Redding vs RCBS neck bushings

[jameydan]

I have a significant amount of 7.62 LC M118 SB and M118, from which I want to swap bullets (AKA Mexican match). I am familiar with the actual process and I have been reloading for a long time, but I am having a problem with the LC brass.
After pushing then pulling the bullets, the neck tension ends up being to light. I am using a Hornady cam lock bullet puller. When I re-seat the new 168's in place of the old 173's, the bullet is to easily set back into the case. I measured the case neck inside diameter as best as I could with calipers and came up with .307 to .308". With my hand loads, the calipers measure .305" after my Winchester brass is resized. I like that much neck tension on the bullets considering this ammo is reloaded for rapid fire stages in XTC matches.

What I want to do is slightly resize the necks on these cases to increase the neck tension and then seat the new bullets. I want to avoid using lube if possible. I see that RCBS and Redding have "coated" bushings. RCBS uses Tungsten Disulfide and Redding bushings are Titanium Nitride.

Would one of these bushings allow me to size the neck without lube?

I am familiar with how to order the correct size bushing as I used a Redding Type S full length bushing die in the past for .223.

Thanks for the help!

Jamey

 

[tjtjwdad]

For case lube, there is a dry lube kit out there that works very well. Just Google "Imperial Dry Lube, and select images. I use it and I really like it. For my neck bushings mine are all STD, although my expander balls are carbide.

Don't know if it matters or not but all military bullets I've ever pulled has a sealer coating. May be worth while to clean that out of the neck.

HTH

 

[nfhjr62]

Question: you are pulling mil 173gr bullets to seat 168MK's, are you dumping the powder and then resizing the case mouth.
Just make sure you don't strike the primer!!!
My self have a full can of same LC ammo, shooting this in my BAS/K rifle am getting .750 five shot groups then i process the cases.

 

[jameydan]

Question: you are pulling mil 173gr bullets to seat 168MK's, are you dumping the powder and then resizing the case mouth.
Just make sure you don't strike the primer!!!
My self have a full can of same LC ammo, shooting this in my BAS/K rifle am getting .750 five shot groups then i process the cases.

nfhjr62,

I was hoping to simply pull the bullet carefully, leaving the powder in the case, then run the case in a neck sizing die -with a coated bushing. I would then reseat the bullet.

Without a decapping stem in the way, there would be no worries about the primer. I was hoping one of the bushings mentioned in my first post - I call them coated, but maybe they are not and that is the composition of the whole bushing - would work with out lube so I could eliminate one more step.

I will be using this ammo at 200 and 300 yard service rifle matches, so getting the Nth degree out of this Mexican match is not crucial. I will use my hand loads for 600+ yds.

Thanks!

 

[Bamban]

JW,

Measure the neck of the loaded M118 ammo, get the bushing that is .002 smaller, which I would think should be in the .335 +/- .001 depending on how thick the necks are of the particular year

Yes, you can run the charged brass through the neck sizer minus the expander stem and seat the bullets. Last season I processed over 2K ammo that way. I use the .335 bushing.

Nez

 

[jameydan]

Nez,

Funny we run into each other where we do.

That is exactly the info I needed!

Thanks,

JW

 

[Catfish]

If you have enough tention to hold the bullet in place without resizing I would recomand you try a few rounds without resizing to see how accurat it is. The amount of tention on the buttet doesn`t matter much as long as it is consistant. I have a pile of RCBS dies, but none are the bushing dies, they are all Redding dies, so I can`t compair them for you.