Bushings vs Lee Collet Die

[Joe R]

gotcha said:

Joe R said: ↑
I turn necks on all my brass and I have used both the bushing dies and the LCD.

I'm not a fan of bushing dies because I know for a fact that my Redding bushing dies introduce runout. I have the S type, the neck sizing type and the small base type all with bushings. I have tried all kinds of shenanigans to reduce runout but I wasn't successful until I changed dies. I do find them useful for experimenting with neck tension.

I like the LCD but unfortunately sooner or later you have to size the body too and there goes consistency.

So why not use your LCD in combination with a Redding body die ?

What I have found that works best for me (F-TR shooter) is a RCBS small base die that constrict the neck to .335 and eliminates runout to .0005 to .001. then I fine tune the neck tension with a Sinclair expansion die with a custom mandrel that I polished down to exactly what I wanted. If you think about it the outside of the neck really doesn't matter much (as long as it fits the chamber) it is the inside of the neck that is crucial for bullet release. I do believe that uneven (different thickness) necks will release bullets unevenly and that is why I turn them, just my opinion.

Kindest regards,

Joe

 

[ireload2]

The outside of the neck when fitted to the the chamber neck aligns the bullet with the bore axis.
A bushing die cannot create much runout if it is only sizing the neck a few thousandths.

 

['Freak]

Why wouldn’t the firing pin, if the ejector hasn’t done so already, shove the case forward so it’s sorta funneled to the center of the chamber by the angle on the respective shoulders? Even a closely fitted case neck still has to have a thousandth or so clearance enough to allow clean release of the bullet, at least twice clearance found about the bullet’s bearing surface within the freebore/leade of any accuracy oriented chamber. If all was made perfect, the case centers on its shoulder leaving the case neck centered within the available clearance and not touching a thing, and neither does the bullet unless seated out far enough to make contact with the lands; rite?

 

[Joe R]

Freak said:
...the case centers on its shoulder leaving the case neck centered within the available clearance and not touching a thing...

I believe the case centers on its head held there by the bolt face and extractor as it was being pushed into the chamber. The shoulder should touch lightly, or not at all, the front of the chamber. Basically the case body, neck and bullet should not be touching anything other than the bolt face and extractor. That's what centered means to me.

IMO what eliminated runout for me by using the small base die, it is the fact that the small base die more tightly straightens the case. I also believe that bushings introduce runout. Just think about it, they are loose floating around in there. Granted the amount of space it has to float is minimal but it is more than a fixed neck die. As I see it the bushings do not help with runout and may hurt. YMMV.

Joe