sharpie and put a mark on the so I know where it is and I use that as a little guide. It can be a pain in the ass to get it exactly where you want so as long s I get it close to .004" I am set.

 

[marinesg1012]

yeah I took it all apart and started over and now it seems to be holding pretty steady at .003-.005, now I need to trim them all......

I need to order an auto trimmer.

 

[caporider]

yeah I took it all apart and started over and now it seems to be holding pretty steady at .003-.005, now I need to trim them all......

I need to order an auto trimmer.

Go Giraud or go home. You'll thank me a couple of thousand casings later...

 

[marinesg1012]

I know all you guys mention it all the time, I think it may be worth it for me to order it up for the 6.8 and 556 and keep the hand trimmer for all my other calibers.

what do you guys think about the carbide blade upgrade and the meplate upgrade kit?

 

[borderpatrol]

Giraud comes standard with a carbide cutter. The carbide "upgrade" he sells is for people who own his closest competitor's model, the Gracey Match Prep. If you have a Gracey or ever get a Gracey his (Giraud's) carbide blades turns the Match Prep into the trimmer it should have been when it left the factory. Very smooth and effortless cutting when compared with Gracey's standard tool steel blades. Much easier on the fingers.

As far as the meplat uniformer goes I'd pass. I'd consider it, and especially with the 6.8SPS, because it trims the fine nub off the front end of Sierra's match king hollow points. This would allow you to load just a wee bit longer, not in actual measured overall length, but when measured from the bullets ogive. It would also eliminate the oddball bullet point which contains a slight burr. Several 6.8SPC rifles have been reported to shoot better when loaded long, so this could help.

The process actually lowers B.C. but virtually insures uniform B.C. from each and every bullet. It is labor intensive and is an additional step in an otherwise already arduous process. You will not notice any difference on target. The idea behind the process is to have a more uniform and predictable level of drift when shooting long range 600/1000 yards. This level of uniformity comes at the cost of approximately .05 to .10 decrease in B.C. Not much of a reduction, but a reduction none the less. Meplat uniforming really is a questionable practice with not much history to back it up. It may just be a fad. It's outside the realm of normal shooting and probably is a waste of time for most of us.

 

[marinesg1012]

I think I will be calling him tomorrow..... so if I ask for the upgraded carbide trimmer will that make a big difference? I am using a VLD chamfer now and I like it. I dont know if it makes a difference or not.... either way I would like to just have one operation instead of three.....

 

[EWP]

Here is the deal, I had my die all set up and working well, but on Friday I received my sinclair bump gauges (that I am getting a lot more consistent readings with by the way) either way I figured I would reset up my dies and only try to bump the shoulder back .003 (before I was .004-.005) I figured with the new gauge I would be able to get it really fined tuned where as before it got a lot of variance so I went for a little more bump back so everything would feed. Either way i measured 20 cases got my fired measurement. Then I set up the die as recommended and checked 5 cases, I was getting only .002 so I moved the die a little and re tightened everything down I then ran the 5 cases through and checked them, everything seemed good to go. So I went and resize all of my cases, then I grabbed 10 from the end of the resizing process and they were measuring longer then the amount I started with... so I went to reset up the die again but of course the lock ring moves the LNL part of the setup, and I can't just move it a little to know where it should be because the whole die moves when I am trying to undo the locking nut or anything else.... is there a trick to getting it right or is this just part of the fun and frustration of reloading?

Thanks for the help.....

Make sure your case neck expander ball is polished smooth(mine is like a mirror) and it keeps lubed so it doesn't pull the case necks back out a couple .001" to give you false readings on what the die is sizing to. I actually remove my expander ball/stem when setting up my sizing die and sometimes leave it out depending on the amount of neck tension I'm getting without it, I de-prime with a universal decapper die first thing so I don't need it in the sizing die for that either. Maybe something to consider or at least try and see if your reading are more uniform.

Told you you would like the Sinclair bump gauge inserts better than the Hornady if that's what you were using.

 

[marinesg1012]

Do you just use some emery cloth to polish the expander ball? how do you ensure the neck is expanded enough for the bullet to enter the case easily? I also use a universal decapping die as I think it is a lot faster to clean and then decap everything before I have to start worrying about stuff....

 

[EWP]

There are some good right ups on how to figure out neck tension because I cant explain it without the components and tools in front of me.