Over the years, I’ve reloaded many thousands of rounds in a wide variety of cartridges. My dies look the same as they did when I bought them.
I have trouble resisting buying dies from estate auctions, yard sales, etc. Ive accumulated quite a pile. Lately, Ive been sorting through them and feel the need to express some observations. Maybe some of you can provide insight on things that make me scratch my head.
1) Color coding - Ive seen them spray painted, brush painted, fingernail polished, colored with permanent marker, filed, and drilled in various patterns: multicolors, stripes, dots, notches, and dimples. My thought - if you cant tell one die from the other with a quick look, maybe you don't have enough understanding of the process to safely load your own ammo???
2) Abuse:
- Die Body: wrench marks, rounded off, plier marks, vice grip compressed, mashed, dented, etc. You really don't have to tighten them that much. Try some lee rings with the O-Ring. Finger tight and they don't move.
- Lock Ring: sealed with lock tight, mashed, rounded, etc. stripped set screws, rounded out set screws. They don't have to be that tight. Put a piece of lead buckshot under the set screws. It wont move and protects the die body threads from deformation.
- Various Die Inserts: bent rods, rounded off, stripped threads, lock tight, mashed with channel locks or vice grips. Use the correct wrench. They don't have to be that tight.
So whats going on here? Are we rigging a progressive press with an 8 horse Briggs and Stratton?
I have broken the occasional decapping pin. Usually from an off center primer hole or being too hasty. But the rest of it kind of escapes me. Whats going on here? I have seen and occasionally witnessed a blown cartridge or catastrophic failure at the range. I cant help but wonder if there is a connection. Maybe some people shouldn’t reload their own ammo.
I have trouble resisting buying dies from estate auctions, yard sales, etc. Ive accumulated quite a pile. Lately, Ive been sorting through them and feel the need to express some observations. Maybe some of you can provide insight on things that make me scratch my head.
1) Color coding - Ive seen them spray painted, brush painted, fingernail polished, colored with permanent marker, filed, and drilled in various patterns: multicolors, stripes, dots, notches, and dimples. My thought - if you cant tell one die from the other with a quick look, maybe you don't have enough understanding of the process to safely load your own ammo???
2) Abuse:
- Die Body: wrench marks, rounded off, plier marks, vice grip compressed, mashed, dented, etc. You really don't have to tighten them that much. Try some lee rings with the O-Ring. Finger tight and they don't move.
- Lock Ring: sealed with lock tight, mashed, rounded, etc. stripped set screws, rounded out set screws. They don't have to be that tight. Put a piece of lead buckshot under the set screws. It wont move and protects the die body threads from deformation.
- Various Die Inserts: bent rods, rounded off, stripped threads, lock tight, mashed with channel locks or vice grips. Use the correct wrench. They don't have to be that tight.
So whats going on here? Are we rigging a progressive press with an 8 horse Briggs and Stratton?
I have broken the occasional decapping pin. Usually from an off center primer hole or being too hasty. But the rest of it kind of escapes me. Whats going on here? I have seen and occasionally witnessed a blown cartridge or catastrophic failure at the range. I cant help but wonder if there is a connection. Maybe some people shouldn’t reload their own ammo.
