CH dies question

[Lee T.]

Does anyone know if CH made neck sizing dies in the 60's? I came across a used 2-die set for 30-06, I can't see an obstruction but the decap / sizer die stops about 5/8" from full seat. It's marked '30-06 US Sizer'. I suppose there's a chance there's a torn piece of brass in the die, but I'm wondering if it could be a neck sizer?
Thanks, lee

[Matt Anthony]

If it's a neck sizing die, it would say neck on the die so I believe maybe something could be stuck inside the die or you are not using any case lube and the case is simply stopping in the die. Regardless, before using any die you should make sure it's clean and nothing is inside the die to obstruct the operation of sizing your brass. You can clean it with carb cleaner, brake cleaner, mineral spirits or wash it in dawn dish detergent with hot water. Dry it and lube it for storage.

CH/4D was formed in 1990 when CH Tool & Die and 4D Custom Die Co. merged. You can go on their website where they have a contact point @......www.ch4d.com.
Matt

[broom jockey]

Does anyone know if CH made neck sizing dies in the 60's? I came across a used 2-die set for 30-06, I can't see an obstruction but the decap / sizer die stops about 5/8" from full seat. It's marked '30-06 US Sizer'. I suppose there's a chance there's a torn piece of brass in the die, but I'm wondering if it could be a neck sizer?
Thanks, lee

Initial die setup requiers the die to touch the shell holder. If you setup like that and the brass stops stops 5/8 inch from shell holder, there has to be an obstruction somewhere. Try carefully with a metal rod like a coathanger to feel for a 'edge' in the die. With a flashlight, an obstruction should be visible.

[joem]

Anytime you get a set of dies they should be dismantled if possible and cleaned with solvent and lightly oiled. After a couple of reloading sessons it's good practice to reclean you dies.

[psteinmayer]

A word of caution...

If you're looking to find out if this die can be used and plan to full-length size, then that's one thing. But if you are looking to only neck size 30-06, be advised: 30-06 head spaces on the bottleneck taper. Neck sizing only could prevent the case from properly seating in the chamber if the taper or main case are expanded or deformed from firing... which does sometimes happen. An improperly seated cartridge in 30-06 could possible allow dangerous gases to pass the neck and taper, escaping from the chamber - a very dangerous situation.

[madsenshooter]

Take a good look at the bottom of the die. I've have a few old dies I've purchased that had the bottom ground off some, but nowhere near 5/8". Could have been ground by someone who wanted to make 7.65x53, for example. One die set I bought that was ground was a 22-250 and if some newb would have set up the die in the usual manner, touching the shellholder, he'd have a got a big surprise when he pulled the trigger on his newly loaded rounds that had the shoulder set back too far. Other possibilities are a decap pin that's too large to go into the flash hole of your cases or you're trying to size some Berdan primed cases. Take a light and see if there's one central flash hole or a couple Finally, I don't know about old CH decap/expander rods, but if you set an old Lee decap/expander rod too high, it will stop the case from going up beyond the bottom of the die's neck.

[Johnny P]

If neck sizing were dangerous, there wouldn't be any neck sizing dies. While I wouldn't recommend neck sizing for cartridges fired in semi-automatic weapons, neck sizing has been used for years for cartridges being reloaded for the bolt rifle they were originally fired in. There is no way it is going to cause gas leakage, and what you end up with is a cartridge that head spaces perfectly in your rifle. Factory cartridges have to be manufactured slightly short so that they fit in every chamber, and the military allowed a certain amount of "built in" headspace in it cartridges in order that they would function in every weapon.

[joem]

I only have two neck size dies that i load for. One is .223 and the other is .303 Brit. These reloads are kept seperate from any other ammo and fired only in their respective rifles. They are always checked for OAL and trimmed if required.

[Litt'le Lee]

the decapping rod could be adjusted too far down into the cart. and could be stopping it,,remove the decapping rod and then run a brass in,,don't forget to lube a lot on this first attemt to run a brass all the way in--also you can inspect the interior of the die also this way

[DaveL]

I second Litt'le Lees post. I'd bet the decapping rod is screwed too far down into the die resulting in the rod hitting the case base before the shell gets all the way up into the die. Neck sizing works great in bolt guns but do not neck size for any auto-loader. In reality though, unless you have an exceptionally accurate rifle to begin with, or a rifle with excessive head space that you just want to shoot a couple of times, neck sizing isn't going to make much difference.