Cant seat bullet far enough with RCBS competition dies???

Suther

Suther

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
Location
Fraser Valley
I bought some 7mm-08 RCBS competition dies off the EE. They sized my brass fine, however when trying to seat a bullet I cannot get it to seat the bullet far enough. With the seating stem set at its lowest point, the bottom of the die contacts my shellholder before I can seat the bullet far enough. My OAL is 2.964", max OAL for this cartridge is 2.800". Bullet used is the 139gr GMX. The round doesn't fit my magazine, and its jamming into the lands before I can close the bolt on my rifle.

Anyone know what my issue might be, and how to fix it???

Edit - I just did some googling. It appears I may need an extended shell holder? Can anyone confirm this?
 
Last edited:
I don't have "regular" 7mm08 dies. These are the only ones I have, and I intend to figure out what my issue is because these dies weren't exactly cheap!
 
They were supposed to come with a black extended shell holder or the dies are useless. Trying to get a that shell holder out of the states from rcbs right now aswell...for a few months now. Had to buy a new set from cabelas as they may not be getting up here for awhile longer.
 
4n2t0 said:
Loading on a...
Click to expand...

What I'm loading on shouldn't matter, as the shell holder is contacting the bottom of the die so regardless of what I put it in I'm going to have the same issue... But just to humour you, its an RCBS single stage press, the cheaper one (Partner press I think?). I also have a Lee Hand Press, but I already know that won't fix my problem.

BCrecce said:
They were supposed to come with a black extended shell holder or the dies are useless. Trying to get a that shell holder out of the states from rcbs right now aswell...for a few months now. Had to buy a new set from cabelas as they may not be getting up here for awhile longer.
Click to expand...

Good to know! Guess I need to PM the guy who sold me the dies and see if he has the shell holder still. If I have to buy new dies because I can't get that shellholder I'm going to be pissed - I have a moose hunt in a month and I was supposed to be testing ammo this weekend FFS!

Edit - PM'd the seller about the shell holder. We'll see where this gets me.
 
I don't own RCBS competition dies but find this interesting. If the OP's existing shell holder is already touching the bottom of his seater die, how does an extended shell holder do anything? Does it somehow push the case further up into the seating die without contacting it? I went up to the RCBS site and downloaded the User Instructions for Competition Dies and found:

"Competition Die Sets are furnished with an extended shell holder where needed for reloading short cases. The competition extended shell holder is only used with the competition seater die. A standard RCBS shell holder should be used with the competition sizer die."
 
Likely your seating stem. See if you can get the vld type from rcbs.
The 139 grain gmx bullets are surprisingly long.
Also, the bottom of your seating die should never contact the shell holder. I believe the instructions say to back off the die one full turn from making contact...
 
Potashminer said:
I don't own RCBS competition dies but find this interesting. If the OP's existing shell holder is already touching the bottom of his seater die, how does an extended shell holder do anything? Does it somehow push the case further up into the seating die without contacting it? I went up to the RCBS site and downloaded the User Instructions for Competition Dies and found:

"Competition Die Sets are furnished with an extended shell holder where needed for reloading short cases. The competition extended shell holder is only used with the competition seater die. A standard RCBS shell holder should be used with the competition sizer die."
Click to expand...

https://www.rcbs.com/shell-holders/competition/competition-extended-shell-holder/355412.html

The extended shell holder fits up inside the base of the seating die. As you can see in the above link they are skinnier than a normal shell holder. The seating dies are caliber specific not cartridge specific (eg mine is 7mm, can be used for any 7mm cartridge) and if you're reloading a short cartridge (say 308 length) you need the extended shell holder.
 
huntingfamily said:
Likely your seating stem. See if you can get the vld type from rcbs.
The 139 grain gmx bullets are surprisingly long.
Click to expand...

Nope. Definitely the shell holder.

I contacted the guy I bought em from. Hes sending me the shell holder. Hopefully it gets here relatively quickly, I leave for my hunt in exactly 5 weeks.
 
Suther said:
https://www.rcbs.com/shell-holders/competition/competition-extended-shell-holder/355412.html

The extended shell holder fits up inside the base of the seating die. As you can see in the above link they are skinnier than a normal shell holder. The seating dies are caliber specific not cartridge specific (eg mine is 7mm, can be used for any 7mm cartridge) and if you're reloading a short cartridge (say 308 length) you need the extended shell holder.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks. I learned something!! Hasn't been another wasted day! :) (says the retired guy....)
 
Suther said:
What I'm loading on shouldn't matter, as the shell holder is contacting the bottom of the die so regardless of what I put it in I'm going to have the same issue... But just to humour you, its an RCBS single stage press, the cheaper one (Partner press I think?). I also have a Lee Hand Press, but I already know that won't fix my problem.
Click to expand...

Got it, I'm glad you have it all figured out.
 
Suther, I had a similar issue with a set of RCBS competition dies I picked up second hand for my 7-08/308/6mmRem.

The reasoning behind the special shell head holder is valid, in that it eliminates another variable, when it comes to loading "straight" cartridges. It's not unusual for shell head holders to be a few thousandths off center, which could be a potential issue for accuracy.

There are a couple of ways around your issue.

You can do as I did, and just get a new, longer stem from your local gun shop or in my case, I have a few spares from years of hoarding such things from partial sets of dies picked up in trades etc.

Another way is to grind off as much as you need to from the base of the die. It's not difficult. You could also get a machinist to turn down the base of the die and chamfer the inside edges.

Or you could also take a regular die and grind it to fit inside your die base.

I suggest grinding, simply because the darn things are HARD and if the machinist doesn't have appropriate equipment, may not be able to the job properly.

I don't particularly like the extended holders, especially with longer bullets, such as those you're using.
 
Some of the above replies are correct and others are totally out to lunch. Maybe just go back to my first reply, cut and paste what I wrote into a search box, find, then watch the video - or about 3 or so minutes of it, right at the beginning. Then you too will know EXACTLY what is missing, what it does, and how that particular die works (or doesn't in this case).

OR, as the OP already figured out:

Suther said:
https://www.rcbs.com/shell-holders/competition/competition-extended-shell-holder/355412.html

The extended shell holder fits up inside the base of the seating die. As you can see in the above link they are skinnier than a normal shell holder. The seating dies are caliber specific not cartridge specific (eg mine is 7mm, can be used for any 7mm cartridge) and if you're reloading a short cartridge (say 308 length) you need the extended shell holder.
Click to expand...
 
bearhunter said:
Suther, I had a similar issue with a set of RCBS competition dies I picked up second hand for my 7-08/308/6mmRem.

The reasoning behind the special shell head holder is valid, in that it eliminates another variable, when it comes to loading "straight" cartridges. It's not unusual for shell head holders to be a few thousandths off center, which could be a potential issue for accuracy.

There are a couple of ways around your issue.

You can do as I did, and just get a new, longer stem from your local gun shop or in my case, I have a few spares from years of hoarding such things from partial sets of dies picked up in trades etc.

Another way is to grind off as much as you need to from the base of the die. It's not difficult. You could also get a machinist to turn down the base of the die and chamfer the inside edges.

Or you could also take a regular die and grind it to fit inside your die base.

I suggest grinding, simply because the darn things are HARD and if the machinist doesn't have appropriate equipment, may not be able to the job properly.

I don't particularly like the extended holders, especially with longer bullets, such as those you're using.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions. The guy I bought em from is mailing me the shell holder but I'll keep your suggestions in mind if it doesn't work out.
 
Suther said:
Thanks for the suggestions. The guy I bought em from is mailing me the shell holder but I'll keep your suggestions in mind if it doesn't work out.
Click to expand...

That shell holder will work just fine.

I only did what I did to my dies because I didn't want to purchase the adapter and for me, life is just easier without more "gadgets"

The dies and adapter system came about because some long range precision shooters were concerned about excessive run out, which is understandable with any single stage press.

Back in the day, to eliminate run out I used to turn down the necks for minimal neck tolerance and neck size only in Wilson match dies with change out neck sizer rings, in an arbor press. It worked very well, because everything was true.

Once you start using outside threaded dies that are sloppy enough to easily thread into a press, then have to be locked down with a jam nut, you can easily be off true.

It's the main reason why there is quite a bit of tolerance within most shell head holders. It allows enough play so that the cartridge will fit smoothly and straight into the die. Where the issue comes in, is at the base of the cartridge, which may no longer be perpendicular to the axis of the bore. Your new spacer is designed to eliminate this issue.

I know my presses are true with the shell head holders I have, or at least true enough for my purposes.

Now that long range shooting is becoming more popular, shooters are looking to control every surface that may be the cause of inaccuracy. Most run out gauges only measure the bullet run out.

I know a fellow that used to clamp his cartridge base in a holder designed for turning the cases. He would then set it up in a spinner he had made up and check the run out of the whole cartridge, from the base to the bullet tip. He could never achieve 100% true, but he came close.

He showed me that most cartridges, even Lapua and Gold Medal Match cases weren't true, when they were new/unfired.

Was this fellow anal??? Yes, but he consistently won matches in Canada and the US, on several levels of shooting.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom