Expanding mandrels in Canada

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zbboy_zed

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Im Looking to get a .308 cal expanding Mandel and die.
Do you guys know of any suppliers here that have stock in canada?

I was leaning towards APW but it says their lead time is 60 days..I don't really wanna wait that long...
I was leaning towards 21st century that hirsch carries.. but I read that they are oddly flimsy..
Not sure how valid that is. Since 21st seems to have really great products..

What you guys think? Any suggestions.?
 
Precision Zone has APW mandrel sets in stock. I have the one for a Forster co-ax and it's excellent.
I also have the Sinclair die and a bunch of mandrels, and prefer the APW.
 
I need an expander mandrel for my .243 Win. Some of you have mentioned Precision Zone and their APW mandrels. I have the PMA die body. Does anyone know whether the APW mandrels will work with the PMA die? Also, would a .242" expander mandrel be right for use in neck turning .243 cases? Finally, where in Canada is Precision Zone?
 
South Pender said:
I need an expander mandrel for my .243 Win. Some of you have mentioned Precision Zone and their APW mandrels. I have the PMA die body. Does anyone know whether the APW mandrels will work with the PMA die? Also, would a .242" expander mandrel be right for use in neck turning .243 cases? Finally, where in Canada is Precision Zone?
Click to expand...

https://precisionzone.ca/
Ottawa
 
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I've been futzing around to learn more about expander and turning mandrels. Maybe you guys can educate me on this. From what I've read, it seems as though you want an expander mandrel about .001" below bullet diameter and a turning mandrel .002" below bullet diameter. So for my .243 Win., I should be looking for a .242" expander mandrel and a .241" turning mandrel. Do I have this right?
 
South Pender said:
I've been futzing around to learn more about expander and turning mandrels. Maybe you guys can educate me on this. From what I've read, it seems as though you want an expander mandrel about .001" below bullet diameter and a turning mandrel .002" below bullet diameter. So for my .243 Win., I should be looking for a .242" expander mandrel and a .241" turning mandrel. Do I have this right?
Click to expand...

I'm not clear what the distinction between a turning mandrel and a expander mandrel is. I'm assuming we are using the mandrel here to expand the case mouth to our ideal diameter before inserting the bullet.

I ended up finding that a mandrel 2 thou smaller than the bullet is a good size - a good amount of case mouth to bullet interference, to use the guy @ Primal Rights terminology.

It's worth pointing out that the bullet is a mandrel, too.
 
adamg said:
I'm not clear what the distinction between a turning mandrel and a expander mandrel is. I'm assuming we are using the mandrel here to expand the case mouth to our ideal diameter before inserting the bullet.

I ended up finding that a mandrel 2 thou smaller than the bullet is a good size - a good amount of case mouth to bullet interference, to use the guy @ Primal Rights terminology.

It's worth pointing out that the bullet is a mandrel, too.
Click to expand...

In the context of case neck turning, the difference between an expander mandrel and turning mandrel is that the expander mandrel is used first to open up the neck a little, and the turning mandrel is used next with the turning tool to accomplish the outside brass removal. Using the expander mandrel first allows the turning operation to proceed more smoothly with less effort.
 
Think I've got this figured out. I picked the expander mandrel I needed (and added a new turning mandrel) from Plenty O Patches--both PMA products.
 
The best course of action is to buy multiple sizes and see what works best for your reloading method. If you don't anneal your brass, chances are there could be more spring back in the brass, or if you do anneal there could be less. That could also be dependent on how many firings you've had on your brass as well if you don't anneal or if your annealing methods aren't 100% consistent. Too many little variables with such minute measurements, so it's best to get a die that allows for more than one size of mandrel and see what shoots best in your rifle.
 
I assume you use a full length die first without the expander button and then set neck tension with the expander die and mandrel ????
 
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