Redding type s bushing full sizing die - advice please

[Racalman]

Thanks Gun Pimp and Laurie, I think you've explained that quite nicely (and saved me some money too).

Yes it's a factory rifle (Steel Core Cyclone) with a 26" barrel and 1:11 twist. I use 185gn Berger Juggernauts seated to 2.9" COL (due to mag feed limitations) with an MV of 2660fps and my best 1,000 yard group to date was 5 rounds in 0.7MOA (although the A ring on a Fig. 11 is just 3" diameter and we shoot off bipods ...).

I do beat the 6.5s sometimes but it comes down to wind reading skills and as mine are pretty poor I'm just trying to get the best performance from my rifle.

I have thought of trying the Palma cases if I can't wring any more consistency out of large primers.

[rox]

(and saved me some money too).
...
I have thought of trying the Palma cases if I can't wring any more consistency out of large primers.

Buying small primer brass (and high BC bullets then shooting them as fast as you can) will not save you money! Aside from the high cost of those items, you'll wear out barrels more quickly.

Cheap, large primer brass is plenty adequate to get me to 1/2 a minute at 1000 - and that's second-hand brass, first-fired in many different rifles, then prepared and loaded on progressives - exactly the opposite recipes for precision that most would suggest (maybe it will shoot better than a 1/2, but I'm a sling & irons shooter so I'll never know). What it is, though, is plentiful and cheap enough that I can hit the range 2 or 3 times a week, advancing my quest for wind wizardry. A wind ninja who sees a 3 minute change will always beat a ballistically superior opponent who fails to see his 2 minute change. Of course, shooting more often also won't save you money (or barrels), but you get to shoot more often - and become a wind ninja!

There's plenty of ways to skin this cat. I used bushing dies without neck turning for years while training for the Commonwealth Games. Depending on your starting point, the benefits of sensible levels of neck tension and not using a neck-misaligning ball can overcome the drawbacks of the odd thousandth of neck thickness variation sized from the outside. The expander mandrel is an effective and cheap option (and a useful tool in its own right), but it does add a processing step (not a particularly onerous one though). If you don't want to add that step every load cycle then neck-turning (a one-time chore) could be a compromise (not one I've ever succumbed-to), but you could add this step after trying no-turn bushing sizing if you find it necessary. Maybe a completely different approach would be more productive, like buying a case mic to better match your die setup to your chamber dimensions. Whatever you do, test and test *thoroughly*. If a change or addition to your process doesn't add a verifiable improvement to your performance, question whether it's worth the effort.

[Racalman]

Thanks rox, I appreciate you sharing your experience. More stuff to think about ...

I'd like to be a wind ninja too one day

[Racalman]

Thanks again everyone for the advice. This is how I have decided to proceed.

I have a spare decapping rod assembly for my Redding FLR die, so I have ground down the expander button and ordered a couple of expander mandrels from PGS.

Several people have told me that they get good results with a 0.307" mandrel, but how do you determine when the neck tension is correct?

[The Gun Pimp]

How do you determine the neck-tension is correct - simply by feel. A bullet should seat easily and smoothly. Too much tension will usually show up as a ring mark on the nose of the bullet. There is no right and wrong here - some guns/powders like a lot of neck-tension. some less. But, as a rule of thumb - aim for a couple of thou.

I go to a lot of trouble for my long-range benchrest loads and I can feel the difference in neck-tension as I seat the bullet. If you use a hand seater die and arbor press, it's easy to do this - not so with a Rockchucker style press. I then sort the high, low and medium neck-tensions into groups. This is very easy to do as you are seating the bullets. Does it make any difference? Well, only the target will tell you.

However, after all this faffing about and shooting competitive 1000 yard benchrest for over 20 years, I can say that the number of 5-shot half MOA groups I've seen shot is probably around a dozen a year - and we (UKBRA) probably shoot around 1000 groups per year.

When benchresters see a post like that from Rox, we all just sigh and wish he'd come and show us how it's done! But they never do........

[Racalman]

OK thanks. I've just ordered all the bits I need so I don't expect to be starting this until the new year.

I'll post some group results when I get them.

[rox]

When benchresters see a post like that from Rox, we all just sigh and wish he'd come and show us how it's done! But they never do........

I sigh when I see people told that they must use super brass, must trim this, weight that, sort the other. I also sigh when we're told that using good techniques or equipment doesn't matter unless you shoot this way or that way, condescending everyone else. You expect things to happen because you wish for them? Well, I suppose it is Christmas...

..

[rox]

When benchresters see a post like that from Rox, we all just sigh and wish he'd come and show us how it's done! But they never do........

I'd say this ammunition is holding half a minute, wouldn't you?

Fired this morning at 1000 yards in 12 to 15 minutes left wind, using sling & irons, and loaded today using a Dillon Super 1050 Progressive press in GGG brass obtained once-fired in bulk from a club.




..

[Racalman]

You have my utmost respect sir.

[Racalman]

Although ...

The TR V bull is 14.4 inches diameter, and OnTarget makes your group 1MOA.