Help Me Identify This Redding Die...

A

Amanda

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I recently got this .243 WIN seater die with a lot of other gear I purchased. I cant seem to find any info about it nor any info about this kind of die.

The box is labeled, "S.L. SEAT DIE 243 WIN" Series: SPL

The die itself is labeled "Redding 243 WIN . BR . ST L78"

I have a couple of questions, first of all, is the die missing a piece? or do I have pieces of more then one die, as nothing is holding the seating stem onto the die, and I havent left anything out of my pictures... It seems as though the forces of the bullet would just push the seater stem off the die...

Any info that anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated.

The Pics:

IMG_2049.jpg


IMG_2050.jpg


IMG_2051.jpg
 
Its odd, the top piece is a perfect fit through the hole in the top of the die body, the other thing is, the inside of the hole in the top of the die body is NOT threaded, so its not even like a standard seater stem would go in.
 
Just a guess, but I think "S.L. SEAT DIE" stand for Straight Line SEAT DIE.

If so, the case is run up into the die, and the bullet either pushed up by the case or dropped in from the top, depending on the design. The seater stem is then lowered into place to contact the bullet, and the bullet seated with a whack on the top of the stem, sometimes using the ball of one's hand, or more often a soft mallet.

Ted
 
Ive never seen that method of bullet seating before... It makes sense... Would it be a custom die? Or where could this beast have come from?

It does have a nice price sticker on it for $81.50
 
that so called top piece.......how much play is there in the up and down with that allen key loosened..
as another has said,id quess it to be a manual used depth setter for the bullet
 
fogducker said:
that so called top piece.......how much play is there in the up and down with that allen key loosened..
as another has said,id quess it to be a manual used depth setter for the bullet
Click to expand...

I dont know at the moment as I dont have the proper sized key with me... the key is slightly larger then the one used in the lock ring. Right now though it is in there pretty good and there is zero play, that being said from what I can see it is just a set screw and the top part is hollow so the seating stem should be able to move at least .5" in either direction.
 
I've never seen one of these from Redding before. Neat piece of kit, it would seat bullets as straight as anything. Nowadays designs such as their "competition series" seating doe does just as good a job.

Agree that "SL" almost certainly stands for "Straight Line".

Look up Wilson straight line seating dies, they are used in an arbor press, typically for BR shooting. You can see the crossover in design between the Wilson style and the regular threaded press dies.

Unless someone specifically wanted a benchrest-grade .243 seater, this die would probably be considered a pain or a hassle. Still though it is a neat piece of kit...
 
Redding got back to me early this morning... Its a straight line seating die. They were manufactured from the late '70s to the late '80s. The seater stem is adjustable with the set screw visible in the pictures, and you either use a mallet or your hand to force it down as was mentioned or there was a handle attachment that you could get that would attach to your redding press and bush the seater stem down. It has since been replaced with the micrometer adjustable competition die.

Redding sent me a PDF page from an old catalog that shows the straight line seater and handle attachment... If anyone is interested shoot me an email and I will forward you the PDF.
 
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