Wondering about dies to load 300 WM for a bolt gun

[HAZORD]

I just ordered a Remington 700 SS 5R Milspec, and plan to reload for it. I'm wanting to use a bushing die to minimize neck working, but I'm wondering which brand to use. I have a Redding S die FL for 308 in an M1A, but I won't need to resize so much for the bolt gun. I see Redding has a "Competition" S-die set, and also a standard S-die set. I want to squeeze the most accuracy out of the rifle and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with the variations of S-dies? I would think I would eventually just want to bump the shoulder 3 thousands and size the neck. What version of die would do that with the least amount of hassle?

Thanks in advance.

John

 

[ShtrRdy]

I'd recommend Redding die set with the Neck Bushing die, the Body die, and the micrometer Bullet Seater die. I don't recall what they call that set, maybe "competition"?

 

[Aimsmall55]

I've got the redding comp seater die, and body die. Also a whidden neck bushing die. I've got 4 presses so I just line em up. But I have to admit my usual routine is prep, load, shoot, anneal, bump 3/1000's, and I have a Lee Collet die set for the exact tension that shoots best. I LOVE my Lee Collet. Cheap , effective , and will usually clear a lot of run out issues.

 

[ZiaHunter]

Bushing dies are he way to go such as the Redding Type S. I have the Competition set as well as a Type S FL die. Rarely use the neck and body die anymore and primarily use the S type. I only bump the shoulder a little over .001 when resizing cases. After two firings I anneal the brass which helps in getting consistent sizing. For me Norma brass has given me the best results. If you want to maximize case life as well as the reduce the potential of case head separation only minimally size the brass just enough to allow the round to chamber without resistance.

 

[damoncali]

As others have said, you want the Redding full length Type S sizer and whichever seater you want. You don't need the neck die at all. The micrometer seaters are very convenient, but not necessary if you're on a budget.

You can bump the shoulder .001-.003 or whatever you want and size the neck with the FL bushing die. I bump .001 to .0015 for bolt guns as measured by the Hornady gages. You don't need two sizing operations. (Unless you have to size the neck down a lot. Some people report that it's better done in two stages if you have a long way to go. I've never had that problem, so I can't really comment on how much is too much.)

In any case, you only need two dies.

However... If your goal is to minimize working the brass, you won't get too much benefit from the bushing die with a factory chamber, which is going to be fairly loose. You're going to be working the brass a lot regardless. This is why customs are often built with tighter neck clearance (say, .004-005" diametrical clearance). It won't hurt anything to use the bushing, but don't expect miracles. When you rebarrel, having the bushing dies will make a bigger difference.

 

[damoncali]

Good point. If you want to mess around with that, you'll need both dies. If you look closely, the type S dies won't size the neck quite all the way to the shoulder (at least the few I have don't), so there's a little of this built in already.

 

[Sweetyzfd]

Tag for later reading

 

[Fuzzball]

If you're new to reloading, get a die set with ".300 WM" written on them. It will take you a long time to learn to reload well and to develop a good charge as well as any common two die set will permit. When you learn to load well enough you won't have to ask anyone else what size Redding neck bushing you need you MIGHT then be ready to upgrade your dies.