Bushing dies.. are they worth it!

[Leeper]

Almost true. As I mentioned before, a die which positively aligns the case body before the neck is sized at all, can minimize the amount of eccentricity which may be induced. This requires the building of a die with a sliding sleeve to hold the body and a captive bushing to size the neck. This die will allow you to size the neck down any amount and the only error will be that induced by variations in the brass hardness/thickness, plus the clearance between the die body and the sleeve (about one thou).
If you want a half-size bushing, buy the next size down and lap it out.

 

[BadAsMo]

I get where you're going Leeper with your precision manufactured custom dies, and obviously you have the means to produce such a thing... It's basically a gage precision version of the spring loaded Redding competition dies.

But that's a long way to go to generate cases with concentricity that might be comparable to brass easily formed from a tight neck chamber with a typical Redding bushing die.

Most of us are using some sort of fairly cost conscious over the counter product.

And then... and I think this is key... if your neck clearance is sloppy, (which is why you might want this custom precision aligning die) does it not negate the benefit of concentric cases in the first place?

 

[Tomochan]

This is an excellent thread - just wish there were more like it - and I really appreciate the time a number of you have taken to add value. I'm pretty envious of the patience and dedication shown by many but for me I've figured out that my temperament however is better suited to doing the following: full-length resizing, using quality brass and match-grade primers, use a good bullet and an accurate scale (FX120i). With such ammo my rifles are accurate enough for my abilities and the time I save at the loading bench I invest in actual shooting and learning wind etc. Probably explains a few second and third place medals but very few first place ones :-(

 

[big bear]

like minds

This is an excellent thread - just wish there were more like it - and I really appreciate the time a number of you have taken to add value. I'm pretty envious of the patience and dedication shown by many but for me I've figured out that my temperament however is better suited to doing the following: full-length resizing, using quality brass and match-grade primers, use a good bullet and an accurate scale (FX120i). With such ammo my rifles are accurate enough for my abilities and the time I save at the loading bench I invest in actual shooting and learning wind etc. Probably explains a few second and third place medals but very few first place ones :-(

Like he said. Learning to deal with the wind more useful to me than going beyond the above measures. When I can shoot up to my current loads, consistently, I'll think about going into all the finer points. Appreciate all the info though and I incorporate as many of the insights garnered hear that I can.

 

[Lead hammer]

Ok, so I have been reading these threads, but getting confused. The Lee collet neck die, trim to length, Redding body die(others?) to bump shoulder if needed after many rounds and before Lee collet neck sizing????
FL sizing is harder on the brass and concentricity can be worse than Redding body/Lee collet neck???
After initial Lee collet neck die, the outer necks can be turned?
Brand new Hornady brass, after Lee collet neck sizing, concentricity in the neck of the brass should be what number?? Poor until neck turning? What should neck concentricity be after firing? Or does that matter?
I assume the once fired brass is straighter throughout the process??
Sorry for all the questions

 

[Leeper]

I get where you're going Leeper with your precision manufactured custom dies, and obviously you have the means to produce such a thing... It's basically a gage precision version of the spring loaded Redding competition dies.

But that's a long way to go to generate cases with concentricity that might be comparable to brass easily formed from a tight neck chamber with a typical Redding bushing die.

Most of us are using some sort of fairly cost conscious over the counter product.

And then... and I think this is key... if your neck clearance is sloppy, (which is why you might want this custom precision aligning die) does it not negate the benefit of concentric cases in the first place?

No it does not; at least not within reason. The requirement is to produce ammunition which is concentric and, as a result, starts the bullet straight into the throat, if that has been achieved, the clearance in the neck is largely meaningless. Understand, I'm not saying a sloppy neck is an attribute to be desired, it is not, for a variety of reasons. What I am saying is that it is not an insurmountable problem and such rifles can shoot very well as long as the chamber is straight.
Something else that people need to be aware of; standard rifle chambers and many match rifle chambers have tapered necks. This is done for two reasons: to accommodate brass which naturally thinner toward the mouth and to aid in producing a chamber with no marks in the neck. Most dies produce cases which are parallel on the outside and tapered within. The collet dies do a better job of turning this around. the original question was; are bushing dies worth it? The answer is that they often are because they allow you to size just the amount you desire to do. I have to confess that I also grew weary of obsessing over every little thing and prefer to just load and shoot nowadays.