Does anyone here ever resize without an expanderball?

[milanuk]

At least on Redding Type 'S' dies, you can remove the OEM expander and they provide a little cap that screws on and tightens down the collet fingers on the stem to retain the decapping pin. It is fairly small in size (sub .22 caliber) and lets you decap and F/L size in one whack, just no expander ball. There is a small gap between that cap/nut and the main diameter of the stem... thats where the carbide expander ball 'floats' if you get one of those.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I have avoided the many evils of an expander ball for the last 20yrs or so and produce much better ammo without them.

I clean necks thoroughly with a bronze brush and a little 0000 steel wool. Then use either Reddings Comp Neck bushing dies or the "S" type FL bushing dies. Bushing dies are one of the best reloading ideas to ever become available to the reloader. When you are always tinkering with different types of brass and/or turning neck to achieve the best concentricity you will find the ability to change the amount of neck sizing to be invaluable. Often I have found a need to increase or decrease the amount of neck tension depending on several variables.

Like most posters above - I never use an expander ball. With the advent of quality bushing dies, you just don't need them.

 

[4xforfun]

Redding type "s" bushing die......no expander ball. EVER!!

 

[woods]

Bushing dies work best when combined with neck turning. The bushing will size the outside of the neck to the specifed diameter and if you have varying neck thickness, the variations will be pushed to the inside to bear against the bullet. That is, of course, if you have removed the expander and stem from the bushing die. If you don't remove the expander you might as well be sizing with a FL die, it would be a lot cheaper.

If you neck turn to a consistant neck thickness and then size with the bushing only, then you can pre-determine your neck clearance in a custom chamber and the bullet grip. You can buy the appropriate bushing depending upon the neck thickness you outside nect turn to. With the Lee Collet you have to determine the thickness of the neck brass you need to give the bullet grip and clearance you want and then turn to that specific thickness.

In a factory chamber without a tight neck and with no neck turning then the Lee Collet will do just as good a job as the bushing dies with less hassle at 1/4th the cost.