Redding s type question...

1stmar · December 17, 2013, 07:39 PM

Ok now I remember why I went with another type of die. I recently revisited the thought of going to bushing dies. When I went to midway I rediscovered that there are too many options (is that possible? Yes cuz in my pea of a brain I will be searching endlessly for the 1 bushing that may be magical). These bushings are $25 ea plus the die, if I go with 3 bushings that's pretty pricey (x 6 plus calibers) especially given that I already have lee collet dies and fl dies. Questions are: is it worth it and what do you guys usually get for bushings .001 or .002 under? Ie for .224 .223 and .222

Endlessly searching, it's a disease.

603Country · December 17, 2013, 08:15 PM

Just use the Lee Collet dies and when the case needs a little shoulder setback, use the FL die for that.

old roper · December 17, 2013, 08:40 PM

I use bushing dies here picture of spare bushing that may be needed also their another 20 being used in dies.

http://www.noslerreloading.com/viewt...hp?f=4&t=11625

Below is custom bushing

http://www.noslerreloading.com/viewt...hp?f=4&t=11619

Size of bushing depends on what groups the best. I have some that like very little neck tension other may like little more and I start with .001" under and I hand seat my bullets. I'm not shooting factory chambered rifles either and best I've done little under 5" @ 1000yds.

Everyone does it little different.

1stmar · December 17, 2013, 09:23 PM

Rope you keeping redding in business? :-) You should be getting volume discounts.

jepp2 · December 17, 2013, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Questions are: is it worth it and what do you guys usually get for bushings .001 or .002 under? Ie for .224 .223 and .222

I normally use the Lee Collet die, but do have and use the Redding S die in some cases. You do realize the proper bushing is based on the OD of the neck, not the bullet size, right? So the proper bushing for the neck tension you want will be based on the neck OD with a bullet seated after proper sizing. And that is a starting point. Different manufacturers can have different neck thickness, so different bushings.

So for a .224 bullet it will certainly not be a bushing in the .223 or .222 range. It will be much larger.

1stmar · December 17, 2013, 10:00 PM

Thanks jepp2. I imagine it has to do with the brass thickness as well. My experience Remington brass is a bit heavier then winchester and probably a bit thicker so to get equivalent tension in different brass you may need a different size bushing.

mehavey · December 17, 2013, 10:31 PM

My experience across four cartridges is two thou under loaded neck OD.
Different brass (and rarely different bullets) causes that OD to vary.

Clark · December 18, 2013, 12:06 PM

I bought a .223Rem Redding FL S die and some bushings.
I liked the .245" bushing the best for a wide range of brass brands.

The 223Rem Redding .245" bushing is a .244" go .245" no go.

Based on that I ordered the honing of my 223Rem FL die from Forster.

The Forster honed to .245" is a .245" go, .246" no go.... which is too loose to hold the bullet half the time.

I complained on a number of forums.
Forster now offers honing service to half sizes, i.e. 0.2445".

I do not want to use a Redding S bushing, because of concentricity issues, so I FL size with my .245" honed Forster and then use my polished Lee collet neck die.

Bart B. · December 18, 2013, 03:21 PM

While both Redding and RCBS bushing dies are popular amongst accuracy afficianodos, they don't quite make case necks as precisely straight on case shoulders as a standard full lenght sizing die with its neck diameter a few thousandths smaller than a loaded rounds. But the difference is almost microscopic in reality. Such is life when neither size the neck all the way back to the shoulder which is what's needed for best concentricity of the sized case.

If a bushing die's wanted, I'm of the opinion that two bushings .002" apart fir a given cartridge would be enough then turn case necks to the exact thickness to give the grip on the bullets you want. Get one bushing .001" smaller than your thinnest neck wall thickness and another .001" smaller than the thickest. Use a decent neck turning tool to get wall thickness exactly what you want.

Otherwise, get a standard full length sizing die's neck opened up to what you want then uniform your neck wall thickness to the grip on bullets desired.

Whatever works to eliminate that danged expander ball is great.

1stmar · December 18, 2013, 08:23 PM

Sounds like I'm sticking with what I got

December 17, 2013, 07:39 PM	#1
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	Redding s type question... Ok now I remember why I went with another type of die. I recently revisited the thought of going to bushing dies. When I went to midway I rediscovered that there are too many options (is that possible? Yes cuz in my pea of a brain I will be searching endlessly for the 1 bushing that may be magical). These bushings are $25 ea plus the die, if I go with 3 bushings that's pretty pricey (x 6 plus calibers) especially given that I already have lee collet dies and fl dies. Questions are: is it worth it and what do you guys usually get for bushings .001 or .002 under? Ie for .224 .223 and .222 Endlessly searching, it's a disease.

December 17, 2013, 08:40 PM	#3
old roper Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2007 Posts: 2,157	I use bushing dies here picture of spare bushing that may be needed also their another 20 being used in dies. http://www.noslerreloading.com/viewt...hp?f=4&t=11625 Below is custom bushing http://www.noslerreloading.com/viewt...hp?f=4&t=11619 Size of bushing depends on what groups the best. I have some that like very little neck tension other may like little more and I start with .001" under and I hand seat my bullets. I'm not shooting factory chambered rifles either and best I've done little under 5" @ 1000yds. Everyone does it little different. __________________ Semper Fi Vietnam 1965 VFW Life member NRA Life Member

December 18, 2013, 03:21 PM	#9
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 8,927	While both Redding and RCBS bushing dies are popular amongst accuracy afficianodos, they don't quite make case necks as precisely straight on case shoulders as a standard full lenght sizing die with its neck diameter a few thousandths smaller than a loaded rounds. But the difference is almost microscopic in reality. Such is life when neither size the neck all the way back to the shoulder which is what's needed for best concentricity of the sized case. If a bushing die's wanted, I'm of the opinion that two bushings .002" apart fir a given cartridge would be enough then turn case necks to the exact thickness to give the grip on the bullets you want. Get one bushing .001" smaller than your thinnest neck wall thickness and another .001" smaller than the thickest. Use a decent neck turning tool to get wall thickness exactly what you want. Otherwise, get a standard full length sizing die's neck opened up to what you want then uniform your neck wall thickness to the grip on bullets desired. Whatever works to eliminate that danged expander ball is great. Last edited by Bart B.; December 18, 2013 at 10:08 PM.

December 17, 2013, 08:15 PM	#2
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 4,001	Just use the Lee Collet dies and when the case needs a little shoulder setback, use the FL die for that.

December 17, 2013, 09:23 PM	#4
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	Rope you keeping redding in business? :-) You should be getting volume discounts.

December 17, 2013, 10:00 PM	#6
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	Thanks jepp2. I imagine it has to do with the brass thickness as well. My experience Remington brass is a bit heavier then winchester and probably a bit thicker so to get equivalent tension in different brass you may need a different size bushing.

December 17, 2013, 10:31 PM	#7
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,951	My experience across four cartridges is two thou under loaded neck OD. Different brass (and rarely different bullets) causes that OD to vary.

December 18, 2013, 12:06 PM	#8
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	I bought a .223Rem Redding FL S die and some bushings. I liked the .245" bushing the best for a wide range of brass brands. The 223Rem Redding .245" bushing is a .244" go .245" no go. Based on that I ordered the honing of my 223Rem FL die from Forster. The Forster honed to .245" is a .245" go, .246" no go.... which is too loose to hold the bullet half the time. I complained on a number of forums. Forster now offers honing service to half sizes, i.e. 0.2445". I do not want to use a Redding S bushing, because of concentricity issues, so I FL size with my .245" honed Forster and then use my polished Lee collet neck die.

December 18, 2013, 08:23 PM	#10
1stmar Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 2,378	Sounds like I'm sticking with what I got