How do you store dies with Hornady QD bushings?

[207North]

I have 2 sets on pistol cartridges that have over 20k each no issue.

Rifle dies im up to about 4,000 on one set with no issues. Wear like that shows something is wrong.

Do you set the dies for any amount of cam over?

 

[270-300]

Do you set the dies for any amount of cam over?

Quite a bit. Rifle cartridges will not size correctly without camming over. On belted magnums I am setting the die travel ammount based off of chamber length to ensure the cartridge head spaces off of the shoulder, so there is less than maximum cam over but it is still noticable.

The wear spot in the post is the edges of the shoulder that lead when the die is locking in. Once the die is locked in those are not the stress point. Likely there is a clearance issue, and possibly they are not fully rotating until the seat. I have never seen my press do that after ten years of use.

 

[207North]

Quite a bit. Rifle cartridges will not size correctly without camming over. On belted magnums I am setting the die travel ammount based off of chamber length to ensure the cartridge head spaces off of the shoulder, so there is less than maximum cam over but it is still noticable.

The wear spot in the post is the edges of the shoulder that lead when the die is locking in. Once the die is locked in those are not the stress point. Likely there is a clearance issue, and possibly they are not fully rotating until the seat. I have never seen my press do that after ten years of use.

Mine are set with redding competition shell holders so the cam over is never excessive.

These worked great initially, but would back out over time and deform. Once that cam surface was damaged, I would have to change shellholder and chase the wear. Unfortunately at the time I did not realize the surface was damaged and it caused a bunch of headache.

The mating internal surfaces on the adapter were also deformed. This took out a bunch of other bushings.

Either way, once the lnl bushings were removed from the dies, any inconsistency in shoulder bump went away.

 

[SDHNTR]

Mine are set with redding competition shell holders so the cam over is never excessive.

These worked great initially, but would back out over time and deform. Once that cam surface was damaged, I would have to change shellholder and chase the wear. Unfortunately at the time I did not realize the surface was damaged and it caused a bunch of headache.

The mating internal surfaces on the adapter were also deformed. This took out a bunch of other bushings.

Either way, once the lnl bushings were removed from the dies, any inconsistency in shoulder bump went away.

I can see that happening. That aluminum they use is super soft for both the male and female bushings. Hmmm. I’ll need to keep a close eye on those lugs.

I wish I could find a better way to just use the lock ring. I use Redding dies mostly with Hornady lock rings. Once I have the die depth in the press and my shoulder bump set properly, I tighten down the lock ring. Of course it holds just fine for that reloading session, but then it’s not possible to remove the die from the press again without loosening the lock ring. There is no flat on the die body to apply a wrench. So you have to loosen the ring each time to get it out, and then re set headspace again the next reloading session. That’s not a huge deal other than it’s working my brass unnecessarily as it takes a few adjustments to get the measurements right.

 

[207North]

Adjust the die like you have been. Take a paint pen and mark the die where the grub screw to lock the ring is. Do not tighten the grub screw. Back the die and locking ring out a quarter turn or so. Line up the grub screw with the paint mark with the die loose. Now tighten the locking ring grub screw. Screw the die back in until it stops.

It will prob take a time or two to get shoulder bump perfect.

You will no longer need a tool to remove the die.

 

[Harvey_NW]

Rifle cartridges will not size correctly without camming over.

I have a couple dies that don't cam over when setup for .002-3" shoulder bump and have no issues with consistent sizing with proper lube.

I use Redding dies mostly with Hornady lock rings. Once I have the die depth in the press and my shoulder bump set properly, I tighten down the lock ring. Of course it holds just fine for that reloading session, but then it’s not possible to remove the die from the press again without loosening the lock ring. There is no flat on the die body to apply a wrench. So you have to loosen the ring each time to get it out, and then re set headspace again the next reloading session.

The Hornady lock rings have wrench flats, I don't see why you would need to loosen it or try to wrench on the die to remove it. If you tighten the lock ring when it's torqued in the press with the die during setup, it's a major PITA to get out, which is why I suggested cracking the lock ring loose from the press to do the final tightening on the lock ring clamp screw, then torquing back into the press for sizing. If that makes sense.

*edit* - Also edited my previous response for clarification.

 

[SDHNTR]

I have a couple dies that don't cam over when setup for .002-3" shoulder bump and have no issues with consistent sizing with proper lube.


The Hornady lock rings have wrench flats, I don't see why you would need to loosen it or try to wrench on the die to remove it. If you tighten the lock ring when it's torqued in the press with the die during setup, it's a major PITA to get out, which is why I suggested cracking the lock ring loose from the press to do the final tightening on the lock ring clamp screw, then torquing back into the press for sizing. If that makes sense.

*edit* - Also edited my previous response for clarification.

Point 1 - yes, me too. I have several dies that will over size if touching the shell holder at all. They need to be backed out 1/4 turn + for .002 bump.

As for Point 2 - once you crack the lock ring loose, the die generally moves a bit too. And I’ve tried a million times to do as you say, there’s always movement and it never seems to return to the same place when reinstalled. At least not the same measurable place. Maybe I’m doing something different. I’d love to see a video of your process.

 

[SDHNTR]

Adjust the die like you have been. Take a paint pen and mark the die where the grub screw to lock the ring is. Do not tighten the grub screw. Back the die and locking ring out a quarter turn or so. Line up the grub screw with the paint mark with the die loose. Now tighten the locking ring grub screw. Screw the die back in until it stops.

It will prob take a time or two to get shoulder bump perfect.

You will no longer need a tool to remove the die.

I’ve done similar with a sharpie. It kinda works. The bushings are just much easier and more precise (at least they are until they aren’t, which hasn’t happened to me yet).

 

[270-300]

I can see that happening. That aluminum they use is super soft for both the male and female bushings. Hmmm. I’ll need to keep a close eye on those lugs.

I wish I could find a better way to just use the lock ring. I use Redding dies mostly with Hornady lock rings. Once I have the die depth in the press and my shoulder bump set properly, I tighten down the lock ring. Of course it holds just fine for that reloading session, but then it’s not possible to remove the die from the press again without loosening the lock ring. There is no flat on the die body to apply a wrench. So you have to loosen the ring each time to get it out, and then re set headspace again the next reloading session. That’s not a huge deal other than it’s working my brass unnecessarily as it takes a few adjustments to get the measurements right.

Which bushings are aluminum?

 

[seand]

I really like the Hornady quick detach bushings for swapping dies in and out of your press and maintaining the setting. But my one pet peeve is that once you install the bushing, the die is no longer fit back in the box. What do you guys do?

Plano 3700 boxes.

 

[270-300]

I have a couple dies that don't cam over when setup for .002-3" shoulder bump and have no issues with consistent sizing with proper lube.


The Hornady lock rings have wrench flats, I don't see why you would need to loosen it or try to wrench on the die to remove it. If you tighten the lock ring when it's torqued in the press with the die during setup, it's a major PITA to get out, which is why I suggested cracking the lock ring loose from the press to do the final tightening on the lock ring clamp screw, then torquing back into the press for sizing. If that makes sense.

*edit* - Also edited my previous response for clarification.

If your bumping the shoulder that much you might have a chamber out of spec, unless you are estimating. If your estimating, its likely you have a die that is out of spec or a worn out press. Im pretty far past cam over with a 300 win mag die that is set to head space on the shoulder for a particular rifle chamber. The short vs long limits on my le wilson I die i used to set this measurement are very close together, im thinking .0015 or .002 I will have to check it to be certain.

 

[SDHNTR]

Which bushings are aluminum?

The Hornady QD ones

 

[270-300]

The Hornady QD ones

Hornady does not list a QD bushing in their catalog. If you mean the Lock and Loaded die bushing system we are discussing, no aluminum is involved. The press body is cast aluminum. The bushing die in the press is very stout steel, all of the lnl bushings that thread onto dies are stout machined steel. They are magnetic and very surely 100% steel.

 

[Harvey_NW]

As for Point 2 - once you crack the lock ring loose, the die generally moves a bit too. And I’ve tried a million times to do as you say, there’s always movement and it never seems to return to the same place when reinstalled. At least not the same measurable place. Maybe I’m doing something different. I’d love to see a video of your process.

Dang. I don't have a YouTube or a host for a long enough video, maybe I can edit something together. I know having a fair bit of tension on the lock ring clamp where you can barely adjust it by hand, or maybe even tight enough that it takes a wrench on the lock ring and channel locks on the die body to adjust, should keep it from moving when you crack it loose for adjustment. Once I get those adjusted and clamp that lock ring tight, it produces repeatable results as long as I use the same force to torque it into the press.

If your bumping the shoulder that much you might have a chamber out of spec, unless you are estimating. If your estimating, its likely you have a die that is out of spec or a worn out press. Im pretty far past cam over with a 300 win mag die that is set to head space on the shoulder for a particular rifle chamber. The short vs long limits on my le wilson I die i used to set this measurement are very close together, im thinking .0015 or .002 I will have to check it to be certain.

Maybe we're misunderstanding each other, but I intentionally set my dies up to bump the shoulder back .002-3" as I consider that the sweet spot for consistency and smooth function. Not all of my dies bottom out against the shellholder and produce the cam action at the top of the stroke with that setting, and they still size consistently. This is with regular bottle neck cases only, older belted magnum designs typically have large tolerances and a potential slough of their own sizing issues, I ditched them all together.

 

[SDHNTR]

Hornady does not list a QD bushing in their catalog. If you mean the Lock and Loaded die bushing system we are discussing, no aluminum is involved. The press body is cast aluminum. The bushing die in the press is very stout steel, all of the lnl bushings that thread onto dies are stout machined steel. They are magnetic and very surely 100% steel.

I’ll have to check mine with a magnet. They sure don’t feel like steel. They weigh nothing.

 

[270-300]

I’ll have to check mine with a magnet. They sure don’t feel like steel. They weigh nothing.

Might be amazon fakes then. I have 3 dozen i ordered from hornady, all are stout steel and magnetic.

 

[270-300]

Dang. I don't have a YouTube or a host for a long enough video, maybe I can edit something together. I know having a fair bit of tension on the lock ring clamp where you can barely adjust it by hand, or maybe even tight enough that it takes a wrench on the lock ring and channel locks on the die body to adjust, should keep it from moving when you crack it loose for adjustment. Once I get those adjusted and clamp that lock ring tight, it produces repeatable results as long as I use the same force to torque it into the press.


Maybe we're misunderstanding each other, but I intentionally set my dies up to bump the shoulder back .002-3" as I consider that the sweet spot for consistency and smooth function. Not all of my dies bottom out against the shellholder and produce the cam action at the top of the stroke with that setting, and they still size consistently. This is with regular bottle neck cases only, older belted magnum designs typically have large tolerances and a potential slough of their own sizing issues, I ditched them all together.

Yeah were talking about something else.

Im talking about a very specific loading technique that measures where the shoulder is in the chamber and leaving the shoulder there when sizing the brass. This improves consistency.

If your pushing the shoulder down .003 past sami specs your not doing yourself any favors.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

Because sometimes you have to unscrew the lock ring to get the die out of the press. Or it loosens on its own.

Once set you shouldn’t have any issue getting the die out, and the lock ring will stay in place. Hornady lock rings don’t give much fuss.