Is it worth it to get a bushing die or just regular FL?

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Kryogen

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I got a custom honed 335 die, but I got caught today trying to load norma brass with it, that I had sized. primed, measured powder, and bam, bullet drops right in. Oops, 13 thickness means that I would need 331-332 bushing.
I'll process all that pile of brass through my lee neck sizer to make it work, but now I wonder, is it worth all the trouble to get a custom hone or bushing die?

Would there really be a difference if I just ran all cases through a regular fl die intead? a bit more push/pull maybe.

Lapua is 15, but I also got a pile of norma and FC that I'll use for regular loads (a bit less case prep, etc). Just boom loads.

Opinions?
 
or I could just use the slack die to bump the shoulder and use the neck die for other cases.... or run everything else but lapua in the reg lee die.
 
I've got neck bushing dies , FL bushing dies, custom dies that work on some brass and not others, collet neck dies, collet body dies and regular and SB body dies. Then there's the plain vanilla neck and FL dies.

All of them have uses, and even small advantages in specialized applications. Some solve specialized problems. Others solve problems you don't even have.

Across the board I would have been farther ahead to spend the same money on more barrels, snug but not insanely tight reamers and stockpiling more and better brass.
 
Lee collet neck die will work with all case neck thickness

Redding body die to bump the shoulder.

With match barrel set ups, the lock ups tend to be properly done so base swelling is min to nil... or at least is should be. That reduces the benefits of FL sizers.

For those that like/want to use a bushing die, outside neck turning becomes very important.

Jerry
 
The new Whidden regular FL and bushing dies are the highest quality available. Controlling tension is considered advantageous by many.

Best regards,

Peter
 
Mystic Precision said:
Lee collet neck die will work with all case neck thickness

Redding body die to bump the shoulder.

With match barrel set ups, the lock ups tend to be properly done so base swelling is min to nil... or at least is should be. That reduces the benefits of FL sizers.

For those that like/want to use a bushing die, outside neck turning becomes very important.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Hi Jerry, sorry if I misunderstand but why would outside neck turning be more important with the bushing die than a collet die. I use a few Lee collet dies but only one Redding nitride bushing die so my experience is limited. However, measuring afterwards aside, I often wonder while using the collet dies if I am providing the same pressure consistently. With the bushing die I do not have to wonder hence my question:

If going to those lengths I would have thought outside and even inside neck turning was equally applicable to both dies ?
 
The lee die has a mandrel that determines min inside diameter
The bushing dies have no mandrel so inside dia is a result of the bushing plus neck thickness

With the lee die, a thicker neck will get squeezed a bit tighter against the mandrel but will result in the same inside diameter
But it wont have the same tension.

So using cases with even neck thickness helps.

It seems that my fc cases have necks just like the lapuas, so its just the normas that are 013 and will need the lee collet die after the fl die. No big deal, Maybe i will just keep those neck sized only to compare...
 
Thanks Kryogen, I was forgetting the mandrel. LOL. So as long as I apply enough pressure to tension each neck to max against the mandrel and each piece of brass has the same spring back I should be good. I think I had a blonde moment. LOL.
 
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