Can you double check my bushing and mandrel sizes?

[richthe1]

I am planning to reload for 6.5CM. This is my first foray into reloading, so bear with me. I reached out to SAC about their Modular Sizing Die and what neck shoulder bushing and decapping expander mandrel they recommended for .002 neck tension.

For the decapping expander mandrel they recommended 2625. I think this would make sense when accounting for brass spring back.( I could always get 2615 for .003 neck tension, right?)

However, I wanted to triple-check their recommendation for the neck sizing bush. They had suggested 285. Again, I haven’t done this before, but it seemed a little excessive? I thought it’d be closer to 287.

I’ve heard people “overworking” brass, and want to make sure I don’t do that.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[wcberry]

What is going to be your Brass? In particular the neck wall thickness which can vary. Have you measured the wall thickness? Are you going to turn the neck? You shouldn’t just pick a bushing without knowing this. My Lapua 6.5 brass measures about .01475 neck wall thickness and I do not turn. I do anneal my brass each time with AMP. I use EC dies with a 291 bushing, which yields about .2615 ID. Then a .2625 EC mandel. With spring back I measure close to .262.

 

[RegionRat]

It is good to have a spread of tooling in hand. That way, you are adjusting as needed and loading, rather than stopped and waiting. YMMV

 

[ECK]

My sizing die came with a .288, .290, and a .292” bushing. I run a .2615” mandrel. After some testing I with the .288 and .290 I ended up with a .289 bushing.

 

[straightshooter1]

I am planning to reload for 6.5CM. This is my first foray into reloading, so bear with me. I reached out to SAC about their Modular Sizing Die and what neck shoulder bushing and decapping expander mandrel they recommended for .002 neck tension.

For the decapping expander mandrel they recommended 2625. I think this would make sense when accounting for brass spring back.( I could always get 2615 for .003 neck tension, right?)

However, I wanted to triple-check their recommendation for the neck sizing bush. They had suggested 285. Again, I haven’t done this before, but it seemed a little excessive? I thought it’d be closer to 287.

I’ve heard people “overworking” brass, and want to make sure I don’t do that.

Thanks for your feedback!

The neck thickness is of particular importance when trying to decide which size bushing will suit your needs. And note too that neck thickness is not only different from one brand to another, but it can be different from one lot to another of the same brand.

If your brass has the thickness as wcberry's in his post above, then you're right in that you'll probably need something like .290 to keep from working the brass more than necessary. Minimizing how much you work the brass helps keep from introducing too much runout too.

 

[Herb Stoner]

I using a .288 bushing in a SAC Modular die and a .262- mandrel in a separate step (Porters Precision die with gage pin). Current lot of brass is about .0145 thick. Thinking about trying a .286 bushing and a .261 or .2615 pin.

Know your neck thickness for your brass and do the math. If you anneal don’t worrry too much about moving the brass a bit - I’ve found it helps with consistency when the mandrel actually has to work a little more.