223 FTR dies

[jsthntn247]

Which ones are you guys using? Also, in conjunction with expander balls, or cusomt expander mandrels?

 

[rayjay]

I would get a FL bushing sizing die or else a Forster and have them hone the neck so the expander ball wasn't doing much if anything. For the past few years I have been using Harrells bushing dies and recently I started doing some reloading of 221FB and 223 with conventional non-bushing dies. I HATE the heavy drag of the expander ball being pulled up through the neck. I have started putting a bit of lube on the mouth of the case as I am wiping it with the Imperial sizing die wax. A lot less drag from the expander ball but, I would rather have a precision die.

 

[swadiver]

Lee Collet die for the necks, and a Redding body die to bump the shoulders. working extremely well.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Brad - I'm using the Redding Type S Match Die Set for both .223 Rem and .308 Win. I remove the expander ball on all my dies. With the .223 Rem die, you have to leave the shaft and set screw in, just the expander ball comes out. On the .308s, the whole assembly comes out. So nothing super fancy.

The expander mandrel I use is the Sinclair Gen. II die and "oversized" expander mandrel. It is ~ .307" diameter. For virgin Lapua brass straight out of the box, I open the case necks up with the expander mandrel, then size them back down with the bushing die (.248"). Afterwards, trim and chamfer. I have shot virgin brass prepped this way in matches many times, it is quite good. I still use fireformed brass for important stuff, but the prepped virgin can give great results/. Unless you have a strong ejector that flat-spots the necks, I only use the expander mandrel on virgin brass...after that, there is usually no need.

 

[rayjay]

Lee Collet die for the necks, and a Redding body die to bump the shoulders. working extremely well.

I also have this exact set up but haven't tried it yet. For seating I have a Forster Ultra BR seater die that's been waiting on the shelf for at least 7 years

 

[swadiver]

I also have this exact set up but haven't tried it yet. For seating I have a Forster Ultra BR seater die that's been waiting on the shelf for at least 7 years

i also have the Forester Ultra BR seater die. the combo is making some fantastically accurate ammo

 

[jsthntn247]

Brad - I'm using the Redding Type S Match Die Set for both .223 Rem and .308 Win. I remove the expander ball on all my dies. With the .223 Rem die, you have to leave the shaft and set screw in, just the expander ball comes out. On the .308s, the whole assembly comes out. So nothing super fancy.

The expander mandrel I use is the Sinclair Gen. II die and "oversized" expander mandrel. It is ~ .307" diameter. For virgin Lapua brass straight out of the box, I open the case necks up with the expander mandrel, then size them back down with the bushing die (.248"). Afterwards, trim and chamfer. I have shot virgin brass prepped this way in matches many times, it is quite good. I still use fireformed brass for important stuff, but the prepped virgin can give great results/. Unless you have a strong ejector that flat-spots the necks, I only use the expander mandrel on virgin brass...after that, there is usually no need.

So you don't run over a mandrel before seating every firing, just on new brass?

 

[Ned Ludd]

So you don't run over a mandrel before seating every firing, just on new brass?

Never. Further, on virgin brass, the mandrel step is solely to open up every neck to some minimum size that is larger than the appropriate bushing. I've found that Lapua cases straight out of the box have neck diameter/tension all over the map. With the mandrel, some cases are tight, some medium, on some the neck walls barely even touch the mandrel. So everything gets opened up to a minimum diameter that is larger than the bushing I use. Then they all get sized back down with the Redding die, which really only sizes about 3/4 of the neck. At that point, the shoulders won't move at all. If the brass is fired in one of the .223s with coned bolt/no ejector, I don't typically use the mandrel a second time, only on virgin brass. On a couple of my .308s that have ejectors, I occasionally need to use the mandrel to smooth out some flat spots prior to FL resize.

There have been a number of posts recently regarding the use of a specific diameter mandrel to open up the neck as the last step in the resizing process. There should be no good reason that shouldn't work (from an engineering viewpoint). However, the idea of using the mandrel last bugs me mentally for reasons I can't well define, so I always finish up with the bushing die. I guess that part of it is that in order to use the mandrel in the final step, you have to size everything down below your target neck diameter so the mandrel can open it back up. That is working the neck more than is necessary, as in a normal routine you simply size the brass down once from it's expanded (fired) form. But it may be no issue at all. As far as your issue with the bushing not sizing all the way to the base of the neck, unfortunately that's a caveat that comes along with most bushing dies. I have never had any issue with it because of where my bullets are usually seated.