Competition Shellholder Sets
You control the headspace. The easy to use Redding Competition Shellholders enable you to perfectly match the headspace of your reloaded ammo to any firearm. Once the proper shellholder is determined your results are repeatable and no die adjustment is necessary. Each shellholder has a distinct black oxide finish and is clearly marked to indicate the amount it will change case-to-chamber headspace – no special tools or gages are needed.
Packaged in five piece sets in .002” increments.
Create The Perfect Shoulder Bump With A Simple Shellholder Change!
To maximize case life and the accuracy potential of your reloads, it is desirable to size fired cases the minimum amount that allows loaded cartridges to chamber freely.
Most hunters and many other shooters seeking smooth chambering reloads, full length size their cases each time. Since the interior dimensions of sizing dies are determined by the manufacturer, adjusting the shoulder setback is the only control a reloader has over how much a fired case is sized.
In the past, sizing die adjustment was made through the trial and error method of adjusting the die body in the reloading press. While acceptable results can be obtained using this method, precise adjustments were difficult at best. Using this method, firm contact with the shellholder (squaring the die) was not always possible. As a result, irregularities in brass hardness and thickness, as well as the uniformity of case lube affected shoulder setback. The resulting headspace variations created can adversely affect accuracy.
To provide desirable shellholder-to-die contact during sizing, without excessively setting the case shoulder back, Redding now produces shellholders that are made in increments of .002” deeper than the industry standard. The nominal industry standard depth (dimension X) for shellholders is .125”. The new Competition Shellholder Set includes five shellholders that are deeper than this in increments of .002”. Therefore, the set includes shellholders that are marked +.002, +.004, +.006, +.008 and +.010, which is the amount the shellholder will increase base to shoulder case length and thus decrease shoulder set back and case to chamber headspace.
To select the proper shellholder for your particular firearm’s chamber, simply start with the shellholder marked +.010. The shellholder should be adjusted to make firm contact with the bottom of the sizing die during the case sizing operation. Resize a case and try it (unprimed and empty) in the chamber of your firearm. If the empty case does not chamber or chambers with difficulty, switch to the shellholder marked +.008 and repeat the process. Stop at the shellholder that allows the firearm’s action to close freely. Your cases are now being sized properly to fit your chamber with a minimum amount of headspace.