Standard or Bushing FL Die

[matchbook454]

You guys were a great help in narrowing down a powder, now I need help with dies. Wondering what to get for my 6.5 CM? I’m torn between getting a regular FL sizing due or Bushing type. Leaning towards Redding btw. Just don’t want to get in over my head as I’ve never loaded metallic cartridges before - only shotshells. Right now I’m just reloading once fired Hornady brass but feel some day I’ll be shooting Lapua, Starline, Norma, etc.. Anyway, what do you guys suggest? Other than being able to better control neck tension what other differences are there between the 2 types of dies?

 

[Steel head]

If you don’t mind an extra step then a Lee collet and a Redding body die is an excellent option.
The Lee collet doesn’t care what the neck thickness is and makes straight ammo.
And it’s cheap!

A honed Forster is my second favorite but it’s optimized for a very narrow neck thickness range

I’m personally not a fan of bushing dies unless your neck expansion is minimal.

 

[One1Bravo]

I've had good results with a FL bushing die sizing my necks down .004 and expanding with a TiN neck turning mandrel.

 

[salks]

I just use a standard FL redding die with good results. Using 6.5 CM Lapua brass I get about .002 neck tension. Whatever you do I believe consistency is key. For me personally I don't need another variable thrown in the mix.

 

[Supersubes]

Regular old hornady match die. Just about half the price of the Redding, and better quality. Way way better internal finish, much lower effort to fl size, and not picky about lube. Takes standard Redding/Wilson bushings. I prefer the Wilson. Excellent expander design too.

Notice how the light doesn’t reflect out of the hornady die. It’s because the finish is so fine. Unlike the Redding. Ive taken castings of both of these 6.5 cm dies. They’re dimensioned identically. I can FL size and shoulder bump a fired 6.5cm case with one finger using the hornady. Not even close with the Redding.

Every single element of the Redding is shittier than the hornady. Look at the surface finish of the end of the die. The Redding also has a garbage decap/expander rod design.

Here’s a $210 6mmAR custom die.
Same garbage finish inside. They all look like this.

 

[Danale147]

Best results I've seen are using a standard FL Redding die with the expander button removed, followed by running it through a Sinclair .001 tension mandrel. In a no neck turn type chamber, this gives consistent results. Mandrel vs bushing is a toss up between which way do you want it most uniform. Bushing will get the outside of the neck near perfect uniform, where as mandrels will get the inside of the neck, (the part that contacts the bullet) most consistent and uniform. Neck turning would take it one step further, but personally, I don't neck turn at this point.

Just something to consider/ my .02

 

[spife7980]

I have migrated to the honed forsters and the redding type s bushing for my precision rifles I really care about. The only difference between the two that I can tell is that I think that I can slightly feel the necks dragging when I run my 223 brass through the giraud trimmer where the bushing left that slightly larger unsized area. Doesnt effect the trim length, just a bit of friction/stickiness when pulling it out of the case holder. Cant feel it in the rifles chamber or anything.

If its something Im not sure about sticking with long term then Ill buy the cheap garbage hornady die sets and deal with the over working of the case necks. The garbage comment is mainly about the "universal" hornady seaters though which are not universal, they are barely functional with their label designated chamber. At least in my forster press where I have to have the lock ring almost all the way off the die threads to make it base line functional. Their sizer is a wash between the normal redding/rcbs/forster/lyman etc sizing dies.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

If you're shooting it in a SAAMI chamber, a standard F/L die will work OK.

I use SAAMI chambers and I like the Hornady New Dimensions dies (for my 260 and 6.5G) because of the elliptical sizer ball.

I'm not a BR shooter, I'm a cheapskate...

Greg

 

[ditter]

I have a redding bushing die. Definitely a solid piece of equipment that will help your reloading process. You'll be glad you got it.

But if I were you, I'd upgrade to Lapua brass first.

 

[matchbook454]

Well, after shooting with someone this morning who reloads I decided on a Lee Collet die to start. I like what I’ve read about them and for what I’m doing it’s a good start. Will probably try other stuff down the road but for now this seems like a logical way to go.

 

[FLIGHT762]

Just a Lee Collet die isn't going to cut it. At some point, after 4,5,6+ neck only sizing loadings, you're going to need to F/L size the cases. You can't neck only size forever.

A Redding body die like Steel Head suggested is needed to size the body and shoulder to get the cases to chamber again.

The first time you have to beat on your bolt handle to open it with a 2X4 to get a stuck case out, you'll get it.

I use a Lee Collet die with a Redding Body die. They make very accurate ammo.

 

[matchbook454]

I’m aware of that and will also be getting the Redding Body Die. But thanks for your response! Will also need a seating die which I will probably get a an RCBS or Redding.

 

[FLIGHT762]

The Forster micro seater would be my first choice with Redding second and RCBS third. I have the Redding and the RCBS Gold Medal seater with the open port. I prefer the Redding to that. The Forster has a little larger micro top that is a bit easier to read than the Redding.

 

[Brux]

Honed forster or anything besides a redding.

 

[whatsupdoc]

@Supersubes is correct the hornady match grade have the best internal finish of any commercial die.
I have a preference for custom honed non bushing dies and have custom honed a few myself.
After measuring case neck runout using bushing and non bushing dies, there seems to be no measurable difference between the two as both produce less than .001 runout.

Pick one if you dont like it sell it and get another, dies are cheap.

 

[Steel head]

Just a Lee Collet die isn't going to cut it. At some point, after 4,5,6+ neck only sizing loadings, you're going to need to F/L size the cases. You can't neck only size forever.

A Redding body die like Steel Head suggested is needed to size the body and shoulder to get the cases to chamber again.

The first time you have to beat on your bolt handle to open it with a 2X4 to get a stuck case out, you'll get it.

I use a Lee Collet die with a Redding Body die. They make very accurate ammo.

This.
learn your rifle brass combination.
I neck size three times then they get annealed and the body die with my 260.
I could go longer with the LCD on that rifle but I don’t like to let them get tight
My 7 saum gets the body die every other loading.