• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

First time reloading for the 22BR - FL sizing?

I'm starting with new Lapua 6BR cases and Redding Competition dies. I notice even the FL sizing die with bushing doesn't resize the entire neck to the shoulder. The Body die only sizes the shoulder and body. I'm left with a small section of neck just in front of the shoulder that is greater in diameter than the bulk of the neck. If I were to turn case necks, that part of the neck would not be uniform with the rest. Not saying I need to turn necks at all because my chamber has a .254 neck but this is driving me crazy. Do I need to buy a Forster FL sizing die in order to resize the entire neck? I notice Redding and RCBS only offer bushing dies in that caliber. Also - that un-sized portion of the neck causes the case head to protrude too far out of the base of a Wilson head-space gauge. Any thoughts?
 
What your seeing isn’t uncommon. Assure your brass will chamber with little to no resistance and fireform your brass.

with formed brass the bushing will leave a small amount of neck unsized. Goodluck

Joe S
 
When necking down a case with a bushing, you will run into this (problem) as others have mentioned
it won't affect much. Also when necking down a case, the necks are usually thicker than normal.
Once I fire form the cases, I'll figure out what I need and order a custom honed FL sizer
from Forster. Always error on the small side. You can always use a mandrel to open up
or use to push out the neck, you can't if you make it too big. Then it defeats the purpose
and might as well get the bump bushing neck sizer.
The FL sizer will do all in one step. Set shoulder back, size neck and case.
 
You need to get the virgin Lapua 6BR necks under .254 (the chamber neck diameter) all the way to the neck/shoulder junction for the initial firing.

After the initial firing, you can have a portion of the lower neck unsized as it's now a bit under chamber neck diameter...due the the spring back of the brass (in theory).I don't like this for a number of reasons, but that's for another time.

I've done a good many 22BR's and use a Redding #91316 22BR standard, full length, non-bushing die to size to size the cases initially. It will size the necks all the way to the neck/shoulder junction.

Good shootin'. :) -Al
 
I always wondered why bushing dies do not size the neck above the shoulder neck junction.

Then it dawned on me, why size the donut and make the neck ID smaller.

Below the red arrow points to the area of the neck not sized on the Redding bushing die. Notice how far above the neck shoulder junction the bushing is and how much is not sized.

O5m9mBL.jpg


Bottom line, if you need to turn the necks get a standard non-bushing full length die. And use the WFT that trims the case off its shoulder, that way your cutter always stops at the same point at the neck shoulder junction.
 
I always wondered why bushing dies do not size the neck above the shoulder neck junction.

Then it dawned on me, why size the donut and make the neck ID smaller.

Below the red arrow points to the area of the neck not sized on the Redding bushing die. Notice how far above the neck shoulder junction the bushing is and how much is not sized.

O5m9mBL.jpg


Bottom line, if you need to turn the necks get a standard non-bushing full length die. And use the WFT that trims the case off its shoulder, that way your cutter always stops at the same point at the neck shoulder junction.

You like to post that picture of the defective bushing die. I have never in all my days used a die that was that far off. I guess if i ever do run across one ill fix it.
 
All my bushing dies are set up to size the entire length of the neck. On the Redding and Harrel's, the floor where the bushing sits has been lowered and a spacer made to fit above the bushing. On others, Redding Body Dies have been converted to accept a bushing and a decapping stem. Both ways work well.

Good shootin'. :) -Al
 
All my bushing dies are set up to size the entire length of the neck. On the Redding and Harrel's, the floor where the bushing sits has been lowered and a spacer made to fit above the bushing. On others, Redding Body Dies have been converted to accept a bushing and a decapping stem. Both ways work well.

Good shootin'. :) -Al

I've done the same. Use carbide tooling. That part of the die seemed especially hard.
 
I just got a custom honed FL sizer die back from them on Monday. (Sept. 30)
Sometimes they don't have the caliber you want in stock, so buy it from
Midway or Brownell's and fill out the form and sent it to them.
 
You like to post that picture of the defective bushing die. I have never in all my days used a die that was that far off. I guess if i ever do run across one ill fix it.

Must be a lot of defective bushing dies floating around, the website below shows the same thing.

Case Sizing 1: Sizing Die Selection
http://www.mssblog.com/2016/02/02/case-sizing-1-sizing-die-selection/

"Neck-bushing-style dies (in conjunction with full-length sizing die body) seem like a really good idea, and they can be — but they are another step in controlling case dimensions that most of us don’t want to take or need to take. My biggest issue with bushing dies is that they don’t size the full length of the case neck, and that can create problems. The arrow points to the small area of the case neck that is sized."

sizing_line.jpg



type-s-cutaway.jpg
 
Just for clarification on the 22BR, are those that aren't turning necks having issues with the bushing dies? I turn my necks on the 22BR before the neck down operation and have modified my die as Al noted. I haven't run in to any problems with donuts or concentricity.
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
166,283
Messages
2,215,506
Members
79,508
Latest member
Jsm4425
Back
Top