Redding neck bushing size for Lake City LR 308 brass?

D

DamnDave

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Minuteman
Dec 7, 2009
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California
#1
I just bought some Lake City LR 308 brass and want to make sure I already have the correct bushings for my Redding Type S FL die.

What size bushing do most of you run for this brass? Will be in a bolt gun.


I thought I remember reading the answer for this on here some time ago, but couldn't find it with search.
 
#4
If you have a bullet, any will do, they are all .308 diameter, seat one and measure the case mouth, subtract .002 and that's your bushing size.
 
#5
My LC formula...

LC neck turned to .015. 2 x .015.= .030 + .308 = .338 - .004 = .334 bushing.

There is no set bushing, you have to measure neck wall thickness and subtract how much neck tension you want, that determines bushing size, not the make of the brass.
 
#7
The loaded Lake City LR ('09) ammo I have measures .340 at the neck, which is thicker than the '93 LC Match brass which measures .338 when loaded.

I use a .002 bullet tension, so I have .336 & .338 bushings for my LC brass.
 
#8
My Lapua brass measures .338 loaded, so I thought if you went .002" less it would work, not so, a 336 bushing wasnt enough to hold the bullet in, you could slide it in freely with your fingers, .334" bushing worked most excellent for me. If LC brass is ever so slightly thicker than Lapua I might go 335, so Id buy a 334 & 335 bushing.
 
#9
JGorski said:
My Lapua brass measures .338 loaded, so I thought if you went .002" less it would work, not so, a 336 bushing wasnt enough to hold the bullet in, you could slide it in freely with your fingers, .334" bushing worked most excellent for me. If LC brass is ever so slightly thicker than Lapua I might go 335, so Id buy a 334 & 335 bushing.
Click to expand...

That's weird. My Lapua loads measure .338" because I turn the necks to .015". I use the .336" bushing and it works great. Brand new brass, once fired, twice, even three times and they all hold with perfect tension.

My LC brass is less than .015" thick, so I'll need to come up with a different size bushing when I cross that bridge. I thought LC was supposed to be the thickest?
 
#11
Ok, I'm sort of confused here now.

I got my brass. All tumbled and clean.

Before FL resizing, I got out my calipers and tried measuring the neck thickness. On 5 pieces of brass it measured a consistent 0.017 - 0.018. With 0.002 neck tension this would put me on a .340 - .342 bushing.

Most people seem to load a round and measure the outside diameter and then minus 0.002. The largest bushing I have is a .336 though. If I used that one, wouldn't it just squish the bullet tighter? How do ou determine the correct OD if you don't have the correct bushing to start with?
 
#12
Take one of your cases and load a dummy round. I think your .336" bushing will work fine. Measure the O/D of the neck with the bullet seated in that dummy round. Take that number and subtract .001"-.003" to determine the amount of neck tension that will be your bushing size. I did that and it worked out fine for me. 18echo in post #5 gave you the other way to formulate your bushing size.

I use a .337" bushing for Federal brass and USGI Military brass for my bolt guns. If i want a bit more neck tension for my autoloader, I'll use a .335" bushing.
 
#13
FLIGHT762 said:
Take one of your cases and load a dummy round. I think your .336" bushing will work fine. Measure the O/D of the neck with the bullet seated in that dummy round. Take that number and subtract .001"-.003" to determine the amount of neck tension that will be your bushing size. I did that and it worked out fine for me. 18echo in post #5 gave you the other way to formulate your bushing size.

I use a .337" bushing for Federal brass and USGI Military brass for my bolt guns. If i want a bit more neck tension for my autoloader, I'll use a .335" bushing.
Click to expand...


I actually just did this with a .336 bushing. The OD of those dummy rounds came out to .336.

But when using a smaller bushing, doesn't that just make more neck tension? The OD would remain the same right?
 
#14
AlliedArmory said:
I actually just did this with a .336 bushing. The OD of those dummy rounds came out to .336.

But when using a smaller bushing, doesn't that just make more neck tension? The OD would remain the same right?
Click to expand...

Yes to a point, using a smaller bushing will give you more neck tension with your O/D remaining the same.. Try your .334" bushing, see what your neck/seating tension and O/D you get. The bushings you have will work with your LC brass. For Winchester brass, I usually have to use a .331" bushing since Winchester brass have thinner necks than Federal, Remington,Lapua and most other brands of brass.

Remember this for future reference if you're going to use other brass. Measure the O/D of the necks of the brass fired in your rifle. Most chambers will stretch necks out to .340"-.345". Some precision reloaders recommend when using bushings, not to neck down more than .005" in one step. With my .331" Winchester brass, I will neck down in two steps. I'll use my .337" bushing first and then my .331" bushing. They believe it reduces runout.
 
#17
FLIGHT762 said:
I believe you will find the .340" and .342" bushings will be too large for your use, but let us know how they work out.
Click to expand...


I have a feeling so too. But by my math, I should be using a .342

On 5 cases I measured the neck wall thickness with my caliper. Each measured .017 - .018 on average. 0.017 x 2 + .308 - .002 = 0.340

But I guess I can get a better measurement when my ball micrometer gets here next week.
 
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