Sample from Book "Reloading ammunition for rifles and handguns" - Proper Die Adjustment
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Cartridge calibration
When recalibrating the cartridge case, it is possible to use full recalibration, or only partially, namely the neck of the cartridge case. Full calibration is suitable for all weapons chambered to the right round. Neck calibration only for yours, or for the one from which the cartridges come. In the following text, we will therefore solve only the full calibration of cartridges. For this purpose, we will use the first die from the corresponding set. This die ensures the recalibration of the cartridge case and the pushes out of the old primer.
The die for full calibration, at the bottom it is slightly soiled with lubricant.
Screw-in the die or clamp it in the press using the Breech Lock Quick Change insert.
Insert the primer seating arm and shell holder. We won't need the primer seating arm for seating primers, but one side of it serves as a deflector to guide the the old primer, and if we don't put it there, the spent primers will end up rolling on the floor.
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We push the press lever lower to the bottom stop, ie, the cartridge holder will be in its upper stop position. Adjust the die so that there is zero play between the case holder and the die, to full contact. With a single-operation press, we can afford to screw it a half spin lower, or even more - the cartridge holder stops earlier than at the top of the stroke, but in this case, it does not matter. You will be sure that the cartridge is properly formed along its entire length. The clearance between the cartridge holder and the calibration (formatting) die is NOT desirable and can cause problems. You can test the setting with the first case, when the case presses on the sizing die, and reveals the possible clearance. Pay really close attention to the adjustment.
Cartridges must be lubricated! For lubrication of cartridges, we use only lubricants designed for this purpose, such as Lee Resizing Lube. The forces are considerable and it is not pleasant to force a stuck cartridge out of the die. Using gun oil is tempting, but don't do it. It doesn't work well.
How to lubricate cartridges? Use a suitable pad, apply a little lubricant to the pad or cartridge and roll them with your palms.
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After a few cartridges, both the pad and your hands will be sufficiently lubricated and it will work on its own. Use low, stable pressure, not shock. Be careful, in case you need unusual force to size a case, you probably came across a case with Berdan primers. If you size the cartridge from different sources, the force needed to size the cartriges may (and will) vary. If the force still exceeds what you are used to, and it is not a Berdan match, size the cartridge in a few strokes and not one. Relubricate between the cartridge strokes, or at least turn it in the cartridge holder.
Author's note: I size the cartridges with two full strokes, rotating the cartridge by about 90 ° between the strokes.
Cartridge modification
Looking at the Lovex load tables in this publication, we find a column labeled Bar, indicating the maximum pressure for a given caliber. Pressure of over 4,000 bar is nothing special with rifle ammunition. One bar is approximately equal to a pressure of 1 kg per 1 cm2. When firing a rifle, the pressure of the gases propelling a bullet roughly equals to weight of three passenger cars, concentrated on the surface of one finger. Of course, this will also affect the cartridge case by stretching it, extending the neck. In case we neglect these length changes, we will run into a problem.
- Different friction between bullet and case, loss of accuracy
- Problems with fitting ammo in a chamber
- In extreme case, when the neck no longer has a place to open, because it exceeds the size of the ammo chamber (but it is possible to charge such a long brass in the weapon) and causes a large increase in friction, which can ultimately lead to destruction of weapon.
Therefore, it is necessary to take time to check the cartridges after calibration, and trim them if necessary. I use Lee Case Trimmer, other methods are described in the relevant chapter, brass case care and modifications.
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Using Lee Trimmer is easy and needs no further explanation. We either trim the cartridge case by hand, or clamp the case holder in a cordless drill or screwdriver. After trimming the neck, we can clean the cut by removing the inside and outside burrs using the Lee Chamfer Tool, by uniformly turning it in your fingers. The neck of the cartridge case must be clean without burrs, both from the outside and inside.
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Cutting of external and internal burr
The last step is cleaning the primer pocket, for which we use a compact Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner. For thorough cleaning of the primer pocket, simply turn the pocket cleaner several times.
Before and after cleaning the primer cavities.
Primer seating
There are several ways to prime your brass (to provide the cartridge case with a new primer), see chapter Priming. For small batches of about 100 pieces, I like to use the Lee Ergo Prime.
Pour the primers on the primer magazine plate, and by light tapping and jerky movement to sides, we turn all of the the primers on a plate to the desired direction. Always check that the primer has been pushed properly into its pocket. Slightly raised primers can be pressed. If you find a defect in an already finished charge, ie a protruding, insufficiently seated primer, it is better to disassemble the ammo. Never seat/press on primers on a finished cartridge.
Gunpowder
CAUTION: Turning the container to close it, can be relatively easy. If you close it while charging, you may have a problem. The operation of the powder measure is easy to control, because the powder charge of most rifle cartridges is sufficient to cause a noticeable movement of the hopper's powder level. To adjust the volumetric powder charge, use scales and go by trial-error. It is more accurate to weigh multiples of the dose, double, triple, etc.
Keep the powder level in the hopper at about the same level, so there's always the same pressure on the powder charge metering chamber. It's better to simply fill the duster more often. The dose of dust for rifle ammunition is much higher than for pistols. It takes a while for the powder to pour into the cartridge case, so always give it some time, usually 2-3 sec. Thre greater powder charge, the longer it takes. After charging the case with powder, I always immediately seat a bullet.
Bullet Seating
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- Ammunition for hunting purposes
- Ammunition that will be used in magazines, ie will be subjected to recoil of the weapon
- Self-loading weapons
- It refines the ammunition, to which we will return in the next chapter
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Crimping with Lee Factory Crimp Die
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- Ammunition for hunting purposes
- Ammunition that will be used in magazines, ie will be subjected to recoil of the weapon.
- Self-loading weapons
- It refines the ammunition, strengthens the constriction in the Lee Factory Crimp Die matrix and balances the lift forces. The greater the lifting force also means more space for comparing the conditions in the combustion of the powder composition, the cartridge then leaves the projectiles at more balanced speeds.
- Insert the bullet with the projectile into the cartridge holder
- Screw the die into the press
- Press the press lever to extend the press shaft to the upper-end position
- Adjust the die so that it touches the cartridge holder
- Drive the hub down a bit and tighten, screw the die into the press by approx. ½ turns
- Push the cartridge back into the die, there must be a noticeable increase in force required
- Slide out the charge and inspect the neck charge
