6XC Tubb Sizing Die
Flexibility
The 6XC Sizing Die from David Tubb or
Superior Shooting Systems inc. is an interesting and very flexible
sizing die. You can configure the die for use as a full sizing
die, configure it for use as a body only die, or configure it for use
as a full neck or partial neck-sizing die. I have found my 6XC
die set easy and fun to use so far. However, I might be using the
6XC die set a little different then most others. The following
article explains how I body size and partial neck my brass for the
ammunition that I use for shooting at 600 yards only.
Step 1 - Body Size:
I use the gage bushing for this
operation. It will bump about 90% of the shoulder top area
back. This is actually much more than most other body dies.
I also use the Redding Competition Shell Holders. I have found
that the plus four-thousandths shell holder will back the shoulder back
one or two thousandths on a fired case for easy bolt closing. I
run die down until it contacts the shell holder with the ram in the
full upright position, I then lower the ram, screw the die down a
little more, and raise the ram again. I then play around doing
this until I get the feel or tightness I want. I like the having
the die very tight in the press to eliminate any of the spring action
in the press while resizing. I tighten the die locking ring or
nut while the ram in the full up stroke, hard against the die, and
square to the ram.
Step 2 - Partial Neck Size
To partial neck size, I simply remove
the gage bushing and replace it with the neck bushing. I do not
change the die body and shell holder settings. To set the spacing
for bottom portion of the neck not sized, I use a small spacer ring
instead of backing off the stem on the top of the die. I do it
this way so I may easier repeat the same settings. I am currently
using a one ring or half of a half inch split ring used on key chains.
The single ring is about 43 thousandths thick and yields me a nice
little step on the bottom of the neck. I have been partial neck
sizing on my 600 yard 223 loads and they have been shooting great a 600
yards.
My 6XC Tubb Die Set came with a .268
and .266 neck bushing. They are exactly that size. My .268
minus gage pin will just slip into my .268 bushing and like wise for
the .266. That is two for two from SSS, I am zero for six from
Redding and I am one for three from Wilson, i.e. the same size minus
gage pin will fit into the same size bushing. All my Redding neck
bushings check out one thousandth smaller when using minus gage
pins. One of three of my Wilson bushing has a matching gage pin
fit. I also order a .265 neck bushing from SSS, I wanted to order
a .264 but they only had .265 neck bushings. As it turned out, I
can only get a .264 minus pin gage half way through the .265 bushing,
so I did get the size I wanted, only missed labeled.
I am trying to show the little step
in the bottom of the partial neck sized 6XC case in the pictures
below. I have placed the gage bushing upside down on one of the
cases. I then placed my .268 bushing upside down on the other
case. That case was neck sized using my .266 neck bushing and the
partial neck sized area will fit into the .268 bushing. The
difference in bushing heights approximates the little portion at the
neck base not sized and still at full chamber diameter. I placed
the spacer ring on top in one picture and have a picture of the spacer
ring by itself. Things did not look dusty taking the pictures.
Larry Medler
anyrange@comcast.net
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Released -
September 15, 2006
Revised - September 15, 2006
