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Neck doughnuts and Redding Bushing dies......help please

demolitionman

Send’r Bud
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 26, 2013
1,366
645
Midwest
I've been reloading with Redding full length sizing dies for 10 years. Never a single issue. I read all this hub bub about how great bushing dies are and while they very well may be great, I have one major hang up. I need you guys to tell me if I'm not alone here in my thinking and experiences or if I'm making something out of nothing.

My 6.5x47L is shooting silly good. sub.5 moa with a mulititude of different charge weights and bullet weights in 130 to 140. Puts all 5 of a group at 100 into a .3" group on occasion.

Now, onto my problem, or maybe it isn't a problem? Prior to my first handloads; I pulled my Lapua 65x47 brass out of the box and FL sized it with a .288 bushing and expander ball(loaded rounds measured .002/.003 more than that). I shot 50 rounds of these at various charges. The shot brass looked great, necks looked good. Now, on reload #2 of these 50 rounds, I full length sized(with expander ball removed this time), bumped shoulder .003, set neck tension with a .288 bushing. The necks of the brass are only being sized about 1/3 of the way down maybe a little more. I figured this was typical of bushing dies, so I continued on seating my 140 EldM's. There was a defined feel of the bullet passing the neck sized portion, like I could feel it getting tight exactly where the bushing stops sizing. What the fuck? I'm literally on my second reload of brand new lapua brass and do you guys agree that apparently I'm going to have to turn the inside of my necks already, after one reload? Which leads me to believe that if I continue to use a redding bushing die, I will most likely have to trim inside necks every single time I load them right as the (doughnut I think guys call it) appears to me to be a direct result of the sizing bushing not making it far enough down to the shoulder of the case.

Ok sorry for being so long winded; here is my thought; ditch this bushing full length die and custom order a non bushing FL sizing die with a custom honed neck diameter. Right? Am I missing something here? As much as I plan on shooting I really don't want to be f'ing around with inside neck turning every reload. What are your thoughts on this? This is my first time running a bushing die and first time experiencing such a situation....maybe it's nothing to worry about at all and for me to just "drive on" with it.
 
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Seems odd , when a donut forms it is basically a small bulge/ring right at the neck shoulder junction, grab a fired piece of brass and try sliding a bullet in it, if you have a donut it will stop or catch right at the base of the neck.
i have never seen a donut form halfway up the neck, also odd that when you size(which should be making it smaller) that part seats easily, but the unsized portion is tighter.
I use bushing dies with 8 different cartridges with no expander and I have no issues.
I would second the above advice, try the expander.
but also see if fired brass allows a bullet to pass through
 
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I use the same dies as you but I don’t run into issues. I will tell you that you definitely should not turn your necks. A non bushing die reamed to 288 isn’t a bad idea if this is hurting your brass. How far are you screwing down the knob on top of the bushing? If it is loose, that may be the reason
 
I use the same dies as you but I don’t run into issues. I will tell you that you definitely should not turn your necks. A non bushing die reamed to 288 isn’t a bad idea if this is hurting your brass. How far are you screwing down the knob on top of the bushing? If it is loose, that may be the reason

The bushing is floating in there so I can barely hear it if i shake it. The area of the case that is tighter than the rest of the neck is exactly where the bushing stops sizing. I guess I'm gonna do like Spife said and try again with the expander ball on subsequent reloads and if that doesn't fix it I'll try a custom necked forster FL non bushing die which i hope will size the entire neck length to shoulder junction. Then last resort i guess ill have to start reaming necks.
 
The bushing numbers up.

Shouldnt it be numbers down? The numbers imprinted on the bushing can create an imperfect surface so you put them down because when you press the brass in you want the flat non printed surface to be what touches the die body as it is lifted up.

Not that thats what is causing you so much space/unsized neck necessarily but it might be something that limits how far down you can effectively screw the die body?
 
Subscribed. I’m experiencing the same issue with my neck die and 288 bushing for my 6.5 CM. Numbers down on the bushing. I’ve got the mic comp set and choose to size roughly the first 1/3 of the neck. Seating pressure seems excessive for .002 tension and 1x fired brass. User error or a missed step likely but I’m new to reloading and it beats the hell out of me what’s going on.
 
Redding told me numbers down. I took the expander out because it wasn't doing any good. Today I ordered a Sinclair expander mandrel die to get the ID of my cases the same. Screw the top down that holds the bushing in and just barely back it off and see if it sizes more of the neck.Mine leaves a very small portion of the neck unsized.
 
I’m not sure where I read it, and I couldn’t find a reference, but I remember Redding bushings not sizing the last 1/16th of the neck. So you have 0.0625” near the shoulder that is the size of your chamber, to keep the cartridge centered in your chamber. I think it’s normal.
 
Shouldnt it be numbers down? The numbers imprinted on the bushing can create an imperfect surface so you put them down because when you press the brass in you want the flat non printed surface to be what touches the die body as it is lifted up.

Not that thats what is causing you so much space/unsized neck necessarily but it might be something that limits how far down you can effectively screw the die body?
Ok Spife. I'll make sure to flip the bushing in the die. I sure appreciate all the replies. I'm super excited to get this gun shooting some long range steel matches this spring and want to get my reloading practice for it all squared away.
 
Ok thanks guys. Let me add something. Loaded rounds measured .2895 to .2900. I just inspected the die bushing and I used a .287 not a .288 like I mentioned in the OP. So maybe I'll get lucky and just flip the bushing and go up a thou. Thanks again gents.
 
Ive used Reddings neck bush dies for my 6br for quite some time... numbers down with no expander button..seems kind of counter intuitive to use the ex button with a specified bushing. The bushing does leave a small portion of the neck untouched, I think this is just the nature of bushing dies..but as of late I've swapped out the bushing die for a collet neck die but still run the body die..YMMV
 
Iffen the bushing is sizing the neck only 1/3, then something is not right. I searched this topic because I just noticed a small donut is created on necks of my 250 Sav AI by incomplete neck sizing, about 0.015" short.
Neck turning and expander ball? For me the ideal setup is to coordinate neck turning, neck sizing with bushing die, and proper/adequate neck tension. I want to reduce working of the brass. I turn my necks outside ala Jackie Schmidt:
 
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