Bushing dies and expanding mandrel

[KJW]

I currently have bushing dies for sizing and have recently pulled the expanding ball out of them as I started using mandrels for expanding.
Curious on others thoughts. Is it over kill having both? Would future reloading dies be worth the extra money for bushings if using the expander mandrel for neck tension? Right now I kinda feel having the best of both worlds is working good and helps me sleep at night. Just wondered what others thoughts were on this as there are some good non bushing sizing dies out there. Thanks!

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I've been using Redding Type S bushing dies for a long time. This year I bought a set of Century 21 mandrels to see if there was anything to the hype. What I noticed was that seating pressure, from one case to another, is more consistent after using a mandrel. I noticed that my CBTO is also more consistent.

I use the Century 21 moly/ceramic beads before inserting the mandrel. This leaves traces of moly in the neck, which would also contribute to more consistent seating.

 

[Mikecr]

With a bushing you can adjust both downsizing and length of that sizing, so you're not stuck with FL sizing of necks (something NOBODY should do today). Pre-seating expansion is useful to consistently finalize desired interference. Doing this with a mandrel reduces loaded runout over pulling 'most' buttons.

The worst thing you can do is a bunch of neck upsizing with bullets. That's not what they're made for.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I do not use bushing dies at all, for brass needing to be turned, bushings push irregularities to the inside, for turning, you want irregularities on the outside.
I discovered a long time ago that Forster BR NON-BUSHING dies with honed necks and custom sized expanders that are highly polished produce the straightest, most consistent brass you can use.
Runout is virtually unmeasurable.
2 reasons for this with these dies, expander shape and position and the honed necks, less brass movement and HOW it is controlled is key.
Redding dies are great, .002" brass movement is very good, but their expanders need a lot of work to be GREAT. Polishing, sizing correctly and shape can all be better. I like tapered expanders for coarse sizing, it's smoother and nicer to the brass. Then finish with a mandrel.
I lube my necks with graphite powder before each of these steps, it is not removed, it makes bullet seating more consistent.

Cheers.