Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,534
- 4,840
For those who have never seen them - here's a few photos to illustrate how one loads with an arbor press and Wilson in-line dies. It's considerably different than with a standard press and screw-in dies:
RW Hart arbor press, Wilson dies and components.
A tiny dab of sizing die wax on the case neck is all that's needed.
The neck-sizing die with bushing and decapper exposed.
Bushing removed. They're avail in different sizes so optimal neck tension can be set.
Press the lightly lubed case into the sizing die with the arbor press.
When it's flush - you're good.
Flip the die over, and de-cap. This also shoves the sized case out.
The neck sized case. Ready for priming, charging w/powder and any other case-prep work deemed necessary.
Place the sized, charged case on the base, set the bullet atop, and set the seater die over it.
Gently press the bullet into the case mouth. Arbor presses are all about smooth, easy loading. It's not about a lot of force, it's about a lot of precision.
Presto! A loaded cartridge! This one is a .204 Ruger, let's go find a varmint!
I was introduced to this method of loading some years ago by a fellow who won the Hunter Benchrest Nationals last summer. He's been loading this way for decades and taught me the basics. It works well. Production rate is about the same for me as if I was using a conventional press. I believe the biggest accuracy gains come from the in-line seater die. Time to time I'll still do all my sizing on the RCBS Rockchucker, then seat the bullets with the Wilson dies. It works out well. Cases tend to last a long time because only the neck is being worked, and not much. I use this setup to load for two .308's as well as a .204 and my .25-06 deer rifle. There's very little case-neck stretching, because there is no expander ball being hauled back through the neck. My apologies to Nosler because I wasn't loading w/Nosler bullets when the whim struck to photograph the process...
Mostly I use this process with .30 cal Nosler competition bullets and my .308 Win match rifle.
Regards, Guy
RW Hart arbor press, Wilson dies and components.
A tiny dab of sizing die wax on the case neck is all that's needed.
The neck-sizing die with bushing and decapper exposed.
Bushing removed. They're avail in different sizes so optimal neck tension can be set.
Press the lightly lubed case into the sizing die with the arbor press.
When it's flush - you're good.
Flip the die over, and de-cap. This also shoves the sized case out.
The neck sized case. Ready for priming, charging w/powder and any other case-prep work deemed necessary.
Place the sized, charged case on the base, set the bullet atop, and set the seater die over it.
Gently press the bullet into the case mouth. Arbor presses are all about smooth, easy loading. It's not about a lot of force, it's about a lot of precision.
Presto! A loaded cartridge! This one is a .204 Ruger, let's go find a varmint!
I was introduced to this method of loading some years ago by a fellow who won the Hunter Benchrest Nationals last summer. He's been loading this way for decades and taught me the basics. It works well. Production rate is about the same for me as if I was using a conventional press. I believe the biggest accuracy gains come from the in-line seater die. Time to time I'll still do all my sizing on the RCBS Rockchucker, then seat the bullets with the Wilson dies. It works out well. Cases tend to last a long time because only the neck is being worked, and not much. I use this setup to load for two .308's as well as a .204 and my .25-06 deer rifle. There's very little case-neck stretching, because there is no expander ball being hauled back through the neck. My apologies to Nosler because I wasn't loading w/Nosler bullets when the whim struck to photograph the process...
Mostly I use this process with .30 cal Nosler competition bullets and my .308 Win match rifle. Regards, Guy
