In past years, the Sinclair/Wilson hand die set was mainly used by benchrest shooters to load ammunition at the range or at a match. This setup gives them the ability to change the loads to suit actual range conditions. I’m not a benchrest shooter, but I have found Sinclair/Wilson dies to be a great help in working up new loads without taking the whole reloading bench with you to the range. I resize and prep 50 cases, prime them, and head to the range with several different powders and one or two different bullets so I can test different load combinations for the cartridge that I am working with.

In addition to my components, I bring a loading kit of the bare essential tools needed for the range: my Sinclair Arbor Press (AP-1000) and Die Base (APB), Wilson seater die, 505 RCBS scales (any a portable electronic scale, such as the AccuLab Pocket Pro Mini Scale or the MTM Mini Scale #749-012-402, will work fine), dial or digital calipers (I use the digital calipers MIC-14 we offer), Sinclair Log Book (LOG-1) and a pen, Harrell Premium Culver powder measure (11-600) or equivalent, Satern Powder Funnel (11-917), Sinclair loading block (PB02), Sinclair Seating Depth Tool (59-4000), and Sinclair Bullet Comparator (09-600). Depending on how much time I have I may also take a Wilson Neck die, Sinclair Arbor Press base, some steel wool (791-970) to clean the cases, neck brush, primer pocket uniformer (UN-8001), priming tool (PT-2000), and primers just in case I need to prepare more cases.

To use the Wilson Neck die, make sure you have the correct bushing in the die, and set the arbor press and its base on the bench. Make sure you have cleaned your cases with some 0000 steel wool (791-970) or equivalent prior to sizing. Position the die on the APB arbor press base with the opening oriented up. Then lightly lube the outside neck of the case (some reloaders choose not to lube at all) and drop the case into the die with the case mouth down. Then use the arbor press to push the case the rest of the way into the die until the case head is flush with the surface of the die.

Turn the die over, set it back on the APB base and push the case downward and out of the die with the press. This step pushes the case from the die and simultaneously de-primes the case as it hits the bottom of the die base.

Now you have a neck-sized and de-primed case. Using a paper towel moistened with solvent, some 0000 steel wool or a Krazy Kloth (KK), clean off the lube or die wax (IMP) and then clean the primer pocket using a Sinclair Primer Pocket Uniformer. I like the Power Uniformer setup (UN-8KP) that’s used in a rechargeable power screwdriver.

Now you’re ready to start the actual reloading of the case. A hand priming tool such as the Sinclair PT-2000 works great for priming in the field. After the cases are primed, you’re ready to charge the cases with powder and then seat bullets. Before charging your cases, determine the starting seating depth for your load testing. Other articles we have written help you understand those procedures, so I won’t cover that here.  The Sinclair Seating Depth Tool or the Hornady Lock-N-Load tool are excellent choices for performing this task. When used with a Sinclair Bullet Comparator, these tools will allow you to easily establish seating depths in the field for a variety of bullets that you may choose to experiment with during load testing.

Be sure to check your powder settings with your scale, but make sure the scale is out of the wind – a seemingly calm day will have enough air movement to disturb a scale, especially the electronic units. After you establish your measure setting and throw your charges, you’re ready for bullet seating.

The steps for using the Wilson Bullet Seater are easy:

1) Place a bullet on the case mouth and set the two components on the bare Sinclair Arbor Press base plate (you don’t use the APB base in this step).

2) Hold the two components together at the case mouth and begin to set the Wilson die over the top of them. Release your hold on the components as the die begins to capture the bullet and case.

3) With the Wilson Die now sitting on the base plate, the Seater Head (cap and stem) should be raised above the main body of the die.

4) Slide the die and cartridge under the arbor press head and use it to push the die head (cap and stem) down until it is fully seated against the main die body.

After completing this step on the first round, it is a good idea to recheck the seating depth with your comparator and calipers. I usually begin my load testing with the bullet just touching the lands and work back about .005” at a time. If I am loading for magazine-length rounds or can’t reach the lands, I start at the reloading manual’s recommended length for the cartridge.

In summary, you can easily put together a field kit with Wilson Dies and a Sinclair Arbor Press so you can spend an enjoyable and productive afternoon load testing at the range. If you need help putting a kit together, just give us a call!

Ron Dague
Reloading Technician
NRA Certified Reloading Instructor
rond@sinclairintl.com

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 4:44 pm and is filed under From the Sinclair Staff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.