Live and learn-- redding comp die story

[boatdoc173]

although this  story is a bit embarrassing. My experience  may help others and will amuse the more experienced reloaders .

 

In  my never ending effort to produce top quality  9mm ammo, I researched and bought the Redding Titanium Competition 9mm die  set .

 

My first issue experienced was that some mixed brass cases needed to be rotated (partial turn 1/4-1/2 turn at a time) just to get the resizing die to accept the brass.  Called Redding and their response was one that I have heard many times in my life--" we never heard of that !"    (by the way Redding offers to notch customer service). Dealt with this situation  until it was just too frustrating and time consuming.. back to my Dillon resizing  die.

 

I thought that  the bullet seating  die  would be extremely accurate. I set it up as directed and  the initial experience wa s  great.  I did NOT realize that as loading progressed( thousands of rounds per season ) the micrometer would move and would need special attention EACH loading session.  My C O AL went  from my desired 1.140"  to  1.192".  As the ammo I  reload each year is  stored  ( vs shot right away), I did  not realize this was happening until I started  using the ammo which was loaded with the Redding die set.The 1.192 COAL ammo would not even fit into a 1911 single stack magazine.  It did fit and was shot out of other magazines( and gun styles) without issue.

 

lessons learned. I now check COAL  as often as needed to assure that the COAL is the 1.140" desired   AND I went back to my Dillon  seating die.

 

I guess the Redding  die  set  was  just not  for me. Still not sure why the COAL changed when the die  was  locked down per instructions. any thoughts from those who use Redding  dies?

 

reloading is not static. It is a never ending learning experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9 by boatdoc173

[mmc45414]

I am happy with my Lee dies, but along the same I glued it with RTV (I could pull of if I want) and marked it with a Sharpie.

Obviously not for someone that experiments, but I tend to stay setup for the same thing in 9mm. 

[Speedwagon]

I  had the same thing happened to me with the seating die but I was lucky enough to notice it when it only got to 1.170" from 1.160". I tend to check my loads more often. 

I also had the flare die move as well. I load a bit differently than most people. I process my brass after wet tumble and rollsize. After that I size, prime and flare and put aside until I'm ready to load with powder and bullet. When loading one time I notices the bullets weren't falling into the case and when I checked the flareing die I noticed the lock ring had loosened and the expander had backed out. I had to redo a bunch of cases I had prepped. Now I check them often as I run them through. 

I use a Lee U die to size so I never had the issue you're having with the resizing die.

[HOGRIDER]

@boatdoc173If you haven't already, disassemble the die and remove the spring!  Give it a thorough cleaning and try again.....

 

Pretty good read from a few years ago.  Many have experienced your same issue:

 

 

 

And another good thread............

 

 

HTHs!

 

Edited January 9 by HOGRIDER
update

[Boomstick303]

For Pistol reloading Redding dies are all I use.  The only thing I have done is remove a spring out of the seating die (which is the micrometer version) to get more consistent OAL.  Have produced thousands of rounds with zero issue.  

 

As you have figured out creating items that create and contain little explosions takes a great deal of Attention to Detail.  I do not think reloading is for everyone.   Especially those who lack that attention to detail.  If one is challenged in this skill, I would think they would need to be more mindful of the process to produce quality ammo.  

 

I check a couple of QC factors while reloading to prevent any major issues and catch them before I make "Bad" ammo.

 

One other thing I have started to do is check items on the press that can cause major issues before every reloading session.  For example, one time I was missing a tiny poly block on the powder drop slide assembly that created about 1-2K of ammo that did not have consistent powder drops.  Every time I measured the powder drops they were fine, but once the press was humming along would the issue present itself.  This created all kinds of weird SDs that I thought was being caused by the gun.  I will not make that mistake again.  

[shred]

I've got a couple decades using the micrometer seater and it's never moved unless I wanted it to...

 

That said, I still check OAL & case gauge every time I add primers even for practice ammo.  Stuff goes wrong every now and then.

 

[IHAVEGAS]

Good info. I use the micrometer seating die with the spring removed. The only issue I have seen was insufficient belling leading to shaving of coated lead bullets and that shaved lead somehow getting into the die. It hasn't caused any known oal length issues & was easily fixable (duh, bell the brass like you are supposed to) but once or twice I have seen a bit of shaved lead fall out of the die. 

[boatdoc173]

you folks ar e the BEST. never fails. our members ALWAYS have answers   base d  on experience

 

I will remove the spring this week.

 

 I am battling hand and arm injuries so I will NOT be reloading for quite a while( I did make  9000+  rounds of 9mm  before the injuries).Once I can reload again, I will give these suggestions a try and get back to you kind members.

 

thanks again

 

 

[boatdoc173]

BTW  I am as perplexed as Redding was  about the resizing die issues. I bought the die set specifically to have  straight walled cases.. I found zero reason that some cases would not just enter the die as the rest do( and require some rotation of the case to get it into the die).

 

I love reloading. I learned alot on my own and have really been helped by our members. THANK YOU ALL.

 

It is really satisfying to reload from November- February or so and see  all of those filled ammo cans just waiting to be used.

To be able to size  and reload  ammo for a specific  gun --ammo that feeds perfectly and shoots well  solved a problem for me and proved the value of  rolling your own.

[Boomstick303]

8 minutes ago, boatdoc173 said:

I found zero reason that some cases would not just enter the die as the rest do( and require some rotation of the case to get it into the die).

 

None of my Redding dies require this.  I have no idea what you are talking about.  Maybe a video is in order to help one understand.   

 

[Speedwagon]

Thinking back, I actually noticed my rounds were getting longer when I put them in my Shockbottle Case Gauge. I bought the one with the tray underneath it so that the round will protrude from the gauge when it's too long. I gauge every round and for me it's a way I use to count the rounds I've loaded. 

 

Another ding for removing the spring in the micrometer bullet seater. I was getting inconsistent lengths and called Redding and they told me to remove the spring. Since I did I've had very good results.

[ltdmstr]

35 minutes ago, Boomstick303 said:

None of my Redding dies require this.  I have no idea what you are talking about.  Maybe a video is in order to help one understand.   

 

Same here.  99.99% this is something to do with your setup or process.  I have Redding dies on three 1050s and two 550s for pistol calibers, and have loaded probably 500k rounds over the years and never experienced this problem.

[Joe4d]

i dont think its the turning, its the position.. didnt catch press, but I load on a 550, sometimes if the brass catches the edge I give my brass a slight spin or wiggle  in shell holder just basically making sure its in the holder all the way. ,, maybe a bit high primer, or not quite in all the way or something ? causes it to slightly miss the opening. 

[boatdoc173]

4 hours ago, ltdmstr said:

 

Same here.  99.99% this is something to do with your setup or process.  I have Redding dies on three 1050s and two 550s for pistol calibers, and have loaded probably 500k rounds over the years and never experienced this problem.

I used my dillon  case  cleaner  with some nu finish polish,  cleaned brass  gets some one shot. mu reloade r is a dillon 550c only happens with my redding sizing  die. zero issues with my dillon die at all.Makes  no sense to me. not specific to a brand of  brass casing either.  again the " never seen that before" I hear every once in a while is appropriate 

 

now that I have down time, I might just try to hand fit some cases into that  sizing die to see what might be the hang up.

[boatdoc173]

5 hours ago, Boomstick303 said:

 

None of my Redding dies require this.  I have no idea what you are talking about.  Maybe a video is in order to help one understand.   

 

dillon die in the   550c now.  not touching it as it works as expected 

[boatdoc173]

57 minutes ago, Joe4d said:

i dont think its the turning, its the position.. didnt catch press, but I load on a 550, sometimes if the brass catches the edge I give my brass a slight spin or wiggle  in shell holder just basically making sure its in the holder all the way. ,, maybe a bit high primer, or not quite in all the way or something ? causes it to slightly miss the opening. 

I think hand loading some cases  could provide some insight. my shell plate is set up appropriately  , no too much play  but that could be the issue at hand

Edited January 9 by boatdoc173

[HOGRIDER]

2 minutes ago, boatdoc173 said:

dillon die in the   550c now.  not touching it as it works as expected 

I can remember users saying the Redding sizing dies actually have a bit smaller opening than the Dillon dies. Inside micrometer could easily verify.

 

Can remember on the XL650 that the black case insert slide cam had to be adjusted perfectly to keep the case from springing/backing out of the shellplate as the cam retracted; or there would be case mouths catching on the sizing die....

 

[shred]

One trick for tweaking die alignment to the shellplate is load it up, move to the bottom of the stroke, then loosen the die lock rings and re-tighten them while there's rounds/cases in them.

[mmc45414]

13 hours ago, HOGRIDER said:

Can remember on the XL650 that the black case insert slide cam had to be adjusted perfectly to keep the case from springing/backing out of the shellplate as the cam retracted; or there would be case mouths catching on the sizing die....

 

Also needs to stay clean, anything that makes the case stick is the same-same.

I also wonder about a piece that is not so flat and potentially sticky. 

[boatdoc173]

10 hours ago, shred said:

One trick for tweaking die alignment to the shellplate is load it up, move to the bottom of the stroke, then loosen the die lock rings and re-tighten them while there's rounds/cases in them.

that might be  a help  thanks

[boatdoc173]

thanks again @HOGRIDER

[boatdoc173]

1 hour ago, mmc45414 said:

Also needs to stay clean, anything that makes the case stick is the same-same.

I also wonder about a piece that is not so flat and potentially sticky. 

case deformities or variation might be a cause.   the cases, the opening variation... all contributed to this issue I think.Th e problem  for me, was that rotating the cases  often enough to make reloading frustrating and slow,  just did not work.

[mmc45414]

1 hour ago, boatdoc173 said:

case deformities or variation might be a cause.   the cases, the opening variation... all contributed to this issue I think.Th e problem  for me, was that rotating the cases  often enough to make reloading frustrating and slow,  just did not work.

A thing I appreciate with the RL1100 is the case is more directly controlled (at a station with a locator pin) at the sizing station, but that is probably just me reaching for justification for having bought the thing... 

[Farmer]

I don’t have either Redding or Dillon 9mm sizing die’s but is the mouth radius on the Redding the same size/shape/angle as the Dillon? Is your press level? Reason I ask is I use a Lee sizing die between my APP press for processing and an old Lee turret press at the range for load development. The APP is mounted level and the brass zips through no problem, but the turret is just temporary mounted, sometimes not level and is getting worn, and it always hangs up during sizing. I can also see the turret move slightly at times when sizing, expanding and seating. Just might be something to look at. Some of the wear and adjustments change so slowly over time they go unnoticed until there’s a big pileup. 

Edited January 10 by Farmer
Spelling

[HOGRIDER]

11 hours ago, boatdoc173 said:

thanks again @HOGRIDER

@boatdoc173Always glad to help.

Also want to support @shred reference to loading the shell plate along with using/inserting an unsized case when doing the final setting/lockdown of the sizing die!