Bad 280 ackley.........

deerslayer

deerslayer

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I ordered a 280AI die from lee , sized 25 cases , loaded 12 with different loads , went to the range and tryed to shoot some of the AI rounds but I was having a hell of time chambering rounds , when I got home I started checking the rounds and a round fell over and rolled on the table , I noticed the bullet looked wobley as the shell rolled across the table. So I rolled the rounds accross the table top and all of the rounds the bullets are slightly bent to one side. My first thought was that the rifle was chambered incorectly , checked some unsized fire formed brass , sraight as an arrow , checked some of the sized brass and you can see the woble in the neck of the case as it rolls accross the table.So now I need to send my die back to lee and hope they can supply me with a decent die:mad: . Are there any good quality die manufactures that I could use in my lee press?
 
Lee will replace the die I am sure.
I have had great success with their dies and any problem I had was taken care of right away.
I can say the same for Lyman but not for RCBS.
257 Roberts
 
What you describe is called 'runout.' Believe it or not, it is still possible to shoot MOA groups with such ammo. You do this be seating the bullets way out, and as they enter the throat they're 'straightened.' That shouldn't account for the difficulty chambering them though, unless it's *REALLY* bad runout.

Still less than ideal, though. Runout is generally caused by your full length sizing die, particularly if the expander on the end of the shaft is loose or crooked.

Despite the advice you've received thus far, it's the design of the die, not the manufacturer that's at fault here. Any die with an expander will cause this to a lesser or greater degree, and a concentricity gauge will verify this. Although it may still be worth your time to get Lee to replace your die, it's possible that there was a defect in manufacturing that makes the runout situation worse.

Otherwise, try a Collet die, or a bushing die.

I had a .243 die from Hornady that would do the same thing. The rounds were visibly crooked, but chambered fine, and shot reasonably well to boot. Turns out the expander and stem were crooked. One day I should order a new expander and stem, but until then I'll stick with the Collet die.
 
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Take the decapping rod out of the die and roll it on a hard flat surface. Odds are it is bent.

You can try and straighten it or just send away for a replacement.

To confirm the die was not reamed crooked, take a case WELL LUBED and resize without the decapping rod. How does it look? Odds are it is straight.

Reamers do not like bending.

ALL sizing dies that use a expanding/decapping rod can have this problem. Only the bushing and collet die can ensure little to no runout during the sizing phase. There is nothing to cause it.

Now a die that uses a decapping rod can offer little to no runout too. you just need to make sure the rod is straight and centered in the die. Checking the runout after sizing will ensure your success.

Jerry
 
I switched decapper/expander rod from my 280 rem die to the 280 AI , did the same thing , tryed with no d/e rod and did the same thing , necks are off centre ,used my collet 280 rem die to neck size a fire formed AI case and vola , out came a straight neck AI case.The 280 AI die seems to make a scratching sound as the case is being pushed at the end of the sizing stroke.Going to send the AI die back to lee , for now I,ll use the parent calibur collet die.
 
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