Redding S-series neck die question

hadjii

Ok, so I bought a redding, bushing style neck die for my 25-06. Measuring my loaded ammo, I'm getting a dimension of .283-284. I ordered the .282 bushing as recommended. I also have a hornady headspace attachment for my dial caliper, and I did some measuring, and this is where I am either confused, or have something set up incorrectly.

Measuring new, unfired norma brass, I'm getting a reading of 4.060". A once-fired norma case is giving a measurement of 4.066" I get that. The case is expanding as being fired. Here's the confusing part for me. When I measure a once-fired norma case that measured 4.066" before resizing, it now measures 4.064" after being resized in the redding bushing neck die. I was thinking the neck die would not touch the shoulder of the case. My question is how is this happening, or what am I not understanding?

I called the redding tech person, and he is baffled as well. He said I should send him the die and some of my fired cases, and he'd find out what is happening. What say the experts here? Thank you in advance.

charliemeyer007

Just my guess but I think it is being pushed back by the friction of sizing down the neck. Try some good lube on the outside. The Lee stuff doesn't kill primers, the sheep grease stuff is excellent at case forming.

Use some dykem on the full neck and shoulder to make sure your bushing isn't touching the shoulder.

hadjii

Charliemeyer007, never thought about the lube. Makes sense. As far as the bushing touching the shoulder, I'm thinking not, because only about 3/4 of the neck is getting sized, and the redding tech guy said that that's about all that's going to get resized. He said you won't get the whole neck sized with a bushing. Thanks for the thought tho. I'll check the lube idea tomorrow.

243winxb

The type S comes in full length sizing and neck size only. Are you sure its a neck size only?

hadjii

Definitely neck die. The redding tech person asked me the same question. I tried using a bit more lube, inside and out. That seemed to take care of it, for the most part. We'll see how well I like the die after I shoot some rounds that I used the die on, but all the rounds seem to chamber just fine.

wanted man

Do you measure bullet runout? I'd be curious to hear what your runout is with those S-series dies

hadjii

Wanted man, I do not check runout. I dont have a jig or tool to check it with. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to check it. Next spring, I'll get back to ironing out a couple of more small problems, and one huge problem in my lever action 338 marlin. I'm to the point with it that I won't even hunt with it. I'm gonna try 1 box of factory and see what results I get there, but as far as reloads, I can't find the right combination with that dang rifle, no matter what I do. On one hand, I just want to get rid of it, and then on the other hand, I dont want to give up on it either.

charliemeyer007

Some rifles don't shoot good, period.

toad67

Is it a JM or a Remlin? Can't Remember if they made the MXLR's after they moved to Ilion.

hadjii

Toad67, it's a 2009 jm stamped marlin. Mine's not the xlr, just the blues version, which I like better. On a whim, I tried using a nosler accubond in 200 grain. 46.2 grains of LVR produced 1 1/4", 3 shot groups. I may be crazy, but I'm thinking this rifle doesn't like flat base bullets. The box of factory ammo I bought grouped at about 1 3/4" for a 3 shot group. I didn't have very good shooting days in December, for the most part, so my results might be luck or misfortune, depending on how you look at it. If it will group the nosler consistently @ 1 1/4", that's plenty good for me. I may have to play with seating depth with the 200 grain woodleigh's in the spring. They sure are pretty bullets, and I'm sure they are very good at terminal performance, just have to waste another box to see if I can find a cure for the inconsistent grouping.