shibiwan Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 Trying to help out a friend who does .50 BMG reloading, and also trying to understand why there's so much variance between dies.... He has a few dies, but supposedly the only "good" die that sizes the brass correctly is one made by Hollywood Gun Shop. Unfortunately for him, the primer punch in that die snapped somewhere in the shaft, and sending it back to the manufactuer was a dud (they sent it back and said they didn't make it or something). ....anyway he brought that die to me and I think I can cut and re-thread the punch shaft on my lathe, and replace the tip with a Hornady punch tip He also has a Hornady die set and a Lee die set which he says aren't any good and it doesn't size correctly for some bolt action BMG's. Supposedly these "bad" ones fit in the Bushmaster and Barrett 50-cals with no problems. The problems are in the headspacing. To the questions.... Anyone knows who else makes 50-cal dies? (I know RCBS does... and my buddy is too cheap to buy the Dillon carbide die --quoting him "$600 yes!, $850? No... hell no") Why is there so much variance in the dies? Shouldn't they all have the same internal profile? So far, gauging them has shown that they are different sizes.... Any possibility he's doing something wrong? Any tips? This guy has been reloading tons of .50 BMG for some time and I'm not going to tell him he's doing something wrong.......yet. :D :D Other thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks for taking the time to read this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasprite Posted October 4, 2013 Report Share Posted October 4, 2013 It sounds like this guy is in the know but I just have to ask anyway with the other dies is he setting the shoulder back for enough? I had an issue with my .308 rounds would chamber fine but couldn't eject a live round due to, to tight of head space from not setting shoulder back. I thought Lee would make it right if the die was off with there warranty, might send in a piece of brass fired from his rifle with the die and see what they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sketch Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 I'm not a reloder but a dumb thought is there patents or desine patterns specific to certain company's that only work with same company materials or specified components or is most reloading components standerd? No need for description just a yes or no I'm new ;) or school my ass!! Shibiwan asked ? Why is there so much variance in the dies? Shouldn't they all have the same internal profile? So far, gauging them has shown that they are different sizes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
survivalshop Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 I would think all .50 cal. die sets are made to the same spec's ,but I could be wrong . There could be other issues , what reloading press is he using ? What brand shell holder ? There may be conflicting issues using one brand with another brand as far as mixing die sets & shell holders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tripledeuce Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 All "standard" cartridge dies are supposed to be made to SAAMI ( Sporting Armes and ammunition manafactures intisitute) specs.Please , again, forgive the spelling. As someone stated befor, shell holders can affect the placement of the shoulder suggifinactly! Hollywood Gunshop has changed hands several times in the last 30 years, and haven;t made dies or presses for years, in some cases, decades! Send the Hornady back! They should make them right, unless someone has been grinding on them. Respectfully Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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