After much research into what a small base die is used for, I am still left wondering what the point of them is.
Some chambers are tighter than others. Small base dies resize to a slightly smaller dimension and do size further down the case ensuring it will fit in smaller chambers. Even dirty chambers will make some ammo not fit. Its all about tolerances. Most guns will be just fine with a SAAMI spec full length resizing die.
I use one on all my .223/5/56 brass, just make sure to use “Imperial sizing die wax” the one made in cortland ny. or else you will end up with a drawer full of sizing dies with stuck chopped up cases. this is a must
I use it for all my .223, .308 & 30/06 brass. For me it’s a must when using an auto loading rifle.
Well, I read the same thing in several articles, but here’s the thing. When I buy factory ammo made to SAAMI spec, I never have a problem with chambering. So why do I need to undersize once fired brass to smaller than SAAMI spec.
I get that some bolt action rifles have custom chambers and may even require only hand loaded ammo made using small base dies. But that is a unique circumstance.
OKay, I buy ammo off the shelf, it is made to SAAMI spec, it chambers and fires just fine like it is supposed to. Now, all of the sudden I need to get a small base die because the standard die that resizes to the SAAMI spec I never had trouble with before is now some kind of problem.
It don’t add up
I’ve been using Royal sizing wax forever. It works great.