Anyone use a bushing die?
- Thread starter willy1947
- Start date
Coyotejunki
Well-known member
Adding in concentricity to the picture.
I have a question.
If you have a tight chamber, and turned necks to say .002" clearance, won't the tight chamber help to re-align and make the cartridge more concentric? where else can it go other than being aligned by the chamber/neck/throat/bore outer walls?
Now if you have a big sloppy factory chamber, and perhaps .006-.008" clearance then I can picture all kids of concentric issues, and over working brass necks.
Sometimes I envy the beginner that goes out and buys a factory setup, factory cartridges and just goes out to hunt and has a good time.
I have a question.
If you have a tight chamber, and turned necks to say .002" clearance, won't the tight chamber help to re-align and make the cartridge more concentric? where else can it go other than being aligned by the chamber/neck/throat/bore outer walls?
Now if you have a big sloppy factory chamber, and perhaps .006-.008" clearance then I can picture all kids of concentric issues, and over working brass necks.
Sometimes I envy the beginner that goes out and buys a factory setup, factory cartridges and just goes out to hunt and has a good time.
knockemdown
New member
Originally Posted By: ryutzyKnockemdown-- I load as you do for my "good" guns. I shoot a tightneck and a no-turn. I do not use expander balls as they work the brass too much and this is another advantage to using bushing dies. I agree with almost everything you mentioned but you overlooked the fact of neck tension with bushing dies. Most standard dies give excess neck tension which may not be the perfect amount for what your gun likes. I recieved a noticeable accuracy benefit when I went to bushing dies and experimented with neck tension in a gun that I DID NOT turn the necks. I understand what you are saying about uneven neck thickness, but I've had few problems with that maybe because I shoot Lapua and Nosler brass which I feel is more uniform than Hornady etc.....
And as someone else mentioned----most of the custom "no-turn" chamber rifle guys swear by bushing dies and they will play with neck tension. My custom rifle maker instructed me to do so with my no-turn chamber.
Thank you, sir. That makes good sense to me, especially considering that you are using match quality brass from the get go...
My .243 has a 'no turn' match chamber. Although I do run Lapua brass in it, I also run Winny stuff as well. So what I do is, turn the necks on the Winny stuff down to what I've measured the thickness of the Lapua necks to be (the Lapua brass don't need turnin'
). Then, I can reliably run the same bushing size in my Redding die & net the same amount of neck tension on my reloads, regardless of which brass I'm running at the time. If I didn't turn those Winny necks, for one, I'd be having to swap bushings. And two, I'd not be addressing that inconsistent neck thickness, just pushing it to the inside to 'hide' it.
For the 7Wizzer, I'm stuck with running Winny brass. It's not terrible, but for doing any kind of long range stuff, I've been learning how heavily consistent neck tension factors into accuracy at distance. So I turn 'em just enough to true 'em up, then run a couple thou. neck tension via bushing die (NO expander) & rock on.
Good discussion, thanks fellas...
And as someone else mentioned----most of the custom "no-turn" chamber rifle guys swear by bushing dies and they will play with neck tension. My custom rifle maker instructed me to do so with my no-turn chamber.
Thank you, sir. That makes good sense to me, especially considering that you are using match quality brass from the get go...
My .243 has a 'no turn' match chamber. Although I do run Lapua brass in it, I also run Winny stuff as well. So what I do is, turn the necks on the Winny stuff down to what I've measured the thickness of the Lapua necks to be (the Lapua brass don't need turnin'
For the 7Wizzer, I'm stuck with running Winny brass. It's not terrible, but for doing any kind of long range stuff, I've been learning how heavily consistent neck tension factors into accuracy at distance. So I turn 'em just enough to true 'em up, then run a couple thou. neck tension via bushing die (NO expander) & rock on.
Good discussion, thanks fellas...
knockemdown
New member
Originally Posted By: CoyotejunkiAdding in concentricity to the picture.
I have a question.
If you have a tight chamber, and turned necks to say .002" clearance, won't the tight chamber help to re-align and make the cartridge more concentric? where else can it go other than being aligned by the chamber/neck/throat/bore outer walls?
Now if you have a big sloppy factory chamber, and perhaps .006-.008" clearance then I can picture all kids of concentric issues, and over working brass necks.
Sometimes I envy the beginner that goes out and buys a factory setup, factory cartridges and just goes out to hunt and has a good time.
CJ,
I'm of the opinion that your ammo is only as concentric as the brass will allow. And to add to that, your reload will only be as straight as your press & die can muster. But if the brass has any amount of significant neck dia. variation, no bushing, die, or "custom" reamer in the universe is going to negate that. Those necks need turned...
I have a question.
If you have a tight chamber, and turned necks to say .002" clearance, won't the tight chamber help to re-align and make the cartridge more concentric? where else can it go other than being aligned by the chamber/neck/throat/bore outer walls?
Now if you have a big sloppy factory chamber, and perhaps .006-.008" clearance then I can picture all kids of concentric issues, and over working brass necks.
Sometimes I envy the beginner that goes out and buys a factory setup, factory cartridges and just goes out to hunt and has a good time.
CJ,
I'm of the opinion that your ammo is only as concentric as the brass will allow. And to add to that, your reload will only be as straight as your press & die can muster. But if the brass has any amount of significant neck dia. variation, no bushing, die, or "custom" reamer in the universe is going to negate that. Those necks need turned...