Reloading for the .356 Winchester

Guisharley

Guisharley

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Hey guys,

After a long search, I have just purchased a Winchester 94 XTR Big Bore AE, chambered in .356 win.

I’ve also acquired everything I need to start reloading :
• Redding dies (full length sizer and seating/crimping)
• Hodgdon H4895 powder
• Hornady FTX 200grs bullets
• 280 once fired brass

Long story short, I resized my brass, tumbled them, trimmed them, primed them, cleaned them to a mirror finish, etc...

Problem occurred when trying to seat the FTX bullets. The Redding seater doesn’t seem to be adequate for this “spitzer” type bullet. When adjusted to the maximum, it only allows to bring the COL to approx. 2,700’’. I need to bring this down to 2,600’’, at a minimum, for the cartridge to cycle in a lever action.

Has anybody experienced this problem before? Any possible solutions? Does Redding make a seating stem that would be adequate for this type of bullet? If not, is there any other manufacturer that makes a suitable seating die?

I’m really hoping to be able to use these FTX bullets, and I’ve heard about people shooting them with no problem in a .356.

Thanks for your help!
 
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I was looking at the same situation but ultimately didn't buy the rifle. Having said that, when doing the research I contacted Redding about the die/bullet combination and they have a special plug for their seating die to accommodate the FTX bullet. You need their 356 Win Series B seating die part number 92227 with a #20 seating plug.
Just email Redding's customer support on their web page and they can fix you up.
 
I have not used that particular bullet, but had no trouble with my .356 loading Speer 180 or 220 grain flat point bullets. The Hornady flex tip bullet is a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Marketing hype for those who love ballistics charts. You are shooting a rifle designed for quick action in the bush, not a long range flat trajectory round. Just switch bullets. The Speer 220 FP bullets I have used have worked really well on deer, elk and moose. From 17 to 250 yards.
 
Thanks guys for your feedback!

Here’s an update on the situation :

I came across a set of dies from Lee (http://leeprecision.com/2-die-set-358-win.html). These dies are compatible with the FTX bullets, and solved my seating depth problem. I was finally able to proceed to reloading.

Longwalker, I totally agree with you! After working with these FTX bullets for the last week, my observations are :
• They are not compatible with Redding dies
• They require the casings to me trimmed down bellow SAAMI specs, in order to respect the max COAL. Once trimmed, these casings are only good for FTX bullets.
• They require to be seated so deeply (again to respect the max COAL) that the powder capacity is considerably reduced. I have used 43,0grs of H-4895, which was the maximum case capacity before obtaining a compressed load (as compared to 46,0grs with a flat nose bullet). So whatever velocity increase the FTX might have to offer, it will be lost by the reduced powder capacity.

So is there any advantage to these FTX bullets? I’m not really sure! I’m anxious to see the results at the range. Nevertheless, they do look pretty cool!

Note that I would like to get Speer's 220grs flat point, but can't seem to find them anywhere...
 
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