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bushing dies ?

Keep in mind the brass will spring back after sizing. So a .248 bushing could well end up .249. I'm not sure how much I trust the dimensions of the bushings anyhow, but it's good practice to buy a couple that are a thou or two tighter than what you want. Brass is funny, so it's a bit of a guessing game. I'd start with a .247 if you want .002 of neck tension on a .250 loaded round. But .248 might work too.
 
For many years I used a 0.248" bushing with Lapua brass to load 90 VLDs for shooting F-TR matches with a .223 Rem bolt gun (Redding Type S die, Redding SS Bushing). It would yield a loaded neck diameter of 0.250" exactly as you described.

The only issue was that I would notice that maybe in one out of five or one out of ten loaded rounds, the seating force was noticeably different that the rest (i.e. harder or easier). I attributed this issue to likely variance in neck wall thickness. The solution I adopted was to use a bushing that was .001" smaller (i.e. 0.247") to size the necks first to a diameter slightly smaller than I had been doing when the bushing die was the sole sizing step, then opening the necks up in a second neck-sizing step using a 0.2225" mandrel (21st Century). A mandrel that is .0015" under bullet diameter should yield very close to .002" neck tension/interference fit (due to brass springback), as long as the selected bushing sizes all the necks just a tick smaller so the mandrel has to do some work to open all the necks back up just a tiny bit.

To cover all your bases with .223 Rem (i.e. due to different brands of brass, variance in bushing diameters from the manufacturer, using/not using a mandrel, etc.), I would suggest getting 0.245", 0.246", 0.247" and 0.248" bushings. In my hands, these four bushings will cover just about everything. I use the Redding SS bushings with their Type S die sets. You can also go with titanium nitride, but they're more expensive, so I might wait and see which SS bushing gets used the most before going that route.
 
For many years I used a 0.248" bushing with Lapua brass to load 90 VLDs for shooting F-TR matches with a .223 Rem bolt gun (Redding Type S die, Redding SS Bushing). It would yield a loaded neck diameter of 0.250" exactly as you described.

The only issue was that I would notice that maybe in one out of five or one out of ten loaded rounds, the seating force was noticeably different that the rest (i.e. harder or easier). I attributed this issue to likely variance in neck wall thickness. The solution I adopted was to use a bushing that was .001" smaller (i.e. 0.247") to size the necks first to a diameter slightly smaller than I had been doing when the bushing die was the sole sizing step, then opening the necks up in a second neck-sizing step using a 0.2225" mandrel (21st Century). A mandrel that is .0015" under bullet diameter should yield very close to .002" neck tension/interference fit (due to brass springback), as long as the selected bushing sizes all the necks just a tick smaller so the mandrel has to do some work to open all the necks back up just a tiny bit.

To cover all your bases with .223 Rem (i.e. due to different brands of brass, variance in bushing diameters from the manufacturer, using/not using a mandrel, etc.), I would suggest getting 0.245", 0.246", 0.247" and 0.248" bushings. In my hands, these four bushings will cover just about everything. I use the Redding SS bushings with their Type S die sets. You can also go with titanium nitride, but they're more expensive, so I might wait and see which SS bushing gets used the most before going that route.
Ned, What is Redding SS bushings? I have the Ti and Steel. Didn’t know if there are some different bushings or not. Side note, also have Wilson bushings which I really like. Thanks
 
Ned, What is Redding SS bushings? I have the Ti and Steel. Didn’t know if there are some different bushings or not. Side note, also have Wilson bushings which I really like. Thanks
Stainless steel (SS). Sorry about that - we already live in a world that is overrun with acronyms, I shouldn't be adding to it.

I've always used the Redding bushings, and they seem to work just fine for me. I'm don't doubt that the bushings from several other manufacturers such as Wilson and SAC are also excellent; they certainly get excellent reviews. Regardless of whose bushing one uses, it's always a good idea to get a few different sizes within a useful range for a single caliber/cartridge. There's nothing worse than realizing you don't have the correct bushing and will have to order one and wait. LOL
 
I have several bushing dies and to date have never ordered the correct size bushings the first time. The supposed rule of thumb...You measure, say, .250 so you order .248 bushings for .002 tension has never worked for me. Therefore I own numerous amounts of bushings. But, that's how my luck runs.
My experience exactly. If you buy steel bushings, they can easily have the ID enlarged with a split dowel and sandpaper. And as mentioned, the bushing ID does not always match the marking. If you undersize the neck using a smaller bushing, then use a mandrel, you may be happier.
 
Keep in mind the brass will spring back after sizing. So a .248 bushing could well end up .249. I'm not sure how much I trust the dimensions of the bushings anyhow, but it's good practice to buy a couple that are a thou or two tighter than what you want. Brass is funny, so it's a bit of a guessing game. I'd start with a .247 if you want .002 of neck tension on a .250 loaded round. But .248 might work too.
Precisely. Buy the size you think you need and two sizes up and two sizes down. Should be covered then.
 
The one caveat to bushing interchangeability is Forster, theirs take Forster bushings only. And I saw an announcement today, they released a 1/2 dozen or so, FLS bushing dies, guess they expand that with demand for other cartridges eventually.
 
I don’t have pin gages but I do verify the bushing ID with a caliper, size the brass and record the OD of the sized neck. I have never been able to record any noticeable spring back, for me it is a non issue.
These were sized a week ago with a .262 bushing
 

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If you're not turning the necks,some kind of expander should be used.I measure the neck thickness around the case with a neck micrometer and that gets rid of the ones that are inconsistent.I counted up the number of 223 sizing dies I have about a week ago and I came up with 7.Bushing dies,collet dies,mandrels,full length dies,neck dies,and so on.The best one I've found for the 223 is the same one I use for my 6.5 CM.It's the Forster Benchrest Full length sizing die.Optimum neck tension,minimal runout and the smoothest expander setup I've ever used.You can barely feel the expander doing its job.But they're not a bushing die.I really like the idea of not spending $100 for a few bushings.
 
It is a rabbit hole, I have neck dies, neck/bump bushing dies, FLS dies, FLS bushing dies and mandrels and two step mandrels (for cast bullets). THe one thing I do enjoy in having all that, is versatility, I think. I can fiddlefart with a case in pretty much any fashion I like. I can make sure new case necks are round, size them to work on a turning mandrel, resize them back to the size I want, for some guns I'll just neck size and bump, others get the full treatment with an FLS or the FLS bushng die, I can argue with an ornery case neck or body ( as I'd never ever miss sizing one, or use the wrong bushing or find out I really shud have FLS'd a case :oops:)
 

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