thanks for taking the time to post up your experiences Wylie
l own and use S type dies, the problem with S type dies is that they are set to a certain standard that is not your rifle chamber,
l get the point of why you would use the S type dies the reason l own them, although l believe you are better to use a neck bushing die and a bump die separately because the cases are more concentric done this way
Eric Cortina has his S type dies made with his chamber reamer as does Speedy Gonzales who the S type dies are named after S = speedy, they are not off the shelf dies bought at the gun store, they are a custom die
the everyday reloader who thinks he is going to get better results by using them without neck turning is kidding himself
l agree the unturned cases, are just as eccentric in either a plain neck die and an S type, but understand l am not talking about crooked necks here l am talking about the neck and case centerline not being in line, nonconcentric
the answer if you are not neck turning is to use a lee collet die so the inside of the neck axis centerline stays the same as the case axis centerline because the irregularities of the neck are on the outside of the case neck not the inside
in my experience the brass in all brands of cases l have used when fired move forward or flows,
the reason for trimming or having to use a small base die when the case head expands to much and needs to be squeezed back to fit the chamber if your FLS die will not do it
l have found all brands of cases to take up to 4-5 firings before the case was tight in the chamber and would imagine it being impossible to adjust the die properly with a 2 thou bump from a proper fitting case without tight cases to start
l can setup my dies with the headspace gauges used when the rifles were chambered but l doubt the casual reloader has his own reamers or gauges
l have in the past checked cases for a compared length to my headspace gauges and seen big differences till they are fired 4-5 times
setup of FLS dies should be done by the rifle chamber after removing the firing pin so the bolt handle can drop 3/4 before any pressure is felt, that is around 2 thou bump from a tight chamber
although l have heard shooters complain about galling the rifle lugs it is guys who shoot comp using stainless actions and not lubricating when they should be, l own several rifles that l have never done anything but neck size that do not have a galling problem after shooting a few barrels out
although my actions are worked when l get a new tube fitted, as well as the lug abutments and bolt faces but l have never heard of spinning a case with lapping compound to square up the bolt face, not to say in the right hands it couldn't be done but it sounds a bit agricultural and as l square up the case heads on my cases with the wilson trimmer l do see how out of whack brand new cases are and would not be doing it myself
anyway thanks for taking the time to post up your way of doing it
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