facturer can advise on the minimum base diameter that it is comfortable using for any given case. Good advice! My best advice on designing the
resizing die reamer is to leave that to the manufacturer. It will know what is needed to provide sufficient resizing of the case body and how far to move the shoulder to provide free chambering and how much to reduce neck diameter to assure sufficient neck tension on the seated bullet. Using this die to create a resizing die requires a bit of finesse and understanding. Rather than compli- cate matters, I prefer to simply run the reamer into the die body deeper than is necessary. Then, I progressively shorten the die base until the resized (fired) case will just freely chamber in the finished gun. Then I remove about ²⁄₁₀₀₀-inch more from the base of the die. Finally, I care- fully polish the interior again using 600- grit paper, and caseharden the die body. If you are designing a gun for
hunting dangerous game, tell the reamer manufacturer. It will create a resizing die reamer that increases clearance of the re- sized case in the rifle chamber. For such a gun, positive assured action cycling is far more important than a tiny bit of accuracy potential or increased case life. For ammunition used in all other
guns, I strongly recommend using the correct Redding Competition Shell- holder so that full-length resizing results in a case that will freely chamber but without excessive functional (working) headspace. When I use this method, I never need to trim any case that has a reasonably wide and sharp shoulder. For dangerous-game ammunition, I would use the next shorter shellholder, for the noted reason. As alluded to above, I have come
to prefer to have Lee Precision make a Factory Crimp Die (Lee needs three dummy rounds to do this), when I want the option of crimping. Generally speak- ing, this die provides a superior crimp. Similarly, for bullet seating, it is
far less expensive to use the excellent Hornady seating die. These are more-or- less universal rifle-case seating dies. For example, within the realm of 30-caliber rifle cases of normal length, the same seating die (with proper adjustments) will work to either seat the bullet or crimp the case of most 30-caliber rifle cartridges. (Of course, it also will seat and crimp in one operation but, for qual-
ity sake, I prefer to never do this). For normal varminting cartridges,
I prefer to modify a same-caliber RCBS Gold Medal seating die. Only the sliding body requires alteration. I do this with a combination of a special pilot (that fits the smallest portion of the hole through the sliding body) and the chambering reamer. Such a die is the ideal tool for seating tiny bullets. For neck sizing, options exist. You
can use the finish reamer to modify a Newlon bushing die body or you can have Lee precision make a collet neck- sizing die (Lee needs three fired cases to do this). I happen to believe that the lat- ter is a better approach. To each his own. Keep in mind that a functional
wildcat is a system. This system neces- sarily includes: cartridge cases, gun, and loading dies. As you design your new chambering — one that you believe answers a need that nothing else has answered — keep in mind the issues that I have touched upon here. And, know that the reamer maker is apt to have sage advice and that you are even more apt to need to pay attention to that advice! OTHER ISSUES
To date, longest I have waited for
a barrel was 13 months. Longest I have waited on a reamer is eight months. Stuff happens and, as was once penned, while we all know that life is not fair, why is it never unfair in our favor? Our esteemed editor’s recent expe-
riences in trying to create an extremely simple wildcat (merely necking a factory case from 18-caliber to 17-caliber with no other changes) is a germane example of Murphy’s Law, as applied to gunsmith- ing: “Everything takes longer than you can possibly imagine.” In June of 2008, our editor told me
all about his new creation, which he had then already been working upon. He had cases ordered, he had reamers ordered, he had barrels ordered, he had two gun- smiths lined up to chamber barrels, and he had dies ordered. He had that project moving along. As of June 2010, had it not been for
my intervention (and the help of Mid- way USA and Redding Tool and Die), he still would have no good hope of having a gun in this chambering for the spring 2010 varminting season! And, as I write this, we still are not sure that this will happen! All that result will require is the barrels, reamer, and headspace gauge
www.varminthunter.org Page 85
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