i need to buy a set of 470dies and wonder if anyone can recommend the right brand and supplier and what is the approximate life of 470cases in a double rifle with reloads duplicating factory loads

KOS,
Try www.ch4d.com and they'll have the dies. I would suggest getting the sizer die and expander ball TiN coated, to increase life and help extend the life of the brass (and only costs $35 more)

expect to pay $140 for die, 35 for TiN coated, 10 for shell holder, 15 for press bushing.

Since pressures are low in a double, if your headspace is pretty tight, case life should be far longer than a high pressure round. Annealing will be your friend.

jeffe

No offense to CH4D, but I do not necessarily think their dies are the best, although they are the most economical. I like the quality of Redding dies best.

500..
you are spot on,,, they are 1/2 or so the cost of other dies.. but not the best

jeffe

kos,

I would recommend RCBS dies. Yes, they are more expensive but you get what you pay for and I have never had RCBS dies that aren't correct dimensions. I am not a great fan of CH - Finish is not a good.

Case life - if your double has good chambers, EQUAL size and you can get away with just neck sizing the cases and still have them chamber after reloading, you could get up to 10 reloads out of them. (I tend to throw out the cases after this as if they split it can gas cut the chambers which takes more $ off the value of the gun than new cases are worth.
Any more than 5 - 6 reloads and your doing well.

500 Nitro

George Hoffman has a set of 470 and 500 NE dies for sale. They are RCBS and in excellent condition.

Kos:

In my experience, double rifles will separate good brass from bad fairly quickly. With good quality cases, I've had no trouble getting a dozen or so loadings out of a case. However, 500 Grains' observation is correct. Squeezing a little extra life out of cases for a double rifle is false economy. Gas cutting of the chambers due to a failed case is no laughing matter. The early Kynoch cases were pretty poor and the number of pre-war doubles with gas-cutting in the chambers and around the OD of the stiker bushings are mute testament to this. While it is possible to sleeve the chambers to repair such damage, this isn't cheap. Best to retire a batch of cases before the need becomes obvious.

Brass for most exclusively double rifle calibers has always had a fairly low volume demand and for this reason quality is highly variable. In my personal experience, the old A-Square stuff and Bertram were terrible. I had a few complete head separations on the second loading with both. The old BELL (Brass Extrusion Labs) was excellent - I have a batch that have been loaded a dozen times and I've never lost a case. I've retired it now in favor of new Bell (MAST Technologies) which is heavier brass and may be even better than the old. In the event that you plan on using cases obtained from fired factory loads, I found the cases from Wolfgang Romey (who loads Westley Richards' and Kreighoff's factory ammo) brittle and prone to cracking, causing case life to be short. The current Federal is good and the new Kynoch (Kynamco) is excellent.

I would probably just order a supply from MAST and be done with it. Discarding after a half dozen loadings or so probably isn't a bad idea. BTW, my observations above are based on having full-length resized. I never neck-size cases for a double, but that's just me. When handloading for doubles (or choosing factory ammunition for that matter) it pays to remember that replacing a set of damaged barrels will often cost as much or more than a used double is worth. Use only the best components, shoot over a chronograph when developing loads, avoid mono-metal bullets of any kind, and proceed with caution.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Kos
I have a set of .470 dies. I no longer have a rifle for them, so, I am willing to sell them as well as a set of .460 Wby dies. The 460 dies is
$50.00 (Weatherby brand) and $125.00 for the .470 RCBS dies.
George

George,
I'll need the 470 dies, if KOS doesnt complete the deal with you...

what threads are they? 7/8 or 1"?

jeffe

Jeffeosso
These dies are 7/8" threads and comes with the RCBS shell holder. My Address, is,
George Hoffman
2616 Edgefield trail
Mansfield, Tx. 76063

George,
Thanks

You have a PM
jeffe

Jeff.
The dies are yours.
George