Expander Mandrels and Neck Tension

[janfred]

As far as I am aware no one is making commercial reloading dies in South Africa. Maybe Sudami has started. It is not difficult.

Yes, equipment is getting more expensive each year. Buy once, cry once. You need deep pockets for experimenting.

My spare rifle has a SA made Vektor barrel circa 1995. Shoots just as well as my Lothar Walther. No longer made though. At the price of barrels, and gunsmithing few want to risk using an unproven barrel hence no new SA barrels.

You can go and buy a Wilson die blank and take that to your gunsmith to make you a Wilson die using the specific reamer used for your rifle. It will be a bushing die though. Any good tool and die maker can do the same. That is exactly what a lot of benchrest shooters have done over the years.

Not sure on why you are so hung up on form dies. Get yourself a few and use your mandrels. My personal opinion and the shooters I know is that few of us shoot good enough to even know if it will make a difference.

[Newton]

Powder is Varget, N140, S335, S355. Some may use other, but then they must be too shy to talk about it.

Barrels are Krieger, Brux, Border, Lothar Walther to name a few. 30-32" long and cut with a custom chamber reamer.

Actions are mostly Barnard-P with a few Millenium and an Inch action or two. RSA actions are also used but are becoming fewer every year.

Thanks
So .. no SOMCHEM and no RSA barrels
The RSA actions were the Musgrave on the single shot competition rifle ?

Last time I looked, S335 and S355 is made by Somchem...

YES
Sorry looked at that too quickly
Are they still available ?

[Newton]

Yes, equipment is getting more expensive each year. Buy once, cry once. You need deep pockets for experimenting.

Hence one tries with less expensive equipment first
R5,000.00 will buy you quite a few LEE dies. LEE and others claim these are just as good as any other die ?
It is possible to build equipment that takes the human out of the picture / equation
Experimentation is the mother of all success ..

[big5ifty]

You can of course use a  FL BUSHING sizing die - but - these do not fully to the full length size the neck and can leave you with "donuts'

A donut forms from brass flow, and has nothing to do with partial neck sizing. Why would you partially neck size ?

The .243 tends to form donuts naturally. Brass that has been necked up also has a tendency to donut.

LEE and others claim these are just as good as any other die ?

As good as any, and sometimes better.

It is possible to build equipment that takes the human out of the picture / equation

If you could do that, it would be the cure for dumb mistakes.

[oafpatroll]

Experimentation is the mother of all success ..

It's also the birthed many FUBARs and wasted fortunes.

[Newton]

Experimentation is the mother of all success ..

It's also the birthed many FUBARs and wasted fortunes.

It is known as - Capitalism ...

[Newton]

If you could do that, it would be the cure for dumb mistakes.

I was referring to building a "rail-gun"
Set up carefully on special "chassis"so the rifle is not fired by a human but under machine control

[big5ifty]

If you could do that, it would be the cure for dumb mistakes.

I was referring to building a "rail-gun"
Set up carefully on special "chassis"so the rifle is not fired by a human but under machine control

That's already a shooting discipline. Unlimited Class Benchrest.

[Treeman]

It is known as - Capitalism ...
[/quote]
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U lost me ?

[Newton]

It is known as - Capitalism ...

*************************
U lost me ?

[/quote]

( OAFPATROL - "It's also the birthed many FUBARs and wasted fortunes." )

The ability for a private individual to be able to start their own business to take risks and IF successful become a millionaire
IF not successful to "waste a fortune" ( their OWN fortune one hopes )
The hallmark of a Capitalist system !