Bad H-380 and Lee collet die??????

07 April 2004, 05:40

voldoc02

See my last reply: at bottom:I have a Rem 700 22-250 carbon varmit.. I want to use Redding bushing neck die for good accuracy.. The outside diameter of loaded rounds average .247 " so do I need a .244 bushing or a .245 bushing?? All info would be greatly appreciated.. Input on Redding steel bushing vs. titanium nitrade bushing.. also... Thanks .,Doc Stone

07 April 2004, 05:56

Savage99

For neck sizing I feel the Lee Collet die does just as good or better a job as any other neck die. It will save you money also.

Instead buy a Redding "S" type FL die for that chamber.

As to the diameter they always seem tight to me anyways but things vary. So I would order one .002" under. I order steel if I can get it or the coated ones if that's all thats there.

08 April 2004, 02:06

voldoc02

I have a Lee collet neck die for the 22-250 now. I was using it but, there was not enough neck tension to hold a moly coated 50gr. v-max in the correct OAL desired. I set it to touch the shell holder with more force but now am wondering if this will impenge on the shoulder?? Someone w/ Lee collet die experience advise me on how to set -up.. Thanks, Doc Stone

08 April 2004, 04:25

Savage99

Take the Collet die apart and put the pin in a drill chuck. Polish off about .001" from the area of the pin where the it travels in the neck of a case.

Some say they have broken the top cap out of the die body with too much pressure.

I think Lee would adjust the die for you or provide a smaller pin. I am not sure how they do it.

08 April 2004, 07:38

Ruck

i also have the exact same thing as you. I got the entire redding comp micrometer die set. I think i went .002 under and my .22-250 liked em'
Ruck

08 April 2004, 07:53

eshell

Just like Bigdaddytacp says above, the main attraction of bushing type die is the flexibility.

Quote:

i also have the exact same thing as you. I got the entire redding comp micrometer die set. I think i went .002 under and my .22-250 liked em'
Ruck

Yep, I also use -.002 to start with, making that a .245" bushing in your instance.

BTW, a friend loads for a match quality .330WinMag and gets great results with his cheap old collet die. His "collet die" groups are as good or better than his "bushing die" groups.

08 April 2004, 14:05

voldoc02

I got to shoot my 22-250 today. I used the Lee collet die to load all carts. The strangest thing, The best groups today was : ww neck sized , trimmed and deburred primer hole ,once fired brass, 50gr V-Max moly, CCI-200, 2.477" OAL.H-380 powder 39.5 grains, which should have given about 3800 + fps, but it only averaged 3405fps. The powder is old(25yrs) but did not seem vancid??(spoiled)?? What gives?? Please enlighten ,, and eloborate,, thanks much, Doc Stone PS this gave high 5's and low 6's groups..gusty winds 10+MHP cross and swirl

09 April 2004, 00:53

mho

Quote:

I think Lee would adjust the die for you or provide a smaller pin. I am not sure how they do it.

Lee sells undersize mandrels for about 5$ a piece. Other than plunking in the new mandrel, there is no adjustment.
- mike

09 April 2004, 01:18

p dog shooter

Getting a few hundred feet of vel less then the book says is nothing new. Each rifle and load is differant.

09 April 2004, 02:08

Savage99

I should have mentioned to run each neck thru the collet die twice. After the intial crimp back the case down and turn it 45 degrees and do it again. It will hold better and intial testing indicates less runout.

Of course you may need to modify the pin anyway or have one for moly and another for conventional bullets.

19 May 2004, 04:35

eshell

Quote:

. . . . . H-380 powder 39.5 grains, which should have given about 3800 + fps, but it only averaged 3405fps. The powder is old(25yrs) but did not seem vancid??(spoiled)?? What gives?? Please enlighten ,, and eloborate,, . . .

H-380 is a great powder for the .22-250, I get excellent accuracy with good velocities, but some older lots give abnormally low velocities. It doesn't have to be "bad" (rancid/sour) to perform below spec.

When Sierra first introduced the .224/60HP's, I tried some with H-380. They shot into 3/8moa with almost any reasonable charge weight and I was delighted.

Taking them to the field, I was disappointed in their lack of destructive effect and had several groundhogs escape to their holes with solid hits.

I should mention that, at that time, I had no decent 'long shots' available, nor a chronograph. That meant I had no idea what my velocity was, nor would the field trajectory difference in a .22-250 within an estimated couple hundred yards tell me anything. I was going by 'listed velocities'.

I called Sierra and raised hell: "A non-expanding HP - WTF!?!" I spent a while on the phone with the baffled tech, and it finally came out that I was using an older batch of H-380. He explained the old H-380/velocity issue to me and suggested I replace my powder with a newer lot. I didn't go further with the 60's, since, in my mind, they should have still expanded at the lower velocity, as if they were landing further out. They HAD to be going faster than a .222, etc.

How long ago did Sierra intro the 60 HP? "25 years ago"? You might be into the same batch of powder I was.