RCBS small Base Die - worth it or not?

[jolebole]

It Sure is!. I recently got a single Stage Lee Press and some Lee dies to load 300blk. I tried to form 300 blk brass out of cut 223 case, but I did not get the Lee die to make a good 300 case. The neck was much higher then on a factory case. As many of you recommend here, I got a set of small base RCBS dies. I tried a case and on the first attempt it came out as perfect shape 300 blk brass. WOW..Just WOW. Well done RCBS. Amazing die.

This is my first ever post here and I wanna say THANK YOU ALL. You saved me from a lot of "bad case" frustrations lol.
A Reloaders community at its best.

[armedferret]

Watch out for the expander ball stripping the threads on the rod it's attached to. That and stuck cases like crazy. My .308 has been to RCBS half a dozen times because cases were so stuck the usual removal tools (spacer, drilling/tapping the primer pocket) did nothing but make brass shavings before self-stripping in the cases.

The blackout I've only had 2 stuck cases, and both were easily removed, but the expander ball stripping the threads on its rod has gotten me to the point of just getting hornady CGND and going with that from here on out.

if it continues to work for you then hey great. but i did want you to be informed of issues that may arise. maybe get a couple spare expander rods just in case so you're not suffering through 3-week downtime getting ahold of RCBS in order to take advantage of the warranty.

[rlandry6]

A couple of suggestions..

If you are sticking cases that often you are probably not using enough case lube.
Also, you may get better results by grinding down the expander ball so it moves freely through the case neck and using an expander mandrel to expand the neck. Ypu'll also get less runout using the mandrel.. JMHO

[armedferret]

A couple of suggestions..

If you are sticking cases that often you are probably not using enough case lube.
Also, you may get better results by grinding down the expander ball so it moves freely through the case neck and using an expander mandrel to expand the neck. Ypu'll also get less runout using the mandrel.. JMHO

I'm using several healthy squirts of dillon case lube, that's not the issue. All factors identical, never a problem with hornady FL sizers, dozens with RCBS small base.

While I could turn my sizing into a 37-step affair and have "more precise" cases, I'm not shooting 1000-yard competitions here. I'm loading hunting ammo. To that end, instead of doing numerous steps in sizing, I opt to just get different dies, and get to loadin.

Not intended to be snarky, or argumentative, just presenting my viewpoint on things. If I were interested in building a rail gun that shot .00034" groups at 300 yards, I'd look harder at my loading regimen. As it were, if my semis shoot MOA or better out to 500, I'm a happy man--my blackout being the exception to that. It's a little under an inch with 5 hornady SSTs at 100, and keeps the same inside 2.5 at 200. More than enough for its intended use.

[rebel]

A couple of suggestions..

If you are sticking cases that often you are probably not using enough case lube.
Also, you may get better results by grinding down the expander ball so it moves freely through the case neck and using an expander mandrel to expand the neck. Ypu'll also get less runout using the mandrel.. JMHO

Polish the expander, don't grind. Have to be careful with this, as I have said before about accuracy and precision, seating depth is everything, neck tension is everything else.
Armedferret - hey, if your happy that's cool and that's plenty accurate for battle or hunting. Some of us have pushed this little thing to it's limit -velocity, precision, subsonic hunting - over the years, so we just want to see folks succeed.
I stuck some forming with Dillon lube. When forming, Hornady Unique Lube or Imperial sizing wax works great. You can switch to the lighter stuff once formed. There are guys here that have never stuck a case with One Shot. I don't like the stufff personally but it's whatever works. Shoot well and often.

[armedferret]

Armedferret - hey, if your happy that's cool and that's plenty accurate for battle or hunting. Some of us have pushed this little thing to it's limit -velocity, precision, subsonic hunting - over the years, so we just want to see folks succeed.

Oh for sure, I've hung around lurking for over a decade. Seen plenty but if i need longer range or smaller groups I've got rigs that'll handle that in spades. Maybe after i hit my 20 and retire I'll look at more tinkering but as it were, I'm happy where it be.

[rlandry6]

I reduced the expander so that it doesn't even touch the case mouth after the neck gets sized. I expand with the mandrel in a separate step.

[rebel]

I reduced the expander so that it doesn't even touch the case mouth after the neck gets sized. I expand with the mandrel in a separate step.

That's great, and I knew that but it wasn't in your post. Imagine a new guy,new to reloading, interested in this thread with his ACME side grinder and his die set.
Bushing, ball or mandrel all get the job done. I Flitzed my expander and did a slight reduction for more neck tension. Slightly more.

[dellet]

A small base die can be a good idea if you are converting a lot of brass from unknown sources.

If you need it to resize what you fire from your own rifle, you should probably dial back your load a bit or tune the gas system so it’s not so over gassed.

[Omega]

I'm not into the small base dies, they just work the brass too much. I used to get a bunch of cases stuck, usually with the Lee dies but once also with my Hornady dies. One think I noticed was that the RCBS shell holder was much tighter than the other two, Lee and Hornady, after switching I haven't had a stuck case, but I also switched from Hornady One Shot to Imperial Case Sizing Wax, so that too may be why.