Exactly ... I use the FL bushing die (Redding Type-S) to size the case and reduce the neck, and then a mandrel to expand to my end-state seating size ... all after annealing (of course).
Honestly, that really depends on the cartridge, how hot the load is, and what is done to the brass between firings. I’m still competing, and winning with a 6 dasher that has over 4900 rounds through it and the brass has between 24-25 firings on it and I still have 176 pieces of the original 197 I started with. Zero pieces lost to cracked necks or bodies. Loose primer pockets account for 90% of my culled brass.
This can work very well. I’m not a mandrel user but I know a ton of great shooters that use mandrels.
^^^^ THIS IS WHAT I DO, except no mandrel usage.
Yea, I don't use the mandrel either.
Yeah I don’t use a mandrel either. I set my bushing up so it stop just above the neck/shoulder junction and never had an issue with donuts either.
Lol. Stopped shooting those disappearing bullets a few years ago!
You seem to be under the impression that doughnuts are caused or made worse by bushing dies. In my experience they are not. Doughnuts are produced by the sizing of the case body and shoulder bump. When you reduce the the diameter of the body along its length that brass is forced up the case so that the thicker brass at the top of the shoulder is forced into the base of the neck. This also happens from bumping shoulders back, with more bump moving more brass. You can easily see what is going on by monitoring case length before and after sizing. It has been my experience that few reloaders compare the diameter of brass before and after sizing, at the shoulder and at the .200 line. Some dies reduce the diameter of a fired case a lot more than others, and IMO it is common for people to set their dies for bump based on a case that is not tight at the shoulder, which can exacerbate the doughnut issue. To understand this you need to understand what happens to the fore and aft position of the case as a round if being fired. This gets into the same thing that causes incipient separations.
I have plenty if you want some.
My buddy has a bunch he tried to sell on UGE. Last week he had 4 out of his last 10 blow up about 40 yards out. None of those shots recorded on the labradar at the 45 yard reading....
All I have shot since 2008 and never a donut. Lol
You won't have if you are seating them below the neck each time. Just like using an expander. Guys that use standard dies with the expander ball will probably not have them either. I had only been shooting Bergers and SMKs in mine. Bought both the 140 and 147s just to try something new. It belled my seating stem trying to push them past the donut. I wanted to shoot the 147 long range so I rented a throating reamer. Had to take it out .170 further to keep them above the junction. Some have them and some don't. At my age I seem to have more problems than most. That is why I hang out here.
I had a bunch on there to and had no takers. I guess the guys that posted about blow ups scared everyone else off. I only run the 140s at 2860 so no problems so far.
Been shooting Berger 140g hybrids in a 6.5CM and have zero donut issues. The freebore is longer and it’s likely we would never have to load where the pressure ring would touch any donut if present.
