Redding .308 seating die out of spec?

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NaviDave

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Some days I wonder if reloading is worth all the hassle...but I am stubborn.

I have carefully prepped some Winchester brass (all primed and ready). I pulled out my brand new Redding seating die only to discover it cannot to 2.700" OAL. This is required for the Hornady 308 150gr FMJ bullet (not particularly rare). 2.734" is just under the cannelure.

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My main question -can someone point me to a seating only die without a crimp ring? I have a Lee factory crimp die and it seems that would prevent this type of limitation. I have a Hornady progressive press - I can use station 5 to crimp.

Second question - I know Hornady is awesome of you encounter an out of spec part (bad pistol rotor). Has anyone had good experiences with Redding customer service in the US? I definitely don't have a receipt for the die set at this point.

Any guidance would be appreciated.
 

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you should be able to set the die up higher so that it doesn't crimp the case and then adjust the seating stem down to seat the bullet down deeper. Read the instructions that came with the die
 
Both the die and the seating stem are bottomed out. The stem hits the crimp ring from the top.

Perhaps file down the seating stem .034"?
 
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definite design flaw of that redding die, however the typical length of loaded 308 is 2.75, you may just have to seat the bullets with the crimp groove exposed and for go crimping
 
I may give that a try. The crimp is in the right place.

I am going to call Redding to see if they have a revised seating stem.
 
I know this may not be related to your seating die issue. However You may want to check your Win brass recently I purchased 50pcs new out of bag for my hunting rifle. All of the brass when I seated the primer hand protruding primers. I had to ream the pockets out to insure that the primer was below base of the case. A protruding primer no matter how slight will change your COAL.
 
Primers are nicely seated below flush - did those manually on my Redding ultramag.

I trimmed the brass using the Lee zip trim system. If I recall correctly - it trims to .002 above min length. I wonder is the bullet seater is meant for high BC bullets.

Perhaps I will have to purchase a competition seating die. I need a carbide sizer for .44 mag/spl too.
 
Where do you get the idea that COAL of 2.700" is "required"?

COAL measured to the bullet tip is the most useless and worthless piece of information ever devised for reloading. The only way to know what seating depth to use is to measure the distance to the lands on your rifle and then measure the distance to the ogive on the bullet. I'd bet dollars that your rifle actually wants a longer loaded length and thus his entire thread is moot.

If the round has to fit into a magazine then length to the bullet tip is useful only with reference to the magazine internal length.
 
The Hornady reloading manual calls for 2.700". Plus - you can see in the pic that .034 deeper would put the cannelure right where it is supposed to be.

This is not a match bullet - I assume the cannelure is there to help prevent setback in semi-autos.
 
NaviDave said:
The Hornady reloading manual calls for 2.700". Plus - you can see in the pic that .034 deeper would put the cannelure right where it is supposed to be.

This is not a match bullet - I assume the cannelure is there to help prevent setback in semi-autos.
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The 2.700" number is wholly and entirely worthless information. The cannelure can also be ignored. The only number that is important is how the bullet ogive interacts with the rifling. Of secondary importance is how the round fits the mag, if that is a requirement.

You are chasing a "standard" that is entirely pointless. Ignor it and make the ammo fit your rifle. THAT is the entire point of reloading.
 
I will do that for hunting or match ammo. This is my first run at a rifle round - I want to follow specs precisely. I plan to try the load out in my Savage 99 and in my M14/305 at some point. Maybe even in an NEA102?

I am going to get my local gunsmith to mill .040 off of bottom of the seater. That should make it compatible with all bullets/loads.
 
NaviDave said:
I will do that for hunting or match ammo. This is my first run at a rifle round - I want to follow specs precisely. I plan to try the load out in my Savage 99 and in my M14/305 at some point. Maybe even in an NEA102?

I am going to get my local gunsmith to mill .040 off of bottom of the seater. That should make it compatible with all bullets/loads.
Click to expand...

Take .040 off the top of the shell holder, they are cheaper to replace than the seating die. However I agree with Suputin, load them as long as you can and forget the cannelure. I have loaded a few rounds in my day and never once crimped a bullet.
 
Ok - I will start with the shell holder. The crimp ring will end up lower as well - that may be fine.

Medium term - I am going to place an order from the US. If this does not work out - I will add the competition seating die (it does not appear to have a crimp ring).

Thanks for the info!
 
A RCBS or even lee die will allow you to seat the bullet down even deeper, so will a forster micrometer seater. Your redding die is not designed to load shorter then the standard book length for 308. You have other options if you want to pursue them before you specifically order a new redding die from the states.
I load a shortened 308 wildcat with a standard 308 bullet seating dies, I wouldn't be able to with that particular redding die, I'd run into the same issue your having.

You'll find that the crimp canalure on lots of bullets will not end up at the top of the neck when you load to the book OAL, it's almost impossible for bullet makers to get it in a spot that will work in all 30 caliber cartridges, with the exception of one line of hornady bullets that are spec'd for a particular case due to canalure location. I run over 8 thousand rounds a year and only ever crimp cast bullet loads.......and electrical wires
 
Forster micrometer and Redding Competition will seat to whatever length. Forster is $80US - a little cheaper than Redding. I may try one on those instead.

After a little more thought - I don't want a die with a crimp ring in it. Neck tension is good (at least with Winchester brass).
 
NaviDave said:
Forster micrometer and Redding Competition will seat to whatever length. Forster is $80US - a little cheaper than Redding. I may try one on those instead.

After a little more thought - I don't want a die with a crimp ring in it. Neck tension is good (at least with Winchester brass).
Click to expand...

any chance you have a RCBS 30-06 seater die kicking around?? it may go that short, rcbs has a tendency to use very long threaded rods on the seating stems, and you really won't have to worry about the crimp using that die
 
NaviDave said:
I will do that for hunting or match ammo. This is my first run at a rifle round - I want to follow specs precisely. I plan to try the load out in my Savage 99 and in my M14/305 at some point. Maybe even in an NEA102?
Click to expand...

The problem is you can't follow the spec exactly. Every bullet is going to have a different length. Just because it is 150gr doesn't mean it will be same length as another 150gr bullet or the bullet used to develop the load data. Thus as I've said, three times now, the COAL is a worthless and useless number that is pointless to even contemplate.

I'm gonna say it one last time. FORGET THE COAL, IGNOR IT, DONT EVEN BOTHER WITH IT. Load your rounds to fit your rifle and magazine.
 
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