"Johnny", I've been watching your vids for a couple of years and especially during lockdown when I was supposed to be working from home. Your long video on the Rebel was gold and pushed me over to the dark side. I bought a Rebel kit, way too many dies, a bunch of overpriced primers and powders, loaded my first 300AAC rounds, ... and didn't blow my face off. Thanks for being my tutor and reloading evangelist!
I load 6BRA, 6.5CM, 5.56, 300AAC (and handgun stuff) and have been loading my own since the 70s. I could watch you load PVC pipe with dirt and still enjoy it, and probably learn something. I appreciate you sharing this stuff. Thanks
Thanks “Johnny”; I learn a little loading minutiae every time I watch one of your videos. Looking back to my first reloads, it took forever and I had no conceptual understanding of what I was doing. Your videos have me “one with my brass”.
I love the way the lee expander ball is designed. I usually run in a piece of brass without the expander to get shoulder dimension where I want, then I drop the expander into the next piece of brass before sizing and guide it up through the die with the case to be sized, then I take a small magnet to lift the expander all the way up to the shoulder neck junction, lower it by .020"-.030". and lock it in place. I've had excellent concentricity results keeping the expander up as close to the neck.
Very interested to see what you hear back from Redding. Should you have cleaned the die, yes. However unless their lube that they ship these in is super glue you would think that a normal dose of case lube would work. You keep teasing us with the pigs. When are we going to hear the story on these guys?
I guess I'm just trying to cover my ass. As soon as I make a statement like that someone will say "Dude, you didn't know that die storage oil causes brass galling? Everyone knows that." and I'll feel like a moron. Pig video this week.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench Anybody telling you that is talking out their ass. Problem is likely that the preservative oil dries out / stiffens between mfring & first use. Gets like shellac.
@@larrymitchell3502 Or just maybe the rust inhibiting spray is designed to be applied as a fluid and the carrier dries leaving the protective film on the metal parts. This way should the die set experience elevated temperature before it's in the hand of the end user the protective film remains intact.
@@albertthesecond210 Every set of dies I've purchased has been a little oily. Disassemble, wash in hot water & dish detergent scrubbing insides with bristle brush, rinse in hot water, dry thoroughly inside & out. Wipe with synthetic motor oil (gun oil of choice) & reassemble after lightly polishing inside of sizing dies with Flitz & cotton cloth and felts (wooden dowels spun with electric drill} to clean up burrs & ridges thar scratch cases & leave marks on necks. I have rifles with tight chambers, never had problem with dimensional changes in dies but smoother, easier sizing & longer case life.
@@larrymitchell3502 I'm happy for you and I hope you enjoy the lube. I am happy that you like to wash steel parts in water. I am at a loss to understand how your response pertains to my comment of the rust inhibiting product applied to many dies.
I wanted to thank you for your videos. I have watched some of them and came across the 6.5 saga that you have been going through. Even though you had problems, it is VERY instructional for us newbees in reloading. I bought a bunch of reloading equipment during the pandemic and played with pistol but also got interested in rifle reloading, 243 and 30-06. You are a down to earth kind of guy who admits mistakes, hey stuff happens to all of us for sure. Thanks again for the great videos, I really appreciate them.
Johnny, I love your videos, and the info has been invaluable. As a novice reloader, getting to see your processes, especially for dealing with issues like stuck cases and fiddly dies, has been great. I hope you find something else fun to explore and you take us on the journey with you.
I have sent two redding dies back myself. Full length and a neck size. Very rough inside. Seems quality is taking a back seat. Thanks for all you do. Videos are top notch. Also, those dies came back polished like chrome and work much better. Customer service is 100%.
Thanks for another informative video. As for myself, I reload mostly 9, 38, 45 Colt and 45 ACP and just started 223 and 300 BO. All the rest you do is research on what calibers I may want to look at in the future. I hear about them and then watch you reload to see the real world take on them. I think I dodged the 224 Val happily. Thanks again.
Thanks for the great video! I have been loading 6.5 PRC for a couple of years using the Lee die and have not stuck a case yet. I have found good results in the 147gn SMK with H4831-SC. The load is listed in Hornady’s book, but oddly not on Hodgdon’s website. Using the Ruger HLRT, I can get a nice ragged hole on good days. Good luck to ya!
Hey JRB. Thanks for all the work you put into making videos. Really appreciate it. Not sure if it is kosher or not but I have taken decap pins and cordless drill and a diamond sharpening stone and turned them down to fit in small flash holes.
I don't like the Lee lock rings but I've never had a problem with the dies and lock rings aren't exactly expensive. But I about died when you said "Am I emotionally ready for this" LOL that last reloading video was rough. Once I start having things go wrong like that I shut it down for a while because if I don't things just gets worse. Great video as always keepem coming brother!!!
It is amazing how much better a cheap Lee die looks inside than than the expensive case sticker. I use more Hornady dies these days, but I have all common brands of dies. But, it is hard to argue what a great value Lee products provide.
I bought a 6.5 PRC in July 2020 and had trouble finding reloading stuff for it. I ended up with the Lee die and have no complaints. The only brass available was new from gun works. It wasn’t cheap. But, it’s nice brass. You should be able to get 3,000 fps with the right powder. The 6.5 PRC makes shooting 1,000 yards seem like 100.
I polish the snot out of Lee dies using Flitz & felts. Their finish seems better than 10-20 years ago but I was still seeing scratches on case bodies & necks. Also chuck the decapping stem in a drill & polish the sizing portion to a mirror finish with 2000 wet/dry paper & oil, checking the max diam with a mic. Goal is
I dont understand the negativ Comments JRB Rules one if not the best Reloading Channel on CZcams. No Trashtalking helpfull Infos now and then a good Joke and good Shooting what else do you need. Quality Content Greetings from near Munich, Bavaria Germany you have brought me back to Reloading my own Ammo and have Fun with the Process and the results.
I used to hate these new Lee rings and than I discovered I can use the cheap spanner wrench that costs few dollars to tighten your castle nut on AR15 and now I love it!
I originally bought a set of these dies for my 300 Hamr, because they were cheaper than RCBS. Removing stuck cases was a nightmare!! I wound up buying the RCBS dies after having enough of the frustration! Another note, Lyman spray lube, the absolute worst!!!!! Went back to the lube pad, all problems solved.
You already mentioned comparing your shoulder datum length, which is good. However, I will also suggest you study the shoulder junction diameter, and the 200 line diameter, both to the fourth decimal point in order to compare to drawings. If there is still trouble after you sort out that shoulder datum length, odds are it is due to diameter dimensions. In that scenario, length does not fix the issue and it will require a die and brass study. Also, suggest you play with seating depth and not be so casual with those dimensions. The bullets will jump, but those seating depth nodes can be sensitive to the point where you will want to play with their width to know what that barrel wants with that bullet. Getting into touch to near jam is also worth a look, even if you don't plan to stay there. It gives you an idea of the potential group size of the next jump node. Good Luck!
Yep, with Lee dies I had exact same problem with expander coming out several times :) I think I need to polish it, I noticed it takes more force for expander to pull out than I like, I've been lubing inside the necks to elevate the problem but I should take it out and polish it.
They do seem to take more force than other dies. I guess maybe the expander part is longer than other brands. Just more contact with the neck and the additional friction that goes along with that. I bet a polish would help, but be careful and don't take off too much material. If you go too far it might increase your neck tension a noticeable amount.
Your prob getting spring back from the twice fired Nosler brass. You'll prob need to anneal that Nosler brass sooner than Hornady... Great video. I'm also looking at getting 6.5 prc so these are super helpful.
To get a little more headspace you can put the shell holder on a wet or diamond stone and bring the top of the shell holder down a few thousandths. I did this with 6.5x47 Redding dies and a Hornady shell holder.
I always do the bottom of the die so that the shell holder isn’t married to that die and could be used in other cartridges. I was wondering if someone else was going to comment about it.
I've got extra shell holders, so I might end up giving this a try. Thanks for the suggestion. Same concept as the Redding competition shell holder sets, I believe.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench my choice came down to cost. shorten the die in the same way (more expensive to replace) or shell holder (only a few dollars on amazon). either way you are reducing the base to ogive. also easier and less time than rebarreling the rifle with a larger headspace.
Very nice video. I just purchased a 6.5 PRC in a Savage Tactical. Of course, brass and ammo can't hardly be had unless you buy in bulk So I will need to wait awhile on my reloading. I do enjoy your videos. I do hope to see more videos in the future. It would be nice for you to find a good powder and do a latter test to fine tune a bullet to the powder. It isn't quite your format, but it would be an interesting video but only after you decide on the best powder and bullet combination from your other testing. Just one powder and one bullet would do an entire video if done in detail and correctly. Again nice video.
I have been using Lee dies for years. I keep them installed on a Lee turret ring so I do not have to move them. Only issues have been over annealed (soft) brass that deformed on sizing. I did not know that trick with the pin.
On your Lee Die Decapper, you can take a pair of Diagonal Pliers and knurl /Stipple the locking area of the shaft by making a bunch of divots with the pliers as you rotate the shaft and work your way up-had to do this with every Lee Die I’ve owned going back 40 years!
I’ve run into that problem of the decapping pin slipping after doing exactly as “Johnny” did tearing down the die cleaning and lubing it up before use. Even the slightest lube in the locking area seems to make them slip, cleaning it off with some alcohol seemed to resolve it. But I find they have to be tightened what I think is stupid tight. Going to try your solution and mark them up a bit.
I’ve naturally done that slippin when knockin old stuck case off decapper…I have to paint lee lube on fairly heavy or .223 rims just won’t handle it..stuck 3 in a row other day
You seem interested in knowing how tight those cases are chambering. You can put some scotch tape on the base of the cartridge and that will bump your case forward about .001" (depending on tape thickness) to see if it will still chamber. I've used this scotch tape trick in the past to play around with headspace on a savage style barrel nut.
try dies from ch4d they are great ! kinda pricey but not close to the redding price ! ch4d was the ones who made dies for weatherby and a few others like sears back in the day . very nice inside finish . they are my go too dies in 6 calibers . great job shannon keep up the good work ! oh and start making 45-70 videos again ! lmfao can't believe that one ! gotta love the trolls ! lol
Great vid. I would like to suggest maybe getting a case gauge for the 6.5 prc. Let me know when I had to bump the shoulder back without using my gun to check. Also checks case length too.
Those master hunter sets aren't cheap, either. It's nice to see Lee come in and save the day, although I think we're all waiting to see what the follow with the returned die is - both of in terms of how they respond, but also in terms of how well it will print on paper in comparison.
Well said. I'm tempted to point out that the Lee works better for a fraction of the cost, but I'm tempering myself because I'm not sure that Lee would be by #1 pick for 'precision.' Also curious how Redding CS is. But I'm only a third into the video right now, so take this with a grain of salt...
Pay no attention to the negative comments her Johnny! You've got one of the most positive group of followers I've seen on CZcams. How you enjoying that omega 36m? Have a preference of the omega 36 or the 300?
Try counting to 5-6 while the Nosler brass is in the sizing die. Diminishes spring back. Good experiment you might try...anneal a few cases and compare.
Set your die in just enough to give your press, just a slight bit of cam over, at the bottom of the stroke. Your fit issues will be gone. Leave that chamber just how you have it. Rifle is showing great promise.
Johnny…have you ever used the Sheridan cut away SAMMI minimum length case check die…it offers a totally visible case view of resized brass…I have found it invaluable for quick check on brass for chambering cases 👍👍👍
I would recommend 6.5 142gr Nosler Long Range Acoubonds for hunting. They are super accurate and fast. I have a 6.5x55 SE swede with a 20-inch barrel. It is a perfect match. Velocity 2760 fps. The temperature outside is 75F. I use Lapua brass and Norma MRP rifle powder. it is modern action Sako 85 rifle stamped 6.5x55 SE. I am more than happy. This is a hot load but no pressure signs, The barrel is 20 inches, not 22 inches no typo.
I will have to give those a try. I did not have good accuracy with the 129gr ABLR in 6.5 Grendel or Creedmoor, so I never bought any of the 142's. They are really nice bullets. I'll give them a shot.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench 6.5 Grendel I had good luck with 120gr Ballistic tips from Nosler and TAC powder and 120gr TSX Barnes. It was my son's deer load at that time. One-shot kills. In my opinion, 129gr ABLR is too long for 6.5 Grendel.
G5 - brass makes a great lap. It holds the buffing compound well and won’t damage the steel die. J&B bore paste is a little finer for a finish like glass. Also, what would you for a lap? Fired brass is handy…
@@michaelgarrow3239 sounds like your experience trumps my theory. Thanks for sharing. Fired brass is indeed handy, but the contact I think too irregular to do what I'd want. My experience is that a crosshatch like the flex hone is better than a mirror finish because the grooves give the lube a place to go and retain lube. Exactly the same as a cylinder wall in a car engine-- mirror smooth is very bad.
I'm shooting 2940fps with 140gr Speers gold dot out of my 26" 6.5 creedmore with RL26, Hornady brass and cci 200 primers. I'm pretty sure I can get 2800fps or more from that 142gr. I know 26" is not the handiest length but I built it for long range shooting. I would be impressed with 6.5 PRC if I can see 140gr bullets coming out over 3100fps.
I don’t see a difference in prc vs 6.5 x06 or 6.5 284 ballistics I shoot the Swede and the 06 I drive a 95 gr v max at 3400 w rl17 the Swede I keep as a deer pig poker 120s -140 s the o6 does very well w rl 22,23 25,26. 26 seems to be optional for 140 Vlds
Johnny, it looks like there are little tweaks that will be part of the process, however, the narrowing process is getting smaller for you, Not to spend your funding, However, it was me as a sole "CZcamsr and Video creator", I would maybe set up my shooting bench as a permanent set up (Shooting shack) where all your stuff (Lab Radar, laptop computer, shooting rest, shooting bags, and small tools) are all ready to go, all you have to do is set the rifle in the rest and commence firing your groups, I feel that you would have less set up adjustments and more consistent shooting because nothing has changed with your set up. All good content once again- Dave
I had the same issue with Redding dies for 6.5 grendel. Bought a Lee die and it worked fine. Not sure what the deal was, i never sent the redding dies back.
Not sure how recommended it is, but you can move the decapping rod up in the collet to where it will still size the neck but not mess with the primer/flash hole. Did it to 06 brass that I messed up collet sizing
Get yourself an L.E. Wilson Case Gauge to verify the case dimensions (diameter) and length. It will provide you with more valuable info than just a micrometer/caliper to check case length only......
2795 f/s seems very low to me for the 6.5 PRC. I'm shooting 147 gr ELD-M with Reloder 25 at ~2933 f/s. Standard deviation is 4.3 f/s. No brass life issues.
Johnny, Have you tried the Nosler 140gn RDF HPBT bullets in the 6.5 PRC yet? Would like to see some results....Love watching your channel for a lot info.........Thanks
I was going to ask how important it is to resize the brass (beside doing neck tension) as it's fire formed to fit in your rifle, but seeing those tight cases kind of answered my question...it's important.
Many people can neck size for many firings before full length sizing. A lot has to do with the brass you use and how much chamber pressure you have. Hot loads will need full length sized more often. One can actually partial size a case, but if you wanted the neck sized all the way down you might have to neck size even after partial sized. long range competition shooters generally resize and bump the shoulder .001-.002". That is for 100% reliability. I like to neck size until the case starts feeling like it's sticking on extraction. I have known people that have reloaded cases as many as 20 times before resizing, but those are definitely moderate loads. There are so many different techniques of reloading and sometimes one isn't any better than another. Annealing is something a person needs to get into sooner or later if they want to extend their brass life and with shortages and high prices today if you are just getting into reloading you need to research that.
Have you tried that Hornady headspace comparator on a headspace 'go' gauge? you might be off in the measurement. i believe you're supposed to zero the calipers and then you'd be getting a reading of -.002" which is your bump back relative to the fire formed case you were "comparing" it to. That's why it's called a "comparator" and a not a "measuring gauge"
Use lee 4 hole and have to use toothbrush to paint lees lube on…tried less and sticks every time…load .223..10mm..9mm..my .308 dies are hornady and thankfully havnt stuck 1 in well over 1000rds
have you tried closing the bolt on non sized brass? i have the same gun and i have and the bolt always close when everyone tells me it should not close with before brass is sized, can you explain?
It drives me crazy to see a man measuring to the thousandth of an inch for reloading use adjustable wrenches taking apart everything. Man I have a wrench set you can have if you really need one.
I’m shooting factory Norma target loads right now. 143 gr with a .635 BC. So far so good on group size but the velocity was down around 2850. I might buy up some more just to get the Norma brass. I was able to get some ram shot LRT and I hope to be able to use it in my 7mm rem mag as well. Just need to secure some primers. Do you think large rifle magnum primers would be ok in 6.5 PRC even though it’s not the standard? Sure would be nice to share with my 7 mag
I’ve found that crimped primer pockets were always the trouble when my RCBS priming tool was giving me grief. The crimps are no joke to remove, either. I run the de-crimping tool in my drill press now, really try to hog them out, and have no problems. I’m relatively new to reloading, so I didn’t realize how not-so-obvious the crimp can be. Godspeed.
On the Nosler brass there looks like a line about a 1/4" before the full length of the bottom of the case length, is that normal or should the case have been seated deeper up into the die.
Hey Shannon, you ever thought about loading 1 extra just to season the barrel before your first shot? It almost always throws them and I would say messes with your data. Just a thought.
Nice! I literally save bullets that may have a odd tip or some other questionable skuff or marks just for this. I will min load it with any powder to blowout the barrel. 👍👍👍👍👍
I would have done that, but I only had 25 of these bullets left. I was going to load up some others for fouling, but I thought it would be interesting to see what this gun did with a clean/cold bore.
@Steve J I was thinking of that, only a little differently. Can you get consistency with the first "thrown" shot? If it throws it the same with every cold shot you could adjust your zero. I'm not sure the less than an inch POI change would be noticable should a follow up shot be necesary.
When setting your die on the press and locking down the lock ring. You just use your fingers to set it. Is that all that is needed to set the die in place? I've always gave a light tug on the lock rings with an adjustable wrench. Does it make a difference to even worry about?
I usually finger tighten them, but I am usually only resizing 25-50 pieces of brass. I think tightening them with a wrench is the better way to do things.
"Johnny", I've been watching your vids for a couple of years and especially during lockdown when I was supposed to be working from home. Your long video on the Rebel was gold and pushed me over to the dark side. I bought a Rebel kit, way too many dies, a bunch of overpriced primers and powders, loaded my first 300AAC rounds, ... and didn't blow my face off. Thanks for being my tutor and reloading evangelist!
Congrats, man!
I load 6BRA, 6.5CM, 5.56, 300AAC (and handgun stuff) and have been loading my own since the 70s. I could watch you load PVC pipe with dirt and still enjoy it, and probably learn something. I appreciate you sharing this stuff. Thanks
Love the target camera. It’s like old times. Great video and thanks for your time investment.
Thanks “Johnny”; I learn a little loading minutiae every time I watch one of your videos. Looking back to my first reloads, it took forever and I had no conceptual understanding of what I was doing. Your videos have me “one with my brass”.
I love the way the lee expander ball is designed. I usually run in a piece of brass without the expander to get shoulder dimension where I want, then I drop the expander into the next piece of brass before sizing and guide it up through the die with the case to be sized, then I take a small magnet to lift the expander all the way up to the shoulder neck junction, lower it by .020"-.030". and lock it in place. I've had excellent concentricity results keeping the expander up as close to the neck.
That sounds interesting! I'll give it a try.
I really like the old way of seeing the actual paper
Very interested to see what you hear back from Redding. Should you have cleaned the die, yes. However unless their lube that they ship these in is super glue you would think that a normal dose of case lube would work. You keep teasing us with the pigs. When are we going to hear the story on these guys?
I guess I'm just trying to cover my ass. As soon as I make a statement like that someone will say "Dude, you didn't know that die storage oil causes brass galling? Everyone knows that." and I'll feel like a moron.
Pig video this week.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench Anybody telling you that is talking out their ass. Problem is likely that the preservative oil dries out / stiffens between mfring & first use. Gets like shellac.
@@larrymitchell3502 Or just maybe the rust inhibiting spray is designed to be applied as a fluid and the carrier dries leaving the protective film on the metal parts. This way should the die set experience elevated temperature before it's in the hand of the end user the protective film remains intact.
@@albertthesecond210 Every set of dies I've purchased has been a little oily. Disassemble, wash in hot water & dish detergent scrubbing insides with bristle brush, rinse in hot water, dry thoroughly inside & out. Wipe with synthetic motor oil (gun oil of choice) & reassemble after lightly polishing inside of sizing dies with Flitz & cotton cloth and felts (wooden dowels spun with electric drill} to clean up burrs & ridges thar scratch cases & leave marks on necks. I have rifles with tight chambers, never had problem with dimensional changes in dies but smoother, easier sizing & longer case life.
@@larrymitchell3502 I'm happy for you and I hope you enjoy the lube. I am happy that you like to wash steel parts in water. I am at a loss to understand how your response pertains to my comment of the rust inhibiting product applied to many dies.
I wanted to thank you for your videos. I have watched some of them and came across the 6.5 saga that you have been going through. Even though you had problems, it is VERY instructional for us newbees in reloading. I bought a bunch of reloading equipment during the pandemic and played with pistol but also got interested in rifle reloading, 243 and 30-06. You are a down to earth kind of guy who admits mistakes, hey stuff happens to all of us for sure. Thanks again for the great videos, I really appreciate them.
Johnny, I love your videos, and the info has been invaluable. As a novice reloader, getting to see your processes, especially for dealing with issues like stuck cases and fiddly dies, has been great.
I hope you find something else fun to explore and you take us on the journey with you.
Lee dies always seem to work - great value 👍
Lee to the rescue again, everything they make isn't great but the dies and presses are an amazing value with a great customer service and warranty.
I have sent two redding dies back myself. Full length and a neck size. Very rough inside. Seems quality is taking a back seat. Thanks for all you do. Videos are top notch. Also, those dies came back polished like chrome and work much better. Customer service is 100%.
Thanks for another informative video. As for myself, I reload mostly 9, 38, 45 Colt and 45 ACP and just started 223 and 300 BO. All the rest you do is research on what calibers I may want to look at in the future. I hear about them and then watch you reload to see the real world take on them. I think I dodged the 224 Val happily. Thanks again.
I let my reloader watch your videos so it remembers what it was like to have primers to reload with. Awesome info as usual.
Yes! Glad you are making progress!
Johnny, thanks for your hard work. I’m a big fan.. a I really like the shot marker though. Thanks again.
Good show. Glad no issues with Lee die. Last group was weird. Thank you.
Thanks for the great video! I have been loading 6.5 PRC for a couple of years using the Lee die and have not stuck a case yet. I have found good results in the 147gn SMK with H4831-SC. The load is listed in Hornady’s book, but oddly not on Hodgdon’s website. Using the Ruger HLRT, I can get a nice ragged hole on good days. Good luck to ya!
i gotta say....i like it without shot marker.
Hey JRB. Thanks for all the work you put into making videos. Really appreciate it. Not sure if it is kosher or not but I have taken decap pins and cordless drill and a diamond sharpening stone and turned them down to fit in small flash holes.
Thanks, brother. Someone else mentioned turning them down in a similar way. Sounds like a good idea to me!
@Seth Boyce If it works, it's kosher!
I don't like the Lee lock rings but I've never had a problem with the dies and lock rings aren't exactly expensive. But I about died when you said "Am I emotionally ready for this" LOL that last reloading video was rough. Once I start having things go wrong like that I shut it down for a while because if I don't things just gets worse. Great video as always keepem coming brother!!!
It is amazing how much better a cheap Lee die looks inside than than the expensive case sticker. I use more Hornady dies these days, but I have all common brands of dies. But, it is hard to argue what a great value Lee products provide.
I love all your videos thank you very much! You keep calling Nosler brass "Norma" :)
Enjoyed this presentation. Nice work boss.
Thank you for sharing your expertise
Awesome as usual my friend. Thank you
I too had cases getting stuck in my Redding dies for 6.5 prc. Jay is taking care of it
I bought a 6.5 PRC in July 2020 and had trouble finding reloading stuff for it. I ended up with the Lee die and have no complaints. The only brass available was new from gun works. It wasn’t cheap. But, it’s nice brass. You should be able to get 3,000 fps with the right powder. The 6.5 PRC makes shooting 1,000 yards seem like 100.
Really like that bore scope
Once again, Lee dies rule!
I polish the snot out of Lee dies using Flitz & felts. Their finish seems better than 10-20 years ago but I was still seeing scratches on case bodies & necks. Also chuck the decapping stem in a drill & polish the sizing portion to a mirror finish with 2000 wet/dry paper & oil, checking the max diam with a mic. Goal is
"Johnny" , I would add a 2" wide X 7" long block of alumnim under the forend, to keep it from rotating. Good to keep it simple ! nice groups !
I dont understand the negativ Comments JRB Rules one if not the best Reloading Channel on CZcams. No Trashtalking helpfull Infos now and then a good Joke and good Shooting what else do you need. Quality Content
Greetings from near Munich, Bavaria Germany you have brought me back to Reloading my own Ammo and have Fun with the Process and the results.
I only reload hunting ammo so I’ve just been running Lee gear forever. Cheap and does the job.
Thank goodness, back to paper!!
I used to hate these new Lee rings and than I discovered I can use the cheap spanner wrench that costs few dollars to tighten your castle nut on AR15 and now I love it!
I'll give that a shot!
Great video!
I originally bought a set of these dies for my 300 Hamr, because they were cheaper than RCBS. Removing stuck cases was a nightmare!! I wound up buying the RCBS dies after having enough of the frustration! Another note, Lyman spray lube, the absolute worst!!!!! Went back to the lube pad, all problems solved.
I have resized Lee the decapping pins down to small primer pocket size using a drill press and file.
You already mentioned comparing your shoulder datum length, which is good. However, I will also suggest you study the shoulder junction diameter, and the 200 line diameter, both to the fourth decimal point in order to compare to drawings. If there is still trouble after you sort out that shoulder datum length, odds are it is due to diameter dimensions. In that scenario, length does not fix the issue and it will require a die and brass study.
Also, suggest you play with seating depth and not be so casual with those dimensions. The bullets will jump, but those seating depth nodes can be sensitive to the point where you will want to play with their width to know what that barrel wants with that bullet. Getting into touch to near jam is also worth a look, even if you don't plan to stay there. It gives you an idea of the potential group size of the next jump node. Good Luck!
Yep, with Lee dies I had exact same problem with expander coming out several times :) I think I need to polish it, I noticed it takes more force for expander to pull out than I like, I've been lubing inside the necks to elevate the problem but I should take it out and polish it.
They do seem to take more force than other dies. I guess maybe the expander part is longer than other brands. Just more contact with the neck and the additional friction that goes along with that.
I bet a polish would help, but be careful and don't take off too much material. If you go too far it might increase your neck tension a noticeable amount.
Your prob getting spring back from the twice fired Nosler brass. You'll prob need to anneal that Nosler brass sooner than Hornady... Great video. I'm also looking at getting 6.5 prc so these are super helpful.
To get a little more headspace you can put the shell holder on a wet or diamond stone and bring the top of the shell holder down a few thousandths. I did this with 6.5x47 Redding dies and a Hornady shell holder.
What he said
I always do the bottom of the die so that the shell holder isn’t married to that die and could be used in other cartridges. I was wondering if someone else was going to comment about it.
I've got extra shell holders, so I might end up giving this a try. Thanks for the suggestion.
Same concept as the Redding competition shell holder sets, I believe.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench my choice came down to cost. shorten the die in the same way (more expensive to replace) or shell holder (only a few dollars on amazon). either way you are reducing the base to ogive. also easier and less time than rebarreling the rifle with a larger headspace.
@@davegreenleaf5272 braver than me. i was convinced i would muck up the die beyond repair. but it does accomplish the same goal
Thats a good looking Dog!
Very nice video. I just purchased a 6.5 PRC in a Savage Tactical. Of course, brass and ammo can't hardly be had unless you buy in bulk So I will need to wait awhile on my reloading. I do enjoy your videos. I do hope to see more videos in the future. It would be nice for you to find a good powder and do a latter test to fine tune a bullet to the powder. It isn't quite your format, but it would be an interesting video but only after you decide on the best powder and bullet combination from your other testing. Just one powder and one bullet would do an entire video if done in detail and correctly. Again nice video.
Another interesting video. Makes me want to do a barrel swap.
That barrel swap was too easy. It's got me wanting to try all sorts of different stuff.
Great vid!
I have been using Lee dies for years. I keep them installed on a Lee turret ring so I do not have to move them. Only issues have been over annealed (soft) brass that deformed on sizing. I did not know that trick with the pin.
On your Lee Die Decapper, you can take a pair of Diagonal Pliers and knurl /Stipple the locking area of the shaft by making a bunch of divots with the pliers as you rotate the shaft and work your way up-had to do this with every Lee Die I’ve owned going back 40 years!
I’ve run into that problem of the decapping pin slipping after doing exactly as “Johnny” did tearing down the die cleaning and lubing it up before use. Even the slightest lube in the locking area seems to make them slip, cleaning it off with some alcohol seemed to resolve it. But I find they have to be tightened what I think is stupid tight. Going to try your solution and mark them up a bit.
I’ve naturally done that slippin when knockin old stuck case off decapper…I have to paint lee lube on fairly heavy or .223 rims just won’t handle it..stuck 3 in a row other day
You seem interested in knowing how tight those cases are chambering. You can put some scotch tape on the base of the cartridge and that will bump your case forward about .001" (depending on tape thickness) to see if it will still chamber. I've used this scotch tape trick in the past to play around with headspace on a savage style barrel nut.
Thanks!
Thanks, Rollis! I appreciate that.
try dies from ch4d they are great ! kinda pricey but not close to the redding price ! ch4d was the ones who made dies for weatherby and a few others like sears back in the day . very nice inside finish . they are my go too dies in 6 calibers . great job shannon keep up the good work ! oh and start making 45-70 videos again ! lmfao can't believe that one ! gotta love the trolls ! lol
Great vid. I would like to suggest maybe getting a case gauge for the 6.5 prc. Let me know when I had to bump the shoulder back without using my gun to check. Also checks case length too.
Those master hunter sets aren't cheap, either. It's nice to see Lee come in and save the day, although I think we're all waiting to see what the follow with the returned die is - both of in terms of how they respond, but also in terms of how well it will print on paper in comparison.
Well said. I'm tempted to point out that the Lee works better for a fraction of the cost, but I'm tempering myself because I'm not sure that Lee would be by #1 pick for 'precision.' Also curious how Redding CS is.
But I'm only a third into the video right now, so take this with a grain of salt...
Pay no attention to the negative comments her Johnny! You've got one of the most positive group of followers I've seen on CZcams. How you enjoying that omega 36m? Have a preference of the omega 36 or the 300?
I am a great believer in low expectations.
Try counting to 5-6 while the Nosler brass is in the sizing die. Diminishes spring back.
Good experiment you might try...anneal a few cases and compare.
I am definitely going to anneal everything for the next video. A bit of dwell time might not hurt either.
Set your die in just enough to give your press, just a slight bit of cam over, at the bottom of the stroke.
Your fit issues will be gone.
Leave that chamber just how you have it.
Rifle is showing great promise.
"Are we ready for this? Like emotionally speaking... are we ready?" My reloading experience, summed up.
Johnny…have you ever used the Sheridan cut away SAMMI minimum length case check die…it offers a totally visible case view of resized brass…I have found it invaluable for quick check on brass for chambering cases 👍👍👍
I would recommend 6.5 142gr Nosler Long Range Acoubonds for hunting. They are super accurate and fast.
I have a 6.5x55 SE swede with a 20-inch barrel. It is a perfect match. Velocity 2760 fps. The temperature outside is 75F. I use Lapua brass and Norma MRP rifle powder. it is modern action Sako 85 rifle stamped 6.5x55 SE. I am more than happy. This is a hot load but no pressure signs, The barrel is 20 inches, not 22 inches no typo.
I will have to give those a try. I did not have good accuracy with the 129gr ABLR in 6.5 Grendel or Creedmoor, so I never bought any of the 142's. They are really nice bullets. I'll give them a shot.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench 6.5 Grendel I had good luck with 120gr Ballistic tips from Nosler and TAC powder and 120gr TSX Barnes. It was my son's deer load at that time. One-shot kills. In my opinion, 129gr ABLR is too long for 6.5 Grendel.
Everyone's ego makes them buy expensive dies but in the end they all come back to Lee.
A flex hone brush is a great way to improve the surface finish on cheaper dies.
A little flitz on a resized case. Solder a wire in the primer hole and attach a drill.
Go burrr…
@@michaelgarrow3239 that polishes away more brass than steel. Flitz is fine, just don’t use a brass case as your buff.
G5 - brass makes a great lap. It holds the buffing compound well and won’t damage the steel die. J&B bore paste is a little finer for a finish like glass.
Also, what would you for a lap?
Fired brass is handy…
@@michaelgarrow3239 sounds like your experience trumps my theory. Thanks for sharing. Fired brass is indeed handy, but the contact I think too irregular to do what I'd want. My experience is that a crosshatch like the flex hone is better than a mirror finish because the grooves give the lube a place to go and retain lube. Exactly the same as a cylinder wall in a car engine-- mirror smooth is very bad.
Could u possibly do a video on swapping out barrel on your savage rifle
I'm shooting 2940fps with 140gr Speers gold dot out of my 26" 6.5 creedmore with RL26, Hornady brass and cci 200 primers. I'm pretty sure I can get 2800fps or more from that 142gr. I know 26" is not the handiest length but I built it for long range shooting. I would be impressed with 6.5 PRC if I can see 140gr bullets coming out over 3100fps.
I don’t see a difference in prc vs 6.5 x06 or 6.5 284 ballistics I shoot the Swede and the 06 I drive a 95 gr v max at 3400 w rl17 the Swede I keep as a deer pig poker 120s -140 s the o6 does very well w rl 22,23 25,26. 26 seems to be optional for 140 Vlds
👍👍
Lee for the WIN and bacon for dinner.
I'm resizing with lard in 2023!
Johnny, it looks like there are little tweaks that will be part of the process, however, the narrowing process is getting smaller for you, Not to spend your funding, However, it was me as a sole "CZcamsr and Video creator", I would maybe set up my shooting bench as a permanent set up (Shooting shack) where all your stuff (Lab Radar, laptop computer, shooting rest, shooting bags, and small tools) are all ready to go, all you have to do is set the rifle in the rest and commence firing your groups, I feel that you would have less set up adjustments and more consistent shooting because nothing has changed with your set up. All good content once again- Dave
That's exactly what I think I'm going to do. I might actually build a shooting deck that's mostly enclosed and attached to the house.
Hell yeah first. Plan do anymore 300 win mag loads?
Great video, is the 140G Speer Gold Dot coming up anytime soon? Also, did you stop doing the Monday reloading chats?
I had the same issue with Redding dies for 6.5 grendel. Bought a Lee die and it worked fine. Not sure what the deal was, i never sent the redding dies back.
Not sure how recommended it is, but you can move the decapping rod up in the collet to where it will still size the neck but not mess with the primer/flash hole. Did it to 06 brass that I messed up collet sizing
Get yourself an L.E. Wilson Case Gauge to verify the case dimensions (diameter) and length. It will provide you with more valuable info than just a micrometer/caliper to check case length only......
I may be wrong but I think when you add the suppressor cover your changing the harmonics
2795 f/s seems very low to me for the 6.5 PRC. I'm shooting 147 gr ELD-M with Reloder 25 at ~2933 f/s. Standard deviation is 4.3 f/s. No brass life issues.
Berger 156 EOL and N565 next please!
Johnny, Have you tried the Nosler 140gn RDF HPBT bullets in the 6.5 PRC yet? Would like to see some results....Love watching your channel for a lot info.........Thanks
I was going to ask how important it is to resize the brass (beside doing neck tension) as it's fire formed to fit in your rifle, but seeing those tight cases kind of answered my question...it's important.
Many people can neck size for many firings before full length sizing. A lot has to do with the brass you use and how much chamber pressure you have. Hot loads will need full length sized more often. One can actually partial size a case, but if you wanted the neck sized all the way down you might have to neck size even after partial sized. long range competition shooters generally resize and bump the shoulder .001-.002". That is for 100% reliability. I like to neck size until the case starts feeling like it's sticking on extraction. I have known people that have reloaded cases as many as 20 times before resizing, but those are definitely moderate loads. There are so many different techniques of reloading and sometimes one isn't any better than another. Annealing is something a person needs to get into sooner or later if they want to extend their brass life and with shortages and high prices today if you are just getting into reloading you need to research that.
@@garrytalley8009 Thanks for the reply, interesting stuff in it.
😊
Johnny, of all of the presses you have used which one do you lean towards as your most accurate and easy to use?
Some ham to go with them eggs 👍
Have you tried that Hornady headspace comparator on a headspace
'go' gauge? you might be off in the measurement. i believe you're supposed to zero the calipers and then you'd be getting a reading of -.002" which is your bump back relative to the fire formed case you were "comparing" it to. That's why it's called a "comparator" and a not a "measuring gauge"
Just sand the shellholder down .001 at a time if it's too tight.
Use lee 4 hole and have to use toothbrush to paint lees lube on…tried less and sticks every time…load .223..10mm..9mm..my .308 dies are hornady and thankfully havnt stuck 1 in well over 1000rds
10mm are carbide which is a godsend…
Can small rifle magnum primers be used instead of small rifle primers and still achieve subsonic 300blkout loads?
Get with the times, and get some Hornady One Shot Case lube, and make your life easier!!
Johnny, have you had a chance to try CFE BLK with 7.62x39 loads?
Tried this powder with a 26" 6 Creedmoor, was too slow and kept getting flyers....
have you tried closing the bolt on non sized brass? i have the same gun and i have and the bolt always close when everyone tells me it should not close with before brass is sized, can you explain?
Strange lookin chicken in the pool
👍👍🇺🇲 Lgb
It drives me crazy to see a man measuring to the thousandth of an inch for reloading use adjustable wrenches taking apart everything. Man I have a wrench set you can have if you really need one.
I’m shooting factory Norma target loads right now. 143 gr with a .635 BC. So far so good on group size but the velocity was down around 2850. I might buy up some more just to get the Norma brass. I was able to get some ram shot LRT and I hope to be able to use it in my 7mm rem mag as well. Just need to secure some primers. Do you think large rifle magnum primers would be ok in 6.5 PRC even though it’s not the standard? Sure would be nice to share with my 7 mag
Yeah, I think the magnum primers are probably just fine. I think I'm going to test it out once I get past some of this die nonsense.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench Thanks for suffering through some stuck cases for us and helping guide my die selection.
Idk how to get my hand primer to work… something seems wrong. Doesn’t matter how I set it up I can’t get the primers to seat properly with it
I’ve found that crimped primer pockets were always the trouble when my RCBS priming tool was giving me grief. The crimps are no joke to remove, either. I run the de-crimping tool in my drill press now, really try to hog them out, and have no problems. I’m relatively new to reloading, so I didn’t realize how not-so-obvious the crimp can be. Godspeed.
On the Nosler brass there looks like a line about a 1/4" before the full length of the bottom of the case length, is that normal or should the case have been seated deeper up into the die.
It's normal (i think) and we'll look at it closer in the next video. I know exactly what you're talking about.
JOHNNY! Where the heck have you gone?? Nothing in a YEAR?? Are you o.k.?
Hey Shannon, you ever thought about loading 1 extra just to season the barrel before your first shot? It almost always throws them and I would say messes with your data. Just a thought.
Nice! I literally save bullets that may have a odd tip or some other questionable skuff or marks just for this.
I will min load it with any powder to blowout the barrel.
👍👍👍👍👍
I would have done that, but I only had 25 of these bullets left. I was going to load up some others for fouling, but I thought it would be interesting to see what this gun did with a clean/cold bore.
As a hunting rifle/cartridge, the cold/clean bore is the most important shot. It would be great to find a combo that isn’t sensitive to that.
@Steve J I was thinking of that, only a little differently. Can you get consistency with the first "thrown" shot? If it throws it the same with every cold shot you could adjust your zero. I'm not sure the less than an inch POI change would be noticable should a follow up shot be necesary.
subsonic grendel
When setting your die on the press and locking down the lock ring. You just use your fingers to set it. Is that all that is needed to set the die in place?
I've always gave a light tug on the lock rings with an adjustable wrench. Does it make a difference to even worry about?
I usually finger tighten them, but I am usually only resizing 25-50 pieces of brass.
I think tightening them with a wrench is the better way to do things.
@@JohnnysReloadingBench thanks.
im getting 3075 fps with RL 26 and Burger 140 vld . with less than 100 down the tube