THE HANDLOADING BENCH
6mm NORMA BENCH REST (Part 5)
a bushing die and select an appropriate diameter bushing for the brass thickness and whether a coated bullet is being used or not.
I like Forster’s Bushing-Bump (neck sizer) die – not available when I started loading 6BR – but would wish to continue full-length sizing, so I’d either have to use this model plus a separate body die or buy a Redding bushing die if I wanted to go down this route today. Both are much more expensive than my custom Forster FL sizer especially when bushing costs are added, so I’ve no desire to make a change.
Taking one step back in the sizing process, I’m often asked how I clean cases. Over the years I’ve used many methods – tumbling in dry media, ultrasonic, wet baths with mildly acidic solvents, Micro™ cleaner solution and more – but with such an efficient little cartridge in the way it burns its powder charge and with cases that are a neat fit in the chamber, I find hardly any external fouling on the case and what there is, even with low pressure starting loads, never extends beyond half way down the shoulder.
Mid-weight high BC sixes. Left to right: 87gn Berger VLD; 90gn Lapua Scenar Match; 95gn Berger VLD. The Scenar might just work in a 10” twist barrel.
So .... many of my rounds would have more neck tension than I like if I left the cases as they come from the die. The answer is to apply a small degree of expansion but using a mandrel expander not the ball or button-type pulled back through the neck as found on conventional sizer dies. A Lyman ‘M’ die was used originally but now owning a Sinclair Gen II expander die body and a full selection of expander mandrels for neck-turning has seen me move to this tool slotting an E24 mandrel in.
This is an ideal solution to the expansion issue with the mandrel ‘floating’ in the Gen II body, hence self- centring. You do need to lube the inside walls of the case-neck though – many people use dry types but I use Imperial wax again. If you do this, remember to use cotton-buds to clean the lube off afterwards otherwise powder grains will stick to the neck during charging and/or risk contamination.
The tiny residual film of lube left on the neck walls after wiping is regarded as a plus by many precision handloaders incidentally as it not only eases bullet seating but seems to produce more consistent MVs. The other, many would say better, answer is to buy
Impregnated cleaning cloths plus a soft rag or paper towelling provide an easy and quick method by simply wiping the fouling off. I used the American Krazy Kloth as supplied by Sinclair or Trent Firearms for some years but it’s expensive by the time we get them here and does have other disadvantages such as needing rubber gloves to avoid one’s fingers becoming heavily begrimed. Worse, it omits a heavy
Lyman impregnated cleaning cloth behind the cases.
‘chemical’ vapour and aroma that Mrs H won’t tolerate outside my handloading cubbyhole. So, I was pleased to find that Lyman’s new impregnated Polishing Cloth available from Hannam’s Reloading Limited is somewhat cheaper, seems equally effective and produces a less heavy and rather more pleasant aroma.
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