Question about the RCBS expander die

Allbrian

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This may be a stupid question, but I am a noobie at reloading rifle cartridges. I just bought a.308 RCBS FL die set. the problem i am having is with the expander that came with the dies. The maximum outside diameter of the expander bell only measures. 306". Im i wrong to think that the maximum OD should be more then .308 so that you can epand to your liking and get a bullet to sit nicely in the top of the case? right now with what i have i cant get my bullets to even start in the case.

Thanks for any help.
 
I did, i have reloaded pistol for a couple of years. the bell is tapered. with 9mm expanders the small diameter is .003 undersized and the the max or top diameter is .005 oversize. you can adjust it to fit your needs. the bell i have in my .308 die kit is also tapered. so i would assume that you should be able to adjust it the same way? if the maximum diameter of the expander is smaller then the bullet what can i do?
 
Pistol cases and sraightwalled rifle cases are entirely different from bottleneck rifle cases.

You normally do not "bellmouth" bottleneck cases for rifles, so the expander button is not designed to do that.

The two diameters you see on your 308 expander button are meaningless...just the way they are made.
not designed to bell the rifle case.

The .306 diameter you list for yours is about right.

Regards, Dave.
 
I can't even get the bullet to sit in the top of the case without me holding it. is that the norm? it seems to me that it should start into the case a bit. am i wrong? is there a good video on you tube to show this procedure?
 
Allbrian, I think RCBS has some videos on their website, or links to youtube for official, correct, how to do it instructions.

When you resize a typical shouldered rifle case, the expander ball goes inside the case before you resize.. The neck is typically sized small, and then as you withdraw the expander ball, the inside of the case neck is expanded to slightly less than bullet diameter. This provides neck tension, holding the bullet in place as it is lugged around in boxes, pockets magazines and the like, and keeps it in place when the cartridge is chambered. It also provides consistent "Bullet Pull" to retard gas expansion, creating the progressive burn necessary to generate pressure.

Someone above asked if you chamfered the inside of the case mouth. One step in case preparation - first time reload, and any time after trimming - is to use a chamfering tool to cut a slight bevel on the inside of the case mouth, easing the start of the seating process. Just a slight bevel, barely visible is sufficient. Still, I find I have to steady each bullet until it is inside the seating die.

You do NOT bell, or flare the mouth of a shouldered cartridge. Well, I suppose you could if you were loading cast bullets, but if using normal jacketed bullets, or gas checks on cast bullets, there is no need. Seat 'em one at a time, even in a progressive loader, and guide them into the bottom of the seating die.
 
The case neck needs to grip the bullet and this is called neck tension, and neck tension depends on the type rifle and application. On my RCBS .223/5.56 AR series dies I decreased the diameter of the expander ball .003 smaller than bullet diameter to "increase" neck tension for my AR15 rifles to avoid crimping the bullets.

On my bolt action .223 I full length resize the cases without the expander ball in the die, and then use a separate expander die to expand the necks to get less bullet runout.

The neck thickness of the case also controls neck tension so there are several variables. "Some" benchrest shooters have very little neck tension and "jam" their bullets. This allows the bullet to move to the rear as the bolt is closed and always keeping the bullet just touching the lands.

You will always need to hold the bullet in position when seating bullets.

Below from the RCBS website.

STEP 22 - BULLET SEATING (PART 4)
seating_zps5f5d93d9.jpg

Take a bullet and hold it over the case mouth with one hand while you lower the press handle with the other, easing the case and the bullet up into the die. After raising the handle, note the seating depth of the loaded round. If the bullet needs to be seated deeper into the case, turn the seater plug down.

http://www.rcbs.com/guide/step_by_step_reloading.aspx#
 
I had this happen to me with the same case and set with my new (Hornaday) set. In order to do full length sizing I had to remove the bullet seating part of die to right case mouth opening. Before I figured this out, over half of bullet heads wanted to drop into case. Maybe the RCBS is the same?
 
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