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6 BRA sizing issue?

kyotekiller25

Silver $$ Contributor
So I'm trying to size some of my 1x fired brass and not quite sure what the deal is. It is not sizing the neck at all. I think I need a bushing, but I'm going to explain and show pictures and see what you guys think. I bought these dies with the rifle, the sizer was/is "honed" and there is no expander. There are no marking on said sizer, so I don't even know who the manufacturer is to get a bushing. Fired case neck measures .2705" and my "sized" case necks are coming out to .2705" also. It is definitely bumping the shoulder back, as they come out at 1.175" fired, and its now at 1.171", after sizing. I thought if I kept screwing the die further down, it would size some of the neck...It is also sizing down to the .200" line just fine. Fired case is .4715" and sized is .4695" So the dies are sizing everything but the neck correctly...

So I finally took the die apart and started looking into it. This is where I finally came up with the conclusion I needed a bushing. Can anyone verify this and tell me what brand or type of bushing to get for this die?

My loaded rounds are coming out to .2685" so for the 2 thou neck tension that I want, ideally the necks should be sized down to .267" so that'd give me 1.5 thou give or take, close enough. Am I on the right track here? Do I just need to get a .267" redding bushing?

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What are the neck walls turned to? Is the honed die for virgin brass or a specific neck wall thickness?
They always are. Sounds like the necks are turned to thin for this honed die. And no a honed die will not take a bushing. They are honed for a specific neck thickness.
 
I don't have a mandrel die and don't really know anything about them. I've always just used a bushing 2-3 thou under loaded neck diameter. Any recommendations on a cheap and simple mandrel die? Too many to choose from, and from my limited research, each manufacturer says they're for a different purpose.
 
6BRA said:
What are the neck walls turned to? Is the honed die for virgin brass or a specific neck wall thickness?
They always are. Sounds like the necks are turned to thin for this honed die. And no a honed die will not take a bushing. They are honed for a specific neck thickness.
Click to expand...

No idea. All I know is the die is honed. The brass that came with the rifle was used for this die. It's lapua brass and I'm 99% sure the necks aren't turned as it's a no neck turn chamber.
 
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My starting place would be to get an accurate neck wall thickness. Not with calipers.
Honed dies are made to use based on exact neck wall thickness. You have to turn the necks to set your neck tension. A reverse process. From your above picture of case neck, imo the walls look pretty thin.
 
Turning from .0125 to .0105 neck walls will reduce your neck tension/interference by .004 thousandths on the same given honed die. If necks walls are too thin the die will not resize your interior dimensions enough to grip the bullet. If you aren't prepared to control your neck walls to .0002. I would get a new bushing die, and a few bushings. Leave the honed die alone for a while. Tighter is better IMO in the BRA.
 
That is, fure sure, a harrells die. It NEEDS the correct bushing. I'd suggest a size up and down from ideal diameter. The reference to being honed might be honing the small diameter in the die itself. Sometimes those are close to the point it will scrape the neck going in. Its just a clearance hole, bushing will take care of the sizing.
 
Well I just got ahold of the guy and he said he wasn't using a bushing. I don't see how, because this isn't even touching the necks. It won't hold a bullet at all. Running it through the die comes out the same as a fired case. So what do I do from here?
 
kyotekiller25 said:
Well I just got ahold of the guy and he said he wasn't using a bushing. I don't see how, because this isn't even touching the necks. It won't hold a bullet at all. Running it through the die comes out the same as a fired case. So what do I do from here?
Click to expand...
Order a Wilson FL bushing die.

I can’t see how he wasn’t using a bushing either.

With a .2685 loaded round I’d order a .264, .265 and .266

I’m a little worried that you only have about .0025 neck clearance. Keep it clean!
 
Well the barrel is marked .271 neck, but when I talked to him, he said its actually technically closer to .2715" and it's the same one he personally uses. 2.5-3 thou total neck clearance should be fine right?
 
kyotekiller25 said:
Well I just got ahold of the guy and he said he wasn't using a bushing. I don't see how, because this isn't even touching the necks. It won't hold a bullet at all. Running it through the die comes out the same as a fired case. So what do I do from here?
Click to expand...
I offered a free bushing, shipped on my dime...
 
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