30-06 dies

S

Shadow9mm

New member
so i have loaded about 150rnds of 30-06 so far. I have FL sized to this point due to mostly using once fired brass. I am getting to the point of having mostly fire formed brass from my gun and getting ready to start the cycle over again. As i see is i have 3 options

FL size, consistent case size, but works the brass, reduced brass life, more trimming. its what i am currently using.

Lee neck die, from what i understand is a very good die. The benefit i see is reduced trimming, and not working the brass as much, just generally longer brass life

rcbs x-die. is supposed to FL size but keep the neck from growing.

as far as expectations for what i am looking to get out of these dies and my gun this is primarily a hunting rifle, but I do enjoy target shooting regularly with it. I'm not expecting match accuracy, my goal is 1moa (it has a 1moa guarantee with match ammo). If I could get down to 1/2 to 3/4 MOA I would be thrilled.

any thoughts on these dies, or others that wont break the bank, under $50?
 
You left out the Forster Bushing Bump die. But for hunting, if you think you will ever need a rapid follow-up shot, full-length resize. Keep in mind that new cases are usually about -0.002" shorter than SAAMI minimum chamber length in this and many other medium power rimless bottleneck rifle cases. It's adequate for smooth feeding. For that reason, you can use full-length resizing that just goes far enough to get that -0.002" length from head to shoulder and you should have no feeding issues. This will minimize stretching and trimming and overworking and you should get good case life.
 
I have the RCBS X die for 308. It is a die and also a method. First you trimmer rather short. Then you size in the X die. You need to use the X die for all future sizing to maintain the length control. The X die has "step" cut into it so the case length has no room to stretch.
I am undecided about whether it works or is worth the trouble.
 
I think the plus sides to the X-die are:

First, the step, assuming your brass lasts long enough for the neck to reach it, ultimately forces excess brass to stay down in the shoulder, but because of the mandrel, it is able to do this without creating an internal donut. The trick is not to try to make it do that to too much brass at one time, as that would collapse the end of the shoulder, and that is probably part of the reason they have you trim the brass so short, initially.

The second reason for the short trim is it probably lets the neck brass flow some (annealing can help with this), and if the mandrel is perfectly centered, that should tend to eliminate neck wall runout over time, thus getting the benefits of neck turning without actually having to do it. But that is only after the brass has stretched enough to reach the end of the neck. At that point, annealing would probably be a good idea. Switching to resizing just enough so the shoulder datum winds up -0.002" shorter than the as-fired size will help limit the possibility of excess flow.

Personally, I would remove or replace with a sub-caliber size, the neck expander in these dies and use a Lyman M-die for expansion in a separate step.
 
In the heyday of the 30-06 in high power rifle competition, conventional full length sizing dies with necks honed out to about two thousandths under loaded round neck diameter produced best accuracy. No expander ball used and 30 to 40 reloads per case was typical. Fired case shoulders were set back a couple thousandths at most.
 
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