RCBS CaseMaster

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I just acquired a very nice used CaseMaster, and if anyone has any tips, thoughts on using this tool please share. I am basically a self taught reloader, wannabe handloader that wants to break out of the 1-2 MOA rut that I seem to be in. I don't shoot any benchrest matches, basically shoot here at home and hunt. Strictly cast bullets any more. I just feel that my loads could be a bit more accurate.

What sort of runout should I shoot for? All I have done so far is to set the tool up and check a handfull of cases, I did watch a youtube video the other day that a guy did a pretty good job of explaining the tool, mine has no instructions, but I think I figured out how to assemble the tool.

Steve Mc.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
Well, if anyone is interested I did play with this some this week, an interesting note was my neck sizing die would produce .005 runout on the neck, if I use my full length die it is .001-.002. My loaded rounds vary from .002- .008. I sorted into 2 lots for range testing. .002- .003 for one lot and everything else in the other.
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Interesting, what brand neck die are you using?

Let us know how the testing goes.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Interested here, I just have no experience with that tool.

Lots of people have made fun of me for choosing to spend an hour or two enlarging the neck of an FL die for each rifle I own rather than buy a neck die with selectable bushings, but the proof is in the runout. You'll only know how much if you have a way to check it! RCBS Gold Medal Match FL body dies with neck bushing inserts that are allowed to float are the only bushing dies that gie me consistent below .002" neck concentricity. Another tool that just flat works is the Forster Benchrest seating die, though the sliding sleeve may require slight modification to accommodate our slightly oversized cast bullets.
 

williamwaco

Active Member
I just acquired a very nice used CaseMaster, and if anyone has any tips, thoughts on using this tool please share. I am basically a self taught reloader, wannabe handloader that wants to break out of the 1-2 MOA rut that I seem to be in. I don't shoot any benchrest matches, basically shoot here at home and hunt. Strictly cast bullets any more. I just feel that my loads could be a bit more accurate.

What sort of runout should I shoot for? All I have done so far is to set the tool up and check a handfull of cases, I did watch a youtube video the other day that a guy did a pretty good job of explaining the tool, mine has no instructions, but I think I figured out how to assemble the tool.

Steve Mc.


I no longer worry about runout unless I am loading for a match type event. My tests show there is no difference in accuracy at 100 yards with runout of .001, .002, or .003. I have never been able to find enough .000 or .004 to test. I have found only one .005 and never anything larger.

Note that I am talking normal hunting style rifles. I don't know what would happen with a $5,000 bench rest rifle.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Problem is it's really easy to get .008-10" using conventional tooling. For example, take a .30-'06 case, don't turn the necks, FL size them in a regular die, bellmouth with a Lee universal cast bullet "expander", and seat a .311" gas checked bullet with either RCBS or Lee seating die. Check runout at the base of the neck while rotating the cartridge between the ogive and case rim. While you're at it, check the difference between the head about 1/4" forward of the extractor groove and the rim or the extractor groove itself. Get those numbers down close to nothing and your accuracy will improve a noticeable amount in just about any rifle.
 

Tony

Active Member
I no longer use conventional neck size dies. Using good brass that has been fire formed in my rifle I size with a full length size die that has been backed out enough that I do not bump the shoulder when sizing. The Redding Competition Shell Holders accomplish the same thing with the size die screwed all the way in. They are available in sets and include +.002", +.004", +.006", +.008" and +.010" shell holders in a given case head size.

Redding Type S bushing dies work very well in both neck and full length styles.

Forster will open the necks of some of their full length size dies to your custom requirements. They used to charge $10 per die for this service. I have known several competitive bench rest shooters that used them.

If I were loading for best accuracy I would look for no more than .001" run out in my loaded ammo. I'm speaking of bench rest rifles here and not a bone stock Remingchester with a 3x9 Bushnell. Tony
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
My neck sizer is RCBS, I have been emailing RCBS without much enlightenment. At present I'm working with 308 Win, a stock savage bolt action. These are LC cases, they have been outside neck turned. My Hornady FL die puts them to .002 or less, I have been turning the case 180 and running the thru a second time.

This may be a waste of time for what I'm doing but it is an eye opener. I sort of enjoy the brass prep aspect of loading, and maybe my targets will improve.
 

Tony

Active Member
Personally, I neck turn brass only when loading for a rifle with a tight chamber in the neck area. If you have a large chamber neck you are not likely to gain any improvement by neck turning and creating excessive slop in the neck area. If your brass varies in neck thickness the excess thickness will extend the length of the case. Correcting the neck only will not fix problems in the body of the case. I have seen cases that were banana shaped.

IIRC, the 26th edition of the Hodgdon Load Manual has an article by Gary Sitton about case prep for accuracy in a factory rifle. It is an excellent read in that he only recommends procedures that are likely to show an improvement.

Some factory rifles are capable of fine accuracy. Savage has a very good reputation in this regard. Try working with good brass that is uniform out of the box and perform minimum case prep procedures. I have measured some lots of Lapua brass that had uniforn neck thickness to within .0002". Some Norma brass is excellent as well. About 15 years ago I bought 300 pieces of Federal Gold Medal Match brass in .308 Winchester that was very good in that it required no prep other than chamfering case mouths.

Good luck with your shooting! Tony
 

Rick

Moderator
Staff member
Personally, I neck turn brass only when loading for a rifle with a tight chamber in the neck area. If you have a large chamber neck you are not likely to gain any improvement by neck turning and creating excessive slop in the neck area. If your brass varies in neck thickness the excess thickness will extend the length of the case. Correcting the neck only will not fix problems in the body of the case. I have seen cases that were banana shaped.

IIRC, the 26th edition of the Hodgdon Load Manual has an article by Gary Sitton about case prep for accuracy in a factory rifle. It is an excellent read in that he only recommends procedures that are likely to show an improvement.

Some factory rifles are capable of fine accuracy. Savage has a very good reputation in this regard. Try working with good brass that is uniform out of the box and perform minimum case prep procedures. I have measured some lots of Lapua brass that had uniforn neck thickness to within .0002". Some Norma brass is excellent as well. About 15 years ago I bought 300 pieces of Federal Gold Medal Match brass in .308 Winchester that was very good in that it required no prep other than chamfering case mouths.

Good luck with your shooting! Tony

This ^^^^^^
 

Brad

Benevolent Overlord and site owner
Staff member
I have a Sinclair tool that is similar. I mostly use it to look for potential problem spots in the reloading process. I learned that a straight neck can be bent by a size die. That straight neck can also get bent by a bullet seating die.

Redding bushing dies and Forster seating dies seem to make the most of a case.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Tony mentioned partial sizing. That's a big deal, one of the most accuracy-improving things I ever did for "factory" rifles at the loading bench. 45 2.1 turned me on to doing that, and how to know when to bump the neck and how much in a bolt gun. The back end of the case controls where the nose of the bullet "points" when chambered, and extractor/ejector pressure tends to force the case head to one side of the chamber wall. If there is room to move, the case will be forced off-center. Making sure that the case body and rim are concentric and that the case head is snug in the chamber makes more difference than just about anything when it comes to shooting cast bullets with accuracy...particularly at elevated velocity.

I like Savage bolt rifles. They're crude and ugly but they work. Even the factory barrels can be quite good sometimes if they don't have a hook in them.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
As an update, I shot the 2 batches I had loaded, the batch with the least runout first. The second batch was a smaller group. Of course the first group was starting with a cold barrel. And being full length sized seemed to open the groups over my normal neck sized loads. So I am back to square 1. I did check some different cases that I have, LC Match that haven't been neck turned but have been fireformed, .001-.002 so that is what I'll use next.

Thanks for the input guys.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
Another update, after some back and forth with RCBS via email, suggestions and so forth they sent me another decap rod assy, it did improve runout to around .001 necksizing. Kudos to their warranty policy.
 

Ian

Notorious member
RCBS does still take good care of their customers, I too have found them very friendly, helpful, and in the few instances I needed replacement parts they never would let me buy them but sent them for free. Glad you got it sorted.