Do you need special dies to size and load cases for a tight neck chambering.

I am almost done with my first custom and will need to start loading for it. It is a .308 Win w/ .335 neck.

Can any one recomend a good brand of die for this. I currantly use RCBS and Redding.

CS, You may, it will depend upon the neck thickness of your current brass and the loaded diameter of them. You would want the diameter to be probably no more than .333 (which is somewhat thin IMHO) if the chamber is .335. This all means that you will be turning cases to achieve that final finished dimension! Mostly just cleaning up the necks. I strongly recomend the Redding Bushing dies and would also suggest that you get a .331 and a .330 bushing. Full length or neck only, that's your choice... Good luck, I went with a .340 neck on my last HART built .308.

Nope, but you might need a good neck turner.

.335" - .308" = .027"

.027" / 2 = .0135" ea. side

Brass varies in neck thickness from .012" to .017". You need at least .0015" clearance ea. side so your brass needs to be .332" outside dimensions after sizing and loading. That means you will have to neck turn your necks down to .012".

That's a pretty tight neck. I have a 280AI from Hart that is .313" which means that I have .029" for the combined neck thichnesses and clearance.

I am getting a 6.5 rem mag barrel that will have a .296" neck. That means I have .032" combined clearance. The thing is the only brass available for that caliber is Remington brass and it is very thick and varies from .015" to .017". I plan on turning those necks down to .014" once I get the barrel and verify the dimensions.

As far as the dies go you should be able to use whatever you are used to or want to buy.

I suggest you get one of these.



I know the guy that designed it and he posts here on AR....A heck of a nice guy!

vapodog, how much would one of those neck turning tools cost?

what volume are you loading? I had a 700 Hunter Class Benchrest rifle built with a .332" neck. I used Wilson bushing dies and turned the casenecks to .012" for a slip-fit load. It works for BR. These days the Redding Micrometer Head sizing and seating dies are standard, unless you are using an arbor press.

Rich
DRSS

PS: if you have a lathe handy, you can always turn a spud .308" and buy one of the Lee hand trimmers in .308. We set the caseholder up in the lathe, ran the spud in, and set the cutting tool to turn them to the .012". You can do two or three cases a minute that way.