Redding Competition Loading Die and Bushings

[fishingstockwell]

I'm loading for a 30 Nosler and have the Redding Competition Die set. I have always understood to select a bushing .002 smaller than the outside diameter of a loaded round, which was .340", with virgin ADG brass and 215 Bergers. I used a .338 bushing and after sizing the once fired brass, the outside diameter of the neck was .336. My assumption is that it should have been .338. I'm using the TIN coated bushing with no lube. Ive measured the neck wall thickness of the once fired brass and it is consistently .016, with only very small variances of less than .00025. I don't believe wall thickness would make a difference anyway. Now I have 100 pieces of brass full prepped with .004 of neck tension. Am I missing something, or did I get a bad bushing? Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[Tiny Tim]

You can measure the bushing to be sure. What is the neck OD after shooting. There was a thread a couple weeks ago about this. If you go in too large a step with bushing dies, it may undersize them. You can expand with a mandrel or put the sizing button back on your stem to open them back up for now.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Neck Bushing Question

Hope someone can help me with a neck bushing question. Background: I am loading .308 Winchester using Lapua brass and Hornady 178-gr ELD-x bullets. The loaded rounds have a neck diameter of .337. I am using a .335 bushing in a Redding die. Prior to resizing a spent casing the neck...

www.longrangehunting.com

mikecr has some good advice

 

[fishingstockwell]

Thanks for the advice. I grabbed some measurements. Fired cases measure .345. My .338 bushing measured .336, exactly the same as my brass was being sized. My .339 measured .338, so I guess I'll be using the .339 from now on. The competition die set does not come with a sizing button on the primer extraction pin, like regular rcbs dies, so I don't have any way to open the case mouths back up. Is .004 neck tension way to much. I haven't messed with neck tension enough to know how a couple thousandths If neck tension will affect things. Thank you for your help.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Sinclair makes an expander mandrel and holder. One holder and buy mandrels as required. Even an rcbs sizing die could be run in past the expander button

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

i would a seat em and see how consistent the pressure of handle is if they feel hard seating id i bet you could open em back up with regular a 300wm or a 300rum die that has a button as long as you just run it over the button and not all the way up in there

 

[fishingstockwell]

Great idea. I didn't think about using the 300 win mag does that I have. That should work. I have 20 already loaded in .2 powder increments, to find the flat spot in velocity. I'll see how those shoot. Thinking about it, I used the same die and bushing for another 30 Nosler, and had excellent groups. I think I'm gonna try these at .003 next tension, before I worry about opening them back up. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[25WSM]

That little bit of extra neck tension won't hurt anything. It may shoot better. Keep that bushing and get another slightly larger and play with both. I use neck tension as an accuracy enhancer. A lot of times changing neck tension can improve your sd/es also. I know several guys at the 1k range using as much as .005 neck tension in 300wsms. Don't sweat it just try them and see how it shoots.
Shep

 

[fishingstockwell]

.004 neck tensions didn't cause any problems at the range today. I was testing powder charge weights with the magneto speed, looking for flat spots in the velocity increases. With charges ranging from 85.4 - 87.0, all 9 shots tore one ragged hole, so I guess that puts to rest any worry that .004 was too much neck tension. Two weeks till the Colorado hunt, so I have to reshoot two different charges, that had significant flat spots in velocity, and one more trip for final sight in. After the hunt, I'll have time to play with neck tension and some small changes to seating depth, which I've already got pretty close. Thanks again for all the help. Best of luck to everyone this hunting season.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Not certain brass necks can hold .004 tension. I think the brass may yield and give you .002-.003 after the bullet is seated depending on how resilient it is.