Derraco 6-piece Match Grade Shellholder Kit .223
The Derraco Engineering 6-piece Match Grade Shellholder Kit for .223 Remington and related calibers is a premium set of shellholders designed for competitive shooters who demand absolute control over their headspace. These stainless steel shellholders offer incremental adjustments of 0.002 inch per step and surpass conventional carbon steel alternatives in durability and precision.
Stainless steel construction
Unlike most competing shellholders made from carbon steel with black oxide coating, Derraco shellholders are fully manufactured from 420 stainless steel. This material is inherently corrosion-resistant and maintains its precision even after years of use, even in humid conditions. You don't have to worry about rust formation when your shellholders come into contact with sizing lube or moisture.
The 420 stainless steel is vacuum oven heated and air quenched, followed by double tempering at 300 degrees. This heat treatment process ensures the ideal combination of hardness and toughness, with a final hardness of 48-53 HRC. The shellholders are hard enough to resist wear but tough enough not to crack under the forces occurring during reloading.
CNC precision and tolerances
Every component of the Derraco shellholders is CNC milled with extreme accuracy. The top surface and base surface are both machined with the same milling cutter in one continuous operation. This method minimizes errors that would arise from tool changes, resulting in better parallelism between surfaces.
After milling, each shellholder is individually inspected with high-quality measuring instruments. The height tolerance is plus or minus half a thousandth inch (0.0005 inch), meaning the incremental steps are extremely accurate. This precision is essential for achieving consistent shoulder bump when sizing your cases.
Six incremental steps
Where most competing sets contain five shellholders, Derraco supplies six pieces. The set includes a zero-datum shellholder with the industry standard height gap of 0.125 inch, plus five incremental shellholders of +0.002, +0.004, +0.006, +0.008, and +0.010 inch.
This extra zero-datum shellholder is valuable as a reference point. You can start with this to determine how much shoulder bump your rifle needs, then work stepwise to the correct incremental shellholder. Having six options instead of five gives you more flexibility in finding the optimal headspace for your specific rifle.
SAAMI compliance
All Derraco shellholders are designed according to SAAMI specifications for maximum allowed case base and rim dimensions. This guarantees that your cases are correctly supported during sizing and that no problems arise with too tight or too loose fit. The shellholders are compatible with standard .223 Remington cases and all related calibers sharing the same rim and base dimensions.
This means the set works not only for .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO but also for wildcat calibers like 6mm TCU, 25 TCU, 7mm TCU, and 300-221 Remington (300 Blackout). A single set of shellholders thus serves an entire family of calibers.
Headspace control for precision
The fundamental purpose of incremental shellholders is to perfectly match your reloaded ammunition to your specific rifle. Each rifle has slightly different chamber dimensions, and by choosing the correct shellholder you can set the shoulder bump precisely without having to adjust your sizing die.
Too much shoulder bump causes unnecessary case fatigue and shortens the life of your brass. Too little bump can result in difficult bolt closure or even dangerous pressure buildup. With the Derraco set, you can optimize shoulder bump in 0.002 inch increments until you find the perfect balance.
Once you've determined the correct shellholder, your results are completely repeatable. You never have to adjust your sizing die again. Simply switch to the correctly numbered shellholder and you know that every case is sized identically.
Practical advantages at the range
For long-range shooters striving for extreme precision, consistent headspace is crucial. Variations in shoulder bump lead to inconsistencies in how the bullet is aligned with the bore, directly affecting your vertical spread on target. By optimizing your headspace with Derraco shellholders, you minimize this variable.
The stainless steel material also means you can take the shellholders to the range without worrying about corrosion from sweat or weather conditions. The laser-engraved markings remain perfectly legible even after years of intensive use.
Press compatibility
Derraco shellholders fit most reloading presses with standard shellholder mounting, including Lee, RCBS, and Hornady presses. Note that they may not fit some Lyman and Redding presses due to slight dimensional differences in the shellholder slot. Check compatibility with your specific press before ordering, or contact for advice.
The universal design also makes them suitable for use in many hand priming tools and other reloading accessories that accept standard shellholders.
Professional quality for serious reloaders
Derraco Engineering developed these shellholders with input from competitive shooters and benchrest specialists. The result is a product that makes no compromises in precision and durability. The set comes in a practical storage box that keeps all six shellholders neatly organized.
For shooters involved in F-Class, Benchrest, Palma, or other disciplines where extreme accuracy is required, these shellholders represent a valuable investment. They help you get the maximum from your components by providing perfect dimensional control.
Long lifespan and investment
Due to the stainless steel construction and professional heat treatment, these shellholders literally last a lifetime. Where carbon steel shellholders may show signs of wear after years of use, Derraco shellholders maintain their precision for decades. The investment pays for itself through improved consistency of your ammunition and elimination of variables in your reloading process.
