Hey Goosepit,

I may be stating the obvious but - be careful. You have asked a good question and have been given some excellent advice...Take It!

Once I asked a question on this board and got good advice but I didn't take it. I wound up blowing a couple cases completely apart and I set the bolt back. I was very lucky!

The really bad thing about a fatal mistake is - you will only get one.

Good Shooting,

Smoker

I've been reloading for straight wall pistol cartridges for the last couple years, and I'm just starting to reload for my rifles.I'm worried about headspace, basiclly I'm worried about doing something wrong and ending up with dangerous ammo. I bought new winchester brass, screwed the die down untill it touched the shellholder, lubed and ran the brass thru the die. I have a stoney point head n shoulders headspace gauge and measured a factory loaded winchester round then compared my 100 cases and they varied from + .0004 to -.0002, maybe 50% of them were around .0001.
Is this to much difference? did I not size them enough?
None of my manuals address this very well. Should I load them and then measure them after they are fired in my guns? I'm using rcbs dies and press, the cases are 25-06.
thanks,
Scott

thanks for the quick responses, but I did post the numbers wrong it was +.004 to -.002 my caliper doesnt even measure down to the 10,000ths. What do you guys think about these numbers?
Scott

If your dimentions are state correctly you are stating less than One Thousanth of an inch total error. You may cause that much when you pull the case over the expanding button in the die if you are not lubing the inside of the case mouth. .0004 is stated as 4 Ten Thousanths of an inch. Pretty good accuracy and nothing to worry about.

If you posted your measurments correctly, you are noticing a 1 to 4 "10,000's" (ten thousandths) of an inch difference? No need to worry about that. I find that I can feel a case that does not have enough lube in the neck, and I can feel it drag over the expander button. If I then check that case against one that didn't drag over the expander, I can see a slight difference,(I also use the Stoney point system) but not enough to worry about in full length resizing. And in my experience, the 25-06 is more of a field gun than a bench gun, and I don't believe you will notice any difference on the target. I say continue on as you are. (this observation is worth exactly what you paid for it, though!)

If your are full length resizing every time, you're not going to have dangerous ammo but your cases might not last as long. Just remember that your press may have a little "spring" to it. You might try screwing the die until it touches the shellholder and then maybe 1/16 of a turn more to allow for spring and then see if your sizing is slightly more consistant........DJ

>>I have a stoney point head n shoulders headspace gauge and measured a factory loaded winchester round then compared my 100 cases and they varied from + .0004 to -.0002, maybe 50% of them were around .0001.
Is this to much difference? did I not size them enough?<<

If this is a .25/06 get some .270 (trim first) or .30/06 brass and adjust the sizing die until it until it just chambers with a light drag on the bolt handle. When you have met this condition any brass you size should just fit your chamber. Then you can check your sized brass vs brass once fired in your chamber.
Try for about .001 to .002 clearance if you don't want any drag on the bolt.
I don't know what press you are using but if it is a cheap one or a "C" frame it might stretch a little making it hard to get uniform sizing. One way to improve sizing uniformity is to retract the case after the first sizing just enough to spin it 180� (without pulling the expander through the neck). Then slowly size it again. It is possible to set a sizng die really well with this method using your Stoney point tool. If you can consistently hold the headspace clearance between .000 and .002 you will have much more accurate AND dependable ammo.
Ed

A friend of mine uses the lazy mans reloading technique, he buys several different types of factory ammo and picks whatever shoots the best for him, then buys the same bullet and loads them to the same length with his own components and it works just fine for him, factory ammo should always be plenty short and is accurate enough for hunting.

Shoot some factory rounds in your gun.They are a lot smaller to start with than anything you can make with standard dies. They will expand to fit the chamber , and then "spring back " a little for clearance.
Remove the bolt from your rifle.Remove the firing pin assembly from the bolt. Put the bolt back in the rifle.
Take a once fired case and "smoke" the neck with a kitchen match or candle.
Screw your resizing die into your press till it clears the shell holder by about 1/8th " when all the way up. Lube a smoked case from the shoulder down and run it up into the die. Tinker with the die adjustment till you can see you have resized the neck to about 1/16"froom the shoulder.
Try this case in the rifle. If it closes without any resistance,back the die out a little, If it closes hard, screw the die in a little. When you get the die set so you can just feel A slight resistance on closing you are there.
The length of your case matches the length of your chamber.
Now take your "Stoney Point Headspace Guage" and measure your resised case several times as per the directions.
Reassemble your bolt and you are ready to go.

I always leave my dies adjusted so that a dime will slip between the shell holder and the die when the ram is fully extended. This only partially resizes the case and fully sizes the neck, thus it does not change headspace on the fired cartridge. I have excellant case life, 15 to 20 near max reloads, in 30-06, 22-250, 25-06, and several belted mags.
This method works well in bolt rifles and in the Ruger #1, but most other action types need more complete sizing of the brass.