Sizing dies: custom vs bushing vs standard

[Freediver111]

I normally run Redding FL bushing dies when sizing brass, but recently built a 300 wsm and a buddy had an RCBS FL die he didn’t need and gave it to me. I pulled the expander ball and decapping pin from it and just bump the shoulder 0.002”, then finish with an expander mandrel for proper neck tension.

I had an issue with this rifle when shooting some mildly warm loads suppressed. Lots of carbon building up in the chamber. Recently had it +P’d and I’m back to doing load development. Seems like it’s shooting fine now, but now I’m wondering if a new sizing die would be a benefit or not.

In your experiences have you noted any improvement when using a standard el cheapo die with expander ball and decapping pin removed versus say a custom made Whidden FL die for $200 or a bushing die set like a Redding or Hornady for under $60-$100? I don’t mind spending some cash, but also prefer not to spend it for no discernible changes in performance.

Thanks!

 

[Dolomite]

The difference between my Whidden custom die and Redding die is that the Whidden sizes the brass maybe .001-.002 in the body area vs the Redding/rcbs/Forster sizes the shoulder neck junction and body .004 smaller in some areas. The base also gets sized smaller with the custom die to prevent clickers. The custom die barely works the brass for supposedly longer brass life as is closely matches the chamber of your barrel vs off the shelf sizes the brass to some saami spec to accommodate all diff chambers.

If you have a custom chamber the custom die will better match your chamber to prevent clickers or over working your brass.

As far as notable differences I had to change the powder load I guess due to change in the internal brass domensions.

Bushing dies allow you to control the interference fit between the bullet and the neck of the brass ie neck tension. A regular non honed sizing die really sizes the neck down by a few thousands and if you use a mandrel to size it back up by let’s say .006 or what ever your target neck diameter is, you are probably over working the brass neck area. Annealing should help that. Most prefer to barely size the neck and mandrel up to desired neck diameter which barely works the neck.

Measure a fired case before and after sizing to see how much difference the die is sizing the neck and body. I prefer about .005 or less in sizing between fired case and sized case in the neck. Works the brass less, but hey to each his own.

If the el cheapo works for you keep using it, as it shouldn’t make a huge difference in accuracy just in brass life and to avoid the dreaded clicker from not sizing the base enough. It really all depends on your chamber.

Hopefully that helps some.

 

[Buzzinga]

I went down that rabbit hole for ten years or more. Everything was custom, Whidden, or was a $200-300 set of Redding dies with a full assortment of the best bushings for neck sizing, expensive mandrels to set the neck correctly, etc. It ultimately created too many headaches and either showed reduced results or no improvements at all.

In the last few years I've gone back to using simple RCBS FL sizing dies with the expander ball left in and it just works. My fundamentals and diet play a much larger role in my accuracy than the type of die I use.

For the hell of it, I measured the neck diameter of the cheap RCBS dies. This would be the equivalent to the size of neck bushing used. I forget the actual number, but in I think Lapua SR 6.5CM brass was being sized down only .002", which is basically what most people use for neck bushings. Combine that with a small .003" shoulder bump and brass isn't being sized anymore than with way more expensive dies.

Neck sizing only results in extraction problems and will eventually have to be FL sized anyways. Plus, I never thought neck only was ideal for accuracy--which is the opposite of what I was always taught--tight brass to chamber fit seem to induce more problems than advantages, at least for me.

I mentioned diet above, eating healthy--which means staying away from fast food, highly processed foods, too much dairy or flour-type products, and eating tons of fruits and veggies, natural foods, high grade meats, eggs, avocados, etc will make you a better shooter than any type of sizing die can ever do for you.

Also, stay hydrated! Gatorade will not hydrate you, it is filled with sugar and almost no electrolytes. Your body needs about 5000 mg of Potassium to function correctly, Gatorade has about 50 mg and tons of sugar. Electrolyte powder mixed with purified water will do wonders for your body's ability to stay calm, your vision, your attitude, focus, and endurance. Also, caffeine won't do you any favors, and good sleep also helps.

The last part is way off topic, but diet, in regards to shooting is not often talked about here, yet it has a bigger impact on one's shooting than most things being discussed.