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during a reloading session with
the 10mm Auto, I ran across an
interesting observation from the
loading bench. We often hear
the old adage from car companies to
buy original equipment parts. Computer
peripherals seem to work best when the
same brand is applied, and a Nikon lens
makes that Nikon camera do everything
it should. In reloading equipment, the
same basic reasoning holds true as well.
While American manufacturers of
reloading equipment have a gentleman’s
agreement on interoperability,
advantages can be gained from working
within a family of tools from one manufacturer.
This allows for the unified
engineering efforts of some very bright
individuals in this industry using minimum
tolerances, yielding maximum
results from our components.
A bench supporting all of one manufacturer
also eases the road to finding an
answer when a kink in the loading process
occurs. A customer service department
having direct knowledge of all the
tools involved can quickly diagnosis the
dilemma. This is especially important
in the matters of datum line headspace,
as the contact of the shellholder against
the bottom of the die sets this critical
dimension. Each manufacturer has their
own algorithms for determining just how
much bump is needed based on caliber
and brass spring-back to attain proper
dimension to fit a minimum chamber.
The company will build
their shellholder depth
into this formula. This
is not to say one
each
maker
has their
own take on
the engineering
details of their
products, like this
die from Redding.
Buying your gear from
one maker to help with
maintaining continuity.
FaMiLy
oF tooLs
shell-holder from
another maker
will not work with the dies of
the other. However, with a tight
chamber, a mismatched
combination may not get
you that last thousandth
needed for the completed
round to load properly.
Expander buttons and straight wall case
expander dies are another area where
each manufacturer has their own beliefs
on what constitutes proper size.
Consistency
Without diving deeply into
technical discussions, Redding
has made my life easier
loading the 10mm Auto
with their family of equipment.
Take their heavy-duty
turret T-7 reloading press for
example, which limits handling
and maintains a consistent
setup. This style of
press provides the strength
and accuracy of a single stage
press while allowing you to
have seven dies set.
With the 10mm project,
I had four Redding titanium
carbide dies needed in the
turret and went through the
process, only handling the
Starline cases two times. No
die changes were needed. Not
what you would call truly
progressive, but truly precise,
one-at-a-time loading. Powder dispensing
was also precise with their
Model 10X mounted in a Redding
Bench Stand, then checked on a Redding
2400 powder and bullet scale. All
the equipment compliments each other.
We all have our favorites in the
field of reloading equipment. When
searching for the most consistent and
accurate loads possible, sticking with
one brand may
have advantages.
Mark
HaMpton
*
For more info: www.americanhandgunner.
com/redding-reloading, (607) 753-3331
the 10x powder
dispenser worked as
part of this “family”
of Redding reloading
products.
Mark used
Redding’s
t-7 press
to help
develop
loads for
his 10mm
project.
the case neck gauge
helps to maintain consistency
when loading for
accuracy and reliability.
WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM 71