Novice question about bushing dies

[Lahunter76]

When I have reloaded with FL dies that are not bushing dies and using virgin brass I just use the seater die to seat my bullet, my question is with a bushing die set do I have to use the neck sizer die or the FL die before I seat my bullets, the bushing only goes in the FL and Neck sizer die I believe.
All my dies are just a normal FL sizer and seater set....but for my rifle I am having built I opted for the Redding type s bushing die with the FL, Neck sizing, and seater die....

I may be too ignorant to even know what to really ask, so as always I take any info I can get.

 

[066wally]

Well, you can go about just loading virgin bass as you are, not sizing beforehand. Some like to run new brass through a sizer to make the case mouths more uniform for seating bullets. After shooting the new brass, run the brass through either the neck or full length sizing die as normal, the choice is yours. Popular choice is to FL size, bumping shoulder of case only a few thousandths.

 

[CBH Australia]

With a bushing die you can resize a fired case 1 or a few times before the brass needs a full length resize to save working the whole of the brass case and just work the neck the bare minimum for reloads as opposed to a neck size or fls.
It's maybe precision shooters that do this .
I don't have a bushing die but opinions vary on the best method. I'm only aug myself but I have read heaps.

 

[Mikecr]

I can't make heads or tails of redding products anymore.
It often seems like they're competing with themselves, and losing to the competition!

What is the part/product number for the set you have?

 

[lancetkenyon]

I have never had virgin brass come with necks that are too loose and need sized. Ever.
But, every single virgin brass I have gotten have had way too much neck tension or out of round necks and needed expanded.
Did you get a FL bushing die with an expander ball? Or just a decapping pin?
If it has an expander ball, run it through the FL die to round out the necks and expand them some. If it just has a decapping pin, I would suggest getting an expanding mandrel set and go with an expander .002" under bullet size. Like .262 for a 6.5mm, .282 for 7mm, .306 for .308, etc. Then get the bushing size after you load a round. Measure the case neck after you seated a bullet, then subtract .002"-.003" depending on how much neck tension you want, and allow for spring back.

 

[Lahunter76]

This is my die set, I do not think there is a mandrel ball in it.....I don't think....my bushings I have picked up are .338 and .337

and yes I will FL size my brass, I just didn't know if I needed to run it threw one of the sizer dies with the bushing in it...I will probably just run virgin brass threw the seater die and wait until I shoot the rounds before I use the sizer dies with the bushing.

thank y'all so much for the info, and always open to suggestions

 

[Troutslayer2]

I find that the necks are usually too small on new brass, and not necessarily all the same. I run them all through a mandrel and when I do it I can definitely tell that some take different levels of force to expand than others.

 

[CBH Australia]

I find that the necks are usually too small on new brass, and not necessarily all the same. I run them all through a mandrel and when I do it I can definitely tell that some take different levels of force to expand than others.

I'm sure it happens but does @Lahunter76 need to go to that trouble just to get up and running?
I've always thought virgin brass is usually good enough for hunting loads. Better brass should be ok for most.

 

[nksmfamjp]

This is my die set, I do not think there is a mandrel ball in it.....I don't think....my bushings I have picked up are .338 and .337

and yes I will FL size my brass, I just didn't know if I needed to run it threw one of the sizer dies with the bushing in it...I will probably just run virgin brass threw the seater die and wait until I shoot the rounds before I use the sizer dies with the bushing.

thank y'all so much for the info, and always open to suggestions

This die set does not contain a FL Sizing Die. It contains Bushing Neck Sizer, Body, Seater dies.

I believe running your brass through the body die, then the neck sizing die will accomplish the same thing as FL Sizing, but I don't have experience with that.

IMO, your nominal bushing should be a 0.335" bushing for 0.002-0.003" neck tension.

The neck sizing die should include the expander and a decapping pin holder, so it is your choice to use the expander...I would use it.

 

[CBH Australia]

This die set does not contain a FL Sizing Die. It contains Bushing Neck Sizer, Body, Seater dies.

I believe running your brass through the body die, then the neck sizing die will accomplish the same thing as FL Sizing, but I don't have experience with that.

IMO, your nominal bushing should be a 0.335" bushing for 0.002-0.003" neck tension.

The neck sizing die should include the expander and a decapping pin holder, so it is your choice to use the expander...I would use it.

Now I'm confused.
I thought a bushing die squeezes the neck back as opposed to squeezing it down at the top then pulling over the mandrel to stretch it out to the appropriate size.
The theory I thought was to just size the required amount with a bushing die to get neck tension with less. Work hardening the brass.
The Body die probably takes the place of the FLS die that would squeeze down the body, the neck and pull it over a mandrel to size the neck as opposed to using a bushing die only then a body die then the bushing die as they get hard to chamber ,

A cheaper 2 die set will simply FLS everytime and seat.
What @Lahunter76 has is the better version,
Correct me if I'm wrong
Redding do make comp sets, micrometre sets etc but the 3 die bushing set. Probably does not contain a FLS die or a Expander button in the Body die. It defeats the purpose. He needs an extra step when they need body sizing as they get tight but it's a step up from a simple 2 die set that works ok for hunters.

 

[whirlwindjml]

The theory I thought was to just size the required amount with a bushing die to get neck tension with less. Work hardening the brass.

I run mine without the expander but sometimes new brass is dinged up and the expander is necessary to get the ding out. Also brass that hits the concrete sometimes gets a flat spot and a bushing alone won't fix it.

 

[CBH Australia]

I run mine without the expander but sometimes new brass is dinged up and the expander is necessary to get the ding out. Also brass that hits the concrete sometimes gets a flat spot and a bushing alone won't fix it.

Understood but does a bushing die come with a Expander ball?
Wouldn't that be counterproductive to using the bushing principle if you stretch the neck after sizing it down to the required optimum sizing?
Am I missing something?

 

[whirlwindjml]

They do come with one. And yes I feel it defeats the purpose. So I dont use it. On new brass I I straight the necks with lee collet die. Then I use bushing die from then on. But something should be done for new necks if they look like doo doo

 

[Lahunter76]

Ok so when I reload, I will have to
1) use body die
Then
2) use the neck die
Then
3) seat bullet

why do I put the neck bushing in the body die at all then?

and the brass has a neck thickness of .0158 so what I did was
.0158+.0158+.308= .3396
So I did
.3396-.002=.3376
.3396-.001=.3386

so I picked up the .337 and .338 bushings

using ADG brass