...

jerrya said:
You could get a Lee neck collet die to size the neck alone and use the bushing die only for the body.
Click to expand...

Yep... and then mandrels in .001" increments to get whatever neck tension you wish... for a fraction of the cost of the bushing systems mentioned. And turn the outside of the necks for uniform thickness after doing so, if you want to go that route. There's not much that Lee makes that has managed to justify having it remain on my reloading bench, but Lee neck collet dies are one of them.

I don't know how the results would stack up against some spendy neck bushing system in a comparative trial, but I'm not sure I have a rifle precise enough to measure the results of such a systems comparison.
 
I only have one set of bushing dies so I’m not in a place to comment.

For the folks with multiple sets, is there a wide range of potential bushing sizes for a given caliber? Would maybe 3 bushings in a die set cover pretty much everything?
 
coleman1495 said:
I only have one set of bushing dies so I’m not in a place to comment.

For the folks with multiple sets, is there a wide range of potential bushing sizes for a given caliber? Would maybe 3 bushings in a die set cover pretty much everything?
Click to expand...

Maybe review my Post #17 - you only need ONE properly sized bushing, per chamber, that perfectly matches your loaded round to the neck dimension of your chamber - so the bushing must accommodate your case neck wall thickness and the bullet diameter. What size gets used with one of my rifles may or may not be the same as used in your rifle. The "trick" question of course, is "what, exactly, is that size?" The operating principle is that by pressing on the outside surface of the case neck, you are going to resize it so the inside diameter is about .002" smaller than is the bullet, and the finished product fits snugly into your chamber's neck, with just enough room to expand to release that bullet.

If not concerned to go to that detail, then the use of "bushing" dies is sort of pointless?? And very, very fussy bench rest guys will go beyond that level, in the detail of their case preparation, that some do not even size brass between firings - they get the fit that close...
 
Last edited:
Potashminer said:
Maybe review my Post #17 - you only need ONE properly sized bushing that perfectly matches your loaded round to the neck dimension of your chamber - so the bushing must accommodate your case neck wall thickness and the bullet diameter. The "trick" question of course, is "what, exactly, is that size?" The operating principle is that by pressing on the outside surface of the case neck, you are going to resize it so the inside diameter is about .002" smaller than is the bullet, and the finished product fits snugly into your chamber's neck, with just enough room to expand to release that bullet.
Click to expand...

Okay my understanding was that it was dependent on your bullets and brass as opposed to your rifle chamber.
 
coleman1495 said:
Okay my understanding was that it was dependent on your bullets and brass as opposed to your rifle chamber.
Click to expand...

So far as I understand it, the brass and bullets and bushing are about establishing an amount of "bullet pull", but then usually the point of that is to get a product that fits to the chamber?
 
Potashminer said:
So far as I understand it, the brass and bullets and bushing are about establishing an amount of "bullet pull", but then usually the point of that is to get a product that fits to the chamber?
Click to expand...

I think that’s contrary to what Redding says. Heres a video thats shows how Redding recommends:
 
coleman1495 said:
I think that’s contrary to what Redding says. Heres a video thats shows how Redding recommends:
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks - that gets you a loaded round - now where is it going to be used - in what? Is that finished size, the best size? This is not stuff I do myself, but I find the concepts interesting. I got most of my thoughts from reading what the main guy - Virgil King (?) - was doing in the Houston Warehouse experiments - a report was posted on CGN a couple months ago - the actual events occurred in the 1980's or 1990's, I think - was first published about 1993?? Can find it on-line with google search. As mentioned, nothing magic about ".002" for extreme accuracy, just has to be exactly the same for every round fired. And only one of many things he did to achieve 100 yard AVERAGE of .025" 5 shot groups. Oddly, within reason, he did not overly fuss about powder charge - his goal was to make tiny groups at 100 yards on that indoor shooting place.
 
Last edited:
Potashminer said:
Yes, thanks - that gets you a loaded round - now where is it going to be used - in what? Is that finished size, the best size? This is not stuff I do myself, but I find the concepts interesting. I got most of my thoughts from reading what the main guy - Virgil King (?) - was doing in the Houston Warehouse experiments - a report was posted on CGN a couple months ago - the actual events occurred in the 1980's or 1990's, I think - was first published about 1993?? Can find it on-line with google search. As mentioned, nothing magic about ".002" for extreme accuracy, just has to be exactly the same for every round fired. And only one of many things he did to achieve 100 yard AVERAGE of .025" 5 shot groups. Oddly, within reason, he did not overly fuss about powder charge - his goal was to make tiny groups at 100 yards on that indoor shooting place.
Click to expand...

Here's a good interview with one of the guys that was there shooting in the Houston warehouse. Also I believe he invented the type of die we are discussing in this thread!



 
The Lee Collet die has changed please be aware

https://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/lee-collet-die-fyi.4005584/

A general rule if you are reloading like Peter wrote seat a bullet in a dummy round and measure the outside dia. for 308win it will be .338

If you want to take it further both Lapua and Norma brass (sampled) have neck thickness about 15thou (15 x 2) + bullet dia (.308) = .338 you can substitute this with any caliber size. 2thou under for 308w is .336.

Peter sells Whidden bushing they are higher quality and are more concentric and true to size. you can also by Redding (but get the TIN versions) Redding also comes in sets.

Save yourself some aggravation and by two bushings 2 and 3thou under. one of these will show better accuracy. The USAMU suggests starting with .003thou neck tension (article on Facebook)

Cheers
Trevor
 
Just checked and we have sold 1135 Forster bushings and many Whidden bushings and there have been no complaints. The tension used by most is .002", so choose a bushing .002" smaller than the OD of the neck of the loaded round. Some very top FClass shooters use less and as Trevor mentioned, some more, but not much.
 
peterdobson said:
Just checked and we have sold 1135 Forster bushings and many Whidden bushings and there have been no complaints. The tension used by most is .002", so choose a bushing .002" smaller than the OD of the neck of the loaded round. Some very top FClass shooters use less and as Trevor mentioned, some more, but not much.
Click to expand...

Will the Forster bushings work in other dies? I know Wilson, Whidden, RCBS, and Hornady will interchange but i was under the impression the Forster wouldn't .

Thanks
 
For those in a hurry or in a bind, it is actually pretty easy to make your own custom bushings and you don't have to be a precision machinist. I made one for my Redding die a couple of nights before a big competition using only some soft scrap, an electric drill, a file and some emery cloth. Since the bushing has some room to "float" the inside the die, the drilled hole doesn't need to be 100% concentric with the outer diameter of the bushing.

I have a lot of awards won firing reloads made using my home-made bushing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom