Bushing with Winchester Brass

[Prc329]

O.K. for my lapua brass .336 seems to be on the money. For federal .335 is o.k. but I may get a .334 because I want it a little tighter for my 175g SMK load. What bushing size would be good for winchester? The .335 is the smallest I have and it will not size the necks enough to hold a bullet no matter how I set my Redding Type-S bushing die.

BTW Federal brass is pretty soft. Every piece I have needs to be trimmed after the first firing. I may have to spring for a trim mate because the trimming part actually goes pretty quick thanks to my power drill on my RCBS trimmer but deburring and chamfering slows me down.

[rksimple]

I needed a 332 for my winchester brass.

[Fjold]

I guess I'm not understanding how you are using the bushing diies.

I set my bushing size to get .002" of neck tension on my loaded ammunition.

The bushing squeezes down the neck of the case to adjust neck size before the bullet is seated. Once the bullet is seated, the diameter of the bullet and the thickness of the brass gives you the loaded neck diameter of the round.

You can neck turn your brass to get more consistency but then you get a sloppy cartridge to chamber fit. I have my match chambers cut with a custom neck size to match the unturned Lapua brass.

[6079Winston]

I can't remember if I use a .330" or .332" for Winchester 308 brass. I use Redding Type S Bushing Dies and use a carbide expander ball to make bushing selection less critical and to avoid neck turning. I use the largest bushing that will size the neck down enough to contact the expander. Less than perfect, but more than good enough. 6mmbr.com has info on how to set up and use these dies, probably on the .308 cartridge page.

[Prc329]

I guess I'm not understanding how you are using the bushing diies.

I set my bushing size to get .002" of neck tension on my loaded ammunition.

The bushing squeezes down the neck of the case to adjust neck size before the bullet is seated. Once the bullet is seated, the diameter of the bullet and the thickness of the brass gives you the loaded neck diameter of the round.

You can neck turn your brass to get more consistency but then you get a sloppy cartridge to chamber fit. I have my match chambers cut with a custom neck size to match the unturned Lapua brass.

I didn't have any loaded ammo in winchester brass. I was trying to guess.

[Waldo]

I just finished loading up some 308 ammo...the loaded rounds measure out to 0.334 using Winchester brass, so the bushing size would be 0.002 to 0.003 less than that if I were using neck dies.

On the bolt guns using Lapua brass, the bushing size for me is 0.335, since the cases are lightly turned. Same size for the unturned Federal.

[Timberwolf]

For winny brass use either .331 or .332 depending on how much neck tension you want.

[Prc329]

Thanks guys. Gotta hit up grafs :D

[crowbar]

My loaded rounds (Winchester) measure .334; bullet seating after sizing with a .332 bushing is a bit soft so I'm using a .331 now. If you don't have loaded ammo to measure, just seat a bullet in an empty case. You can either pull it afterwards, or mark the case and save it as a sample/test round.
Regards,
Mike