NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

[RaymondMillbrae]

Hey shooters,

I will be purchasing the Redding Type S Match Bushing 2-Die Set 308 Winchester.

But now I have a quick question for yall that own this very same die set:

Can you give me the correct neck bushing size to order for Federal and Lapua brass.

Below are the actual neck sizes I physically took from factory-loaded rounds: (Using an RCBS digital caliper).


ACTUAL FACTORY AMMO
Winchester - .332"
Hornady - .334"
FGMM - .338"


I was speaking to another shooter, and he says that I can use either the .336" or .337" neck bushing for FEDERAL brass.

Which would yall recommend for Federal .308 brass? (.336" or .337").

And of course, what do yall recommend for the Lapua brass?

This is what I have for the bushing sizes to order. See if your numbers coincide with mine.


REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE
Winchester - .331"
Hornady - .333"
Federal - .337"
Lapua - ??!!


I'll be placing my order as soon as I get an affirmation on my choices.

I also had a question about the neck bushings. Is it better to get a neck bushing 1/1000" or 2/1000" smaller? Would the extra "tightness" of the smaller neck bushing be of any benefit...or detriment?

And one more thing...are the titanium nitride neck sizer die bushings worth the extra cost?

Thanks for your support.

In Christ: Raymond

 

[Advokaten]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

I have three bushings, a 336, a 338 and a 335,

ever only used the 336, loads made with that one shoots lights out for me,

yes, Lapua and Norma cases only.

Best regards Chris

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

i just got mine, havent used it yet. but of the 10 rounds i had loaded with my components i got an five of 0.336 and five of 0.337 so i bought only one bushing. it was 0.335 and that was after a post like this with this same question.

and when you read the lit that comes with the kit, this is what it says. bushings are available in heat treated steel and with a ti-ni surface treatment. the ti-ni bushings are considered lubeless. you will not damage them by use without lube. our policy however is to recommend case lube for all neck sizing operations to reduce stress imparted to the case itself.

that being the case, i dont feel bad about not getting the ti-ni unit. i may get one more in 0.336 just in case, but i was good with just the 0.335 to start off.

it says to brush the inside of the necks and lube the case neck and mouth as well. ill try a few rounds tomorrow

 

[RaymondMillbrae]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

Thanks, guys.

I don't really shoot Winchester brass, so I guess the .333" bushing (for Hornady) and .336" bushing (for my Lapua and Fed) will fit the bill.

I would still be interested in knowing how a smaller/tighter neck bushing would effect the round. I figure it would increase the pressures...and also make the neck thickness/neck tension more of a factor.

Thanks again. Gonna order them now.

In Christ: Raymond

 

[ChrisGarrett]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

Winchester brass can be a .331"/.332" bushing, or it can be a .334" bushing for .002"ish of neck tension, so you'll just have to see what your batch of Winnie necks mic at.

Lapua seems to like a .336" bushing, for the most part.

Lake City, I use a .335" bushing. Fed and RP brass, a .334" bushing works for me, for that same .002" neck tension.

Remember, some of this brass will vary around the circumference and we're really just averaging things out unless one is turning and reaming their necks.

This all being said, I have a .332", .333", .334", .335", .336", .338", .339" and a .340" bushing for my .308 reloading chores. The latter two are used as 'step down' bushings for my factory chamber.

I run an extra Dillon 550b tool head with a body die and then two bushing neck dies in tandem, to handle the step down and then the final neck sizing duty.

Chris

 

[TimK]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

Lapua, .336" and .337". I spoke to the Lapua rep about this very question, and he believes that less neck tension is better for accuracy. Here's what he wrote:

<span style="font-style: italic">Actually, it kind of runs in the other direction; excessive neck tension is much more of a problem than “insufficient” neck tension, at least where accuracy is concerned. To define this a bit, we need to consider what the ammo is being used for. What’s insufficient for an autoloader is likely more than adequate for a bolt gun. By the same token, what’s excessive for a target rifle may be marginal for a hunting gun. For many types of competitive shooting, whatever minimum it takes to secure the bullet in the case is perfectly acceptable, since the ammunition will be single loaded, not handled roughly, not subjected to much stress in transportation, etc.. A lot of benchrest shooters have their brass sized so closely that the bullets can be finger seated (or removed) without any real force being applied at all, and that’s what works for them. If I were loading hunting ammunition however, I’d want something a bit firmer, even if it cost me some slight degree of accuracy. Ditto for the ammunition going into service rifles. It needs to be able to handle the rather violent feeding cycle of these guns without allowing the bullet to set back in doing so. So you see, it really is a pretty variable answer here, and needs to be matched to your particular situation. </span>

I just started annealing my Lapua brass, and some early testing showed that the .336" bushing is better for freshly annealed brass than the .337", contrary to the statements above.

I'd have both and see what works in your gun.

 

[RTH1800]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

I try to go with .001-.002 with fresh brass. After 10 or so loadings I will tighten up .001 to about .003 total. If using compressed charges too little neck tension can get bad fast. If in doubt, load ammo measure with a comparator, record, let set for a couple days and re measure. If if changes, and it often will, you need more neck tension.

 

[repiv]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

With brand new Lapua brass I use a 338 bushing and is shoots REALLY good.

 

[mdmp5]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

I have bushings from 333 to 341. For lapua brass, about 85% of the 308 brass will be properly sized with a 337 bushing. The outliers are the thick pieces, that measure anywhere from 339 to 342 loaded. I used to bother with the bigger bushings for these pieces to get that consistent .001-.002 of neck tension, but I don't really bother with that anymore. Once in a while I will use a 338 bushing for the thick brass, but most of the time these days, I just run everything thru the 337. I have not seen any benefit with my loads by using different bushings for the thicker brass. .002 seems to be the right amount of neck tension for me.

 

[Hookman]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

Tag for good info..I had the same question for my 93 LC Match Brass. However, I am using a Forster 308 NM Full length sizing Die. so I don't have the capability to change bushings. I am wondering if I should either have the die resized or removing the expander ball.

 

[jet_lagged]

Re: NEED HELP WITH REDDING NECK BUSHING SIZE

Ti will make resizing a bit easier, as the brass will not "stick" to it. But get steel first, to figure out what size you really need. I end up putting a dab of case lube on a fingertip and wiping down a row of necks prior to using the steel bushings, but not really necessary, just makes things smoother.

I did all the measuring that you have done, but when it came down to it, I ended up using smaller sizes than I had calculated to get the amount of tension that I wanted, so there is some trial and error to the process.

I would get a range of bushings, and skip every other size, as getting every one close to your measurement/calculated bushing will be too close/similar to change tension noticeably.