Collet Die

Metal God,

Sorry for the late response. The collet die does not affect the neck, to my knowledge. There is nothing in the die to change the shoulder/neck. You can look through the die and see there is nothing there for the neck/shoulder. The die serves two purposes.

After installing the die from the bottom of the press as far as it will go, you drop cases in the top side to see if they go all the way to the belt. If not, they need the collet. If the case does not drop to the belt, you lube the case then slide the collet (which is about 2-ish inches long) over the case and down to the belt. The next step is to lube the outside of the collet, place the case with collet in the shell holder then lower the ram. To check results, place that cartridge back in the top of the die. If it falls to the belt, it's good to go.

This collet die will do a bunch of belted magnum cartridges such as the 300 Win mag, 7mm Win mag, 300 Weatherby and so on.

A couple of years ago, I was involved in conversations about this die. One member sent a photo of a 300 Weatherby (could have been another caliber) re-sizing die he modified for bulge removal. He cut the die up from the bottom which removed the radius at the bottom. I'm not sure how far from the bottom he cut the die. He also cut the die at the top leaving what looks like a die of about three inches in length. He can install it in his press and lock into place with the lock ring.
 
Guffey,

No, I'm not selling Willis dies. I was concerned that most of the responses regarding the die were negative or somewhat less than positive so I just wanted to know if there is anyone who has anything positive to say about it.
 
Metal God,

Good point about not being a bulge and what happens to a non-belted case when re-sizing compared to a belted case. After collet sizing a bunch of belted cases, I measured each for proper length. There were no problems.
 
Like, don't like? My opinion, we should all be beyond 'like and not like. I was informed someone on the internet did not like me. and I replied: Like me? That person does not even like himself.

Respect, admire? I respect Unclenick, he has class. Larry Willis and I go back, I have no use for him.

F. Guffey
 
Condor,

You wrote, "or does the collet die just size near the belt but not the neck and thereby the same die usable for several mag calibers?" This is a true statement. The die can be used for 300 Win mag, 7mm Win mag, 300 Weatherby and some other belted magnums.
 
Guffey,

So I'm right. I was reading posts correctly that some people don't care for Willis. I guess that's your problem and not Larry's.
 
Pogybait (or anyone familiar with this situation),

I guess I'm still not clear as to what leads up to the bulging above the belt and the necessity for using the collet die to iron out the bulge. From some of the responses it seems that the standard die is responsible for causing the bulging, PERHAPS as a result of applying excessive pressure to set the shoulder back for proper chambering. Something similar to over crimping resulting in the bulge below the shoulder. Kindly fill in the blanks, in particular what is it with the sizing die that allows the bulging to happen? What am I missing? Is it, for example, primarily a mismatch between the sizing die and chamber dimensions that might even be prevented by a different die? The best I can picture it is that case elongation on sizing requires setting the shoulder back that results in the bulging (that I have never experienced).
 
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Condor,

I don't have the experience many of the contributors to this thread have, probably including you, so I apologize if I omit data or can't explain adequately but this is the way I understand bulging. A traditional re-sizing die has a radius machined into the mouth of the die and because of this, the die will not (another responder explained it this way too) size all the way to the belt; thereby, pushing material towards the belt.

For the lack of fear for being chastised for mentioning the collet die in a fourth thread by the inventor's name, I will mention it anyway. The Innovative (Larry Willis) die corrects this problem. And as I mentioned earlier, the die serves two purposes. You can test a case to see if it needs the collet die and you can correct the problem with the die.

I have about 400 each 300 Weatherby cases, which were not fired in my rifle. Most of them passed the collet die test. When testing a case for bulging, you drop the case into one end of the die. If the case drops all the way to the belt, it's good to go; however, if it stops before hitting the belt, that case needs de-bulging. Most of my cases drop to the belt, some drop to just above the belt while others stop about 1/2" above the belt or somewhere between. I cannot explain this. After de-bulging, the case will drop to the belt.

I have chambered some cases needing bulging in my rifle and found they will not fit. After de-bulging these cases, they fit without difficulty.

I also thought by de-bulging, the case would stretch so I measured all the de-bulged cases and found only seven of the 400 requiring trimming slightly. Earlier, I mentioned all passed the measure test but there were seven that did not.
 
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Condor,

I don't have the experience many of the contributors to this thread have so I apologize if I omit data but this is the way I understand bulging. A traditional re-sizing die has a radius machined into the mouth of the die and because of this, the die will not (another responder explained it this way too) size all the way to the belt; thereby, pushing material towards the belt.

For the lack of fear for being chastised for mentioning the collet die in a fourth thread by the inventor's name, I will mention it anyway. The Innovative (Larry Willis) die corrects this problem. And as I mentioned earlier, the die serves two purposes. You can test a case to see if it needs the collet die and you can correct the problem with the die.

I have about 400 each 300 Weatherby cases, which were not fired in my rifle. Most of them passed the collet die test. When testing a case for bulging, you drop the case into one end of the die. If the case drops all the way to the belt, it's good to go; however, if it stops before hitting the belt, that case needs de-bulging. Most of my cases drop to the belt, some drop to just above the belt while others stop about 1/2" above the belt or somewhere between. I cannot explain this. After de-bulging, the case will drop to the belt.

I have chambered some cases needing bulging in my rifle and found they will not fit. After de-bulging these cases, they fit without difficulty.
 
OK, thanks to Pogy and others, I'll settle for that explanation. Having never encountered the bulging from the numerous belted mags that I have, probably will not be a future problem. But just needed an understanding of the situation in case it does. The first clue I guess is that the loaded round will not chamber properly after having been sized with a standard die. Then look for the possible bulge above the belt.
 
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