I've been shooting loads from Lee dies for 30 years, most recently 6.5 Creedmoor. From forgiving Sierra Match Kings to cantankerous Berger bullets and those dies have never failed me. But I will buy "better" dies when the day finally comes that I out-shoot them😁. Great die comparison and I enjoy your channel!
Great Vid! I am enjoying all the work you do. I have been loading 6.5 Creedmoor with Lee neck sizing for my Ruger Predator but have not done enough testing to come up with good loads yet. Using Hornady A-max and SSTs. I am anxious to see your next tests.
Don't read alot into this but I've always been told if you can't shoot .25 moa it doesn't matter what rifle or ammo you use a .25 moa rifle in my hands is going to be a .85 moa rifle so other than getting low sd and es perhaps you should take multiple shooters just for comparison??
I had a ton of problems seating the EDL-X bullets with my Lyman dies. The brass near the tip was getting all buggered up and I was sure that would affect accuracy. I took out the seating stem and coated the inside of the die body with bullet lube. I then put JB weld in the end of the stem. I screwed it back into the die and pushed a loaded round by hand down into the die and let it sit till the next day. My seating stem now matches up perfectly with the bullet and no more problems. I don't have a concentricity gauge so I don't know if I have any runout. I probably will end up buying a set of hornady dies because I really like this bullet.
I'm just starting to watch vids like this to learn how to reload for myself...all I gathered from this is that by the info you put up the variation in neck tension seem to be less tention gave less muzzle velocity. Do you have videos showing the actual loading process as you go from start to finish?
lonz73 thanks for watching. The first video gives a little info using the dies but noting yet from start to finish. I will eventually. I recommend heading over to a guy named "Johnny's reloading bench" his videos are long but you won't wonder why he does something a certain way. He has a begginers guide to reloading that had tons on info. Think about subscribing, I am trying to get a video out a week. I do have a video on how I anneal my brass, but it is a little bit of overkill for a starter.
my head is spinning. I am new to reloading; as in I havn't started yet and am trying to learn as much as I can before I dive in. This seems more involved than what bubba in kentucky does.
I studied for three months and now I’m good but still learning. Do yourself a favor and read any reloading manual before all the opinions in these videos. That’s what made it take me so long. Neck bushing dies, ogive, OAL, annealing, small base dies. Do this don’t do that lol it goes on and on. I take my time and check everything 3 times. Then if you look at a hornady book or a Sierra book and switch to lee or Speer then you will see the first two books start the powder charge really really low. That wasted 100 rounds on a ladder test for accuracy starting out so low. Low is ok and you will find nodes better that way.
When loading with the Lee dies did you use the FCD to uniform your neck tension? I'm loading 6.5 and am collecting data from videos such as yours... I agree that the Lee dies have very little run out. If neck tension is critical I would think uniforming the tension would be critical to consistent grouping. I'm shooting using a Ruger predator. I've done some simple testing to see whether of my groups are tighter with crimping or without crimping. Light crimping appears to offer some advantages over not using the lee 4 die set. Enjoyed the video!
motorgearhead I did use a light fcd on every load. Not to correct anything just to ensure that the bullet seating depth doesn't change. I am not done working on this by any means. I have some Sinclair mandrels on order. Think about subscribing if your not. Trying to keep content coming.
So where are you at this point with 143 ELD-X? Most accurate die set, load, powder, etc? Best SD, and group size? Just getting started and getting ready to order everything. Just picked up a labradar.
Hi mike, you want a lot of info. I havent done a lot of development with the 143 frankly cause it shot so poorly no matter the combo that I tried. If your rifle likes that bullet I wouldn't hesitate to try it. RL 16, h4350, would be good powders to start. You will be just fine with Forster does for almost any projectile you load. If you haven't tried this in your rifle yet I would not set your heart on it.
Have you had problems with the hornady brass primer pockets being too tight? I just picked up 250 new hornady 6.5 creedmoor cases, and my primer pocket uniformer gets stuck trying to prep the cases.
+eric matthews no I haven't, but bags of 250 weren't available then, only in bags of 50. No problem for me though. As you shot them they will loosen up. That's typically how these cases wear out.
Thanks for the videos. Like some of the others, I am learning as much as possible before I start reloading for 308win. Can you neck size with the Hornady Custom grade dies?
They have a specific neck die that is sold separately, it is not included in the kit. Might want to check this video out, but choose what you like. ua-cam.com/video/0lSNXRYk2xo/v-deo.html
I was trying to decide between buy the match grade neck size die now, and then buy the custom grade die set later to get the seating die, as well as have a full length die.
great detailed video. However, i use the hornady custom set for .308 and wonder if it is damaging the round to the extent of effecting accuracy. What are your thoughts on this?
+Jon O I guess I don't understand your situation completely. I assume your taking about the seating stem? You can probably get one of the custom seating stem if that is the case. I don't have one but everyone seems to preach how good the Forester seating dies are.
160gr is ww1-2 mill spec on the sweed car and other super old. A big round nose. New cartridge design are after ballistics and the magnums speed. They also slowed the twist from 1:8 to slower for a while.
Statistics would have been more accurate had you just shot all shots in one group, your sample size and equaling 15 or 20 shots. Also it would have been more significant Ed yourandomized the shots across all three dies in one sequence of shooting. Shooting a sample size greater than 16 will give you much more realistic picture of reality with a higher confidence. Randomizing the shots in one continuous string or spread any deterministic variation across all of your samples.
I've been shooting loads from Lee dies for 30 years, most recently 6.5 Creedmoor. From forgiving Sierra Match Kings to cantankerous Berger bullets and those dies have never failed me. But I will buy "better" dies when the day finally comes that I out-shoot them😁. Great die comparison and I enjoy your channel!
Great Vid! I am enjoying all the work you do. I have been loading 6.5 Creedmoor with Lee neck sizing for my Ruger Predator but have not done enough testing to come up with good loads yet. Using Hornady A-max and SSTs. I am anxious to see your next tests.
if I am loading for my gun, should measure the shoulder and get that bushing ?
instead of the 288
Don't read alot into this but I've always been told if you can't shoot .25 moa it doesn't matter what rifle or ammo you use a .25 moa rifle in my hands is going to be a .85 moa rifle so other than getting low sd and es perhaps you should take multiple shooters just for comparison??
I had a ton of problems seating the EDL-X bullets with my Lyman dies. The brass near the tip was getting all buggered up and I was sure that would affect accuracy. I took out the seating stem and coated the inside of the die body with bullet lube. I then put JB weld in the end of the stem. I screwed it back into the die and pushed a loaded round by hand down into the die and let it sit till the next day. My seating stem now matches up perfectly with the bullet and no more problems. I don't have a concentricity gauge so I don't know if I have any runout. I probably will end up buying a set of hornady dies because I really like this bullet.
I know it's a little pricey, but the forster seating die is a great die. Check out my video on seating dies. Thanks for the idea and the comment!
Also can you shoot the 5 more bullets using the Lee factory crimp die to see if this increasing velocity?
I'm just starting to watch vids like this to learn how to reload for myself...all I gathered from this is that by the info you put up the variation in neck tension seem to be less tention gave less muzzle velocity. Do you have videos showing the actual loading process as you go from start to finish?
lonz73 thanks for watching. The first video gives a little info using the dies but noting yet from start to finish. I will eventually. I recommend heading over to a guy named "Johnny's reloading bench" his videos are long but you won't wonder why he does something a certain way. He has a begginers guide to reloading that had tons on info. Think about subscribing, I am trying to get a video out a week. I do have a video on how I anneal my brass, but it is a little bit of overkill for a starter.
my head is spinning. I am new to reloading; as in I havn't started yet and am trying to learn as much as I can before I dive in. This seems more involved than what bubba in kentucky does.
BCB did u figure it out yet?
I studied for three months and now I’m good but still learning. Do yourself a favor and read any reloading manual before all the opinions in these videos. That’s what made it take me so long. Neck bushing dies, ogive, OAL, annealing, small base dies. Do this don’t do that lol it goes on and on. I take my time and check everything 3 times. Then if you look at a hornady book or a Sierra book and switch to lee or Speer then you will see the first two books start the powder charge really really low. That wasted 100 rounds on a ladder test for accuracy starting out so low. Low is ok and you will find nodes better that way.
@@TheGunz4u Thanks
When loading with the Lee dies did you use the FCD to uniform your neck tension? I'm loading 6.5 and am collecting data from videos such as yours... I agree that the Lee dies have very little run out. If neck tension is critical I would think uniforming the tension would be critical to consistent grouping. I'm shooting using a Ruger predator. I've done some simple testing to see whether of my groups are tighter with crimping or without crimping. Light crimping appears to offer some advantages over not using the lee 4 die set. Enjoyed the video!
motorgearhead I did use a light fcd on every load. Not to correct anything just to ensure that the bullet seating depth doesn't change. I am not done working on this by any means. I have some Sinclair mandrels on order. Think about subscribing if your not. Trying to keep content coming.
Great video. Very surprised to see the results. I really thought that the more expensive dies would have given better results.
Makes sense. Greater neck tension allows more pressure to build before bullet is released from the casing. Is this the theory?
The best I can tell, that must be what is happening. I learn a lot from my viewers so I always like to ask.
Ad Mar that is what Mr. Lee said in his Lee reloading manual
In semi auto rifles slightly more neck tension is not a bad idea coming out of a magazine.
Just thinking that it might be worthwhile to try the same experiment with different powders and bullets to see what happens.
+TresZeroOcho maybe so but I have a while bunch of stuff in the works. Hope you are enjoying the channel.
get rid of the powder and anneal ES should be below 15fps
So where are you at this point with 143 ELD-X? Most accurate die set, load, powder, etc? Best SD, and group size? Just getting started and getting ready to order everything. Just picked up a labradar.
Hi mike, you want a lot of info. I havent done a lot of development with the 143 frankly cause it shot so poorly no matter the combo that I tried. If your rifle likes that bullet I wouldn't hesitate to try it. RL 16, h4350, would be good powders to start. You will be just fine with Forster does for almost any projectile you load. If you haven't tried this in your rifle yet I would not set your heart on it.
@@BoltActionReloading Interesting, thanks for the feedback. Have you found another, more accurate, better grouping, 6.5 hunting round?
135 berger classic hunter. Shoots amazing, 3000fps behind reloder 26. Bc is like .545
Have you had problems with the hornady brass primer pockets being too tight? I just picked up 250 new hornady 6.5 creedmoor cases, and my primer pocket uniformer gets stuck trying to prep the cases.
+eric matthews no I haven't, but bags of 250 weren't available then, only in bags of 50. No problem for me though. As you shot them they will loosen up. That's typically how these cases wear out.
Thanks for the videos. Like some of the others, I am learning as much as possible before I start reloading for 308win. Can you neck size with the Hornady Custom grade dies?
They have a specific neck die that is sold separately, it is not included in the kit. Might want to check this video out, but choose what you like. ua-cam.com/video/0lSNXRYk2xo/v-deo.html
I was trying to decide between buy the match grade neck size die now, and then buy the custom grade die set later to get the seating die, as well as have a full length die.
+Robert Brewer buy the forster set. It is supperior in every way
great detailed video. However, i use the hornady custom set for .308 and wonder if it is damaging the round to the extent of effecting accuracy. What are your thoughts on this?
+Jon O I guess I don't understand your situation completely. I assume your taking about the seating stem? You can probably get one of the custom seating stem if that is the case. I don't have one but everyone seems to preach how good the Forester seating dies are.
Still reckon the 143s are a bit big for such a small case
160gr is ww1-2 mill spec on the sweed car and other super old. A big round nose. New cartridge design are after ballistics and the magnums speed. They also slowed the twist from 1:8 to slower for a while.
Statistics would have been more accurate had you just shot all shots in one group, your sample size and equaling 15 or 20 shots. Also it would have been more significant Ed yourandomized the shots across all three dies in one sequence of shooting. Shooting a sample size greater than 16 will give you much more realistic picture of reality with a higher confidence. Randomizing the shots in one continuous string or spread any deterministic variation across all of your samples.