Belted Magnum Collet Resizing Die

[Andrzej]

Anybody using those?
WWW.LARRYWILLIS.COM

Any opinions...

Andrew

[Solothurn]

Have never used 1 of those, and frankly can not see what he is on about.
I use Redding typeS match neck dies and neck size my brass only,with their TIN bushings.
This keeps the brass the same dimension as the chamber so growth is nominal. I also use the Redding bump die to set the shoulder back .001 so my bolt will close easily.
I typically get 12 to 15 reloadings from my belted mag brass.
Unless you have a real loose chamber and full length resize every time, which is crazy, there is no reason to only get the 2 or 3 loadings he is claiming.

[Andrzej]

I am shooting 7 MM STW CUSTOM and Sako 75 SS in the same caliber... new brass fired from Sako will not chamber in Custom gun after neck sizing...and will be very hard to chamber in it after full length resizing.

Alberta Tac

What he is all about is that regular dies are unable to return resized brass to original dimensions just above the belt so expanded brass will not fit the chamber at this point even if you set shoulder back...from your observation that's not the case.
When I loaded only for one gun (custom) I did not have any problems but with those two guns I have..after one fiering. I tought it would help...

[Solothurn]

Most customs have tighter tolerance chambers, so what you are experiencing with your 2 rifles is common.
My rule of thumb is never use the brass from 1 rifle in any other.
I tend to forget than most hunters/shooters only purchase the basic $50.00 dies and yes that can cause the results Mr Willis is trying to solve.
Redding makes a body die for most calibers that costs about $50.00 that does the same thing as the Willis dies will do. They are caliber specific though.

[randyman]

i am using the larry willis reloading technology reloading die, after firing my .338 win mag 3 or 4 times, the cases were no longer fitting into the bore of the rifle without jamming, it is because right above the belt on the belted cartridges the brass case expands to a point that is does not fit into the bore properly, there is a slight bulge in the case right there. therefore the brass case is only good to reload 2 or 3 times. a standard resizing die such as the redding competition die, the lee die, or the rcbs dies do not size this portion of the case, they size the neck ok and the shoulder of the brass ok but not the area right in front of the belt. so i got tired of buying new brass every third year after hunting season in alaska.
Larry willis die fits over the brass case and slides up against the belt on the bottom of the belted cartridge brass, then you insert the case with the collet around it into the sizing die and it resizes that bulge in the brass right above the belt, it makes the brass usable up to 20 times. this die has saved me hundreds of dollars in brass over the last 10 years.

[randyman]

i thought i would add this, i posted earlier, that i am a total believer in the larry willis reloading die. i use the competition redding neck sizing die, for my personal rifle, for the family reloading i use the rcbs reloading and sizing die, as well as the lee reloading die on my entire families rifles, i do all of the reloading for the family, each member has there own die they bought for me, the dies are all set for there particular rifle and marked for each family member, i love to reload for the family, i use the redding reloading turret press to do the reloading, i change the turret as there is a total of 4 .338 win mag rifles, which i reload for. each turret has 7 holes in it and i have two die sets in each turret, each rifles bore is totally different when measured, therefore we only use the brass that has been fired from the individual rifle in that particular gun again.they bring me there brass when it is time to re load again. i first ran into the belt expansion problem in the 70's hunting with my father. nobler brass runs around 60 dollars a box for .338 win mag. and i like nobler brass. however the cost was getting out of hand for a hunting family of 5.
every single one of the rifles exhibit the expanding belt syndrome, so does my Remington 7mm mag rifle, and my savage .308, they all have the same problem with the case expanding beyond safe usage after the 3rd or 4th firing, and not one of the dies i use has solved the problem, the only solution to the expanding belt issue is the larry smith collet die, it works on all our rifles, it does not matter what cartridge i am reloading, the die is set and works for all our brass. it is in a single stage rcbs style press. the thing is amazing. my redding die uses independent neck sizers it is for competition shooting and even it will not resize the brass at the belt area. i highly recommend getting ahold of larry, the guy is very knowledgeable and very willing to share good reloading information with his customers, good luck to you in the future. i sincerely hope this helps you decide what to do.

[catnthehat]

The only time I haveseen brass expand at the base to an extent that it is ruined is when the loads ere too high.
I have never had an issue personally. Especially with cartridges like the 7 mag , 308, 6mmBR or .223.
I use several brands of dies , as well. Redding, Lee, Hornady and RCBS as well as Widden.
Cat

[Artist]

I have one - I use it - it's awesome.
.257WBY.

What I found was that the typical resizing die doesn't [didn't] resize all the way down tight up to the belt resulting in tight chamberings on 3rd time reloads. This solved that problem.

Mind you - this is in a custom-cut chamber, so, the tolerances may be a bit tighter than would be in a factory chamber.

[elkhunter11]

I typically retire my belted cases after 6-8 firings, and never have any issues using Redding dies, so I haven't bothered with a collet die.

[Rusty50]

Originally Posted by randyman

i thought i would add this, i posted earlier, that i am a total believer in the larry willis reloading die. i use the competition redding neck sizing die, for my personal rifle, for the family reloading i use the rcbs reloading and sizing die, as well as the lee reloading die on my entire families rifles, i do all of the reloading for the family, each member has there own die they bought for me, the dies are all set for there particular rifle and marked for each family member, i love to reload for the family, i use the redding reloading turret press to do the reloading, i change the turret as there is a total of 4 .338 win mag rifles, which i reload for. each turret has 7 holes in it and i have two die sets in each turret, each rifles bore is totally different when measured, therefore we only use the brass that has been fired from the individual rifle in that particular gun again.they bring me there brass when it is time to re load again. i first ran into the belt expansion problem in the 70's hunting with my father. nobler brass runs around 60 dollars a box for .338 win mag. and i like nobler brass. however the cost was getting out of hand for a hunting family of 5.
every single one of the rifles exhibit the expanding belt syndrome, so does my Remington 7mm mag rifle, and my savage .308, they all have the same problem with the case expanding beyond safe usage after the 3rd or 4th firing, and not one of the dies i use has solved the problem, the only solution to the expanding belt issue is the larry smith collet die, it works on all our rifles, it does not matter what cartridge i am reloading, the die is set and works for all our brass. it is in a single stage rcbs style press. the thing is amazing. my redding die uses independent neck sizers it is for competition shooting and even it will not resize the brass at the belt area. i highly recommend getting ahold of larry, the guy is very knowledgeable and very willing to share good reloading information with his customers, good luck to you in the future. i sincerely hope this helps you decide what to do.

I also found this on all my belted magnums and use this die religiously!! Am working on my 15th reload on some brass..Im sold on it

[Battle Rat]

Originally Posted by Artist

I have one - I use it - it's awesome.
.257WBY.

What I found was that the typical resizing die doesn't [didn't] resize all the way down tight up to the belt resulting in tight chamberings on 3rd time reloads. This solved that problem.

Mind you - this is in a custom-cut chamber, so, the tolerances may be a bit tighter than would be in a factory chamber.

This also.
It works as designed.
With the price and scarcity of brass it is worth the cost.

[Battle Rat]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

The only time I haveseen brass expand at the base to an extent that it is ruined is when the loads ere too high.
I have never had an issue personally. Especially with cartridges like the 7 mag , 308, 6mmBR or .223.
I use several brands of dies , as well. Redding, Lee, Hornady and RCBS as well as Widden.
Cat

The Larry Willis die is only for belted magnums and that is where you will see the expansion problem.

Unless the die matchs the chamber perfectly there will be expansion in front of the belt regardless of pressure.
Most dies will not match the chamber unless you send a chamber cast to the die maker.
The Larry Willis die is cost effective and even more so in the last few years.

[fps plus]

Yes the issue is a real . One would need to decide if the die is worth it or buy new brass. I have a 300 Wby mag that will show up eventually after several reloads

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Battle Rat

This also.
It works as designed.
With the price and scarcity of brass it is worth the cost.

I just looked at the cost on the website.
Considering the cost of a quality set of match dies these days, the cost of one of these is not really out of line.
Cat

[Battle Rat]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

I just looked at the cost on the website.
Considering the cost of a quality set of match dies these days, the cost of one of these is not really out of line.
Cat

Ya, I think with shipping they were around $200.
Cost effective if you have a few different magnum calibers too.

[prarie_boy1]

I have one of these and use it for my .300wby brass it works excellent. I purchased a bunch of 1F factory .300 WBY brass from a retired fellow in original boxes and almost none of it chambered in my custom rifle this die remedied the issue in short order I’m on the 5th load with some of that brass now.

[Thunder/FX]

Originally Posted by prarie_boy1

I have one of these and use it for my .300wby brass it works excellent. I purchased a bunch of 1F factory .300 WBY brass from a retired fellow in original boxes and almost none of it chambered in my custom rifle this die remedied the issue in short order I’m on the 5th load with some of that brass now.

I use this for the exact same reason.
Amazing results.

[Geo1]

Has any one ordered from Larry Willis recently?

He passed away in 2022. I have been trying to get a hold of them but they do not seem to answer so not sure if they are still operating.

One of his friends was supposed to take over but I am not sure if they are still operating.

[GrandSlam]

Been loading belted magnums for many years and have never needed this die.