My budget reloads are done with mixed brass. Should I use a bushing die or would I be better off sticking with a ball expander. And I don't turn necks.
Wood
Don't waste your time with a bushing die. You will be pulling your hair out, swapping bushings back and forth to get the right neck tension on your mixed brass.
Unless all of your case necks are the same thickness, and relative hardness, you will never get the same neck tension, and accuracy will be worse than if you just used a standard FL die, screwed down all the way.
12F, McGowen 6.5x284 1-8" twist, Nightforce 12-42x BR<br />BVSS, McGowen barrel, 22-250 1-9" twist, Nikon 6-18x<br />16 FHLSS Weather Warrior, Sinarms 257 Roberts, Pentax 3-9<br />Stevens 200, 223 bone-factory-stock, Nikon 3-9x<br />Scratch-built BVSS, LW 243 1-8" twist, Viper 6.5-20x50 mil-dot
First, buy a Lee collet neck die. This die squeezes the necks against a mandrel and doesn't care how thick or thin the necks are. Second, buy a Redding body die. This combo is IDEAL for either bolt-gun or semi usage, and doesn't overwork your brass. Third, anneal your case necks and then you don't have to worry as much about neck tension variations. Lee also sells different sized mandrels for different neck tension, or in my case, if you load oversized cast bullets, and need a neck a few thou larger. Works like a champ!
Kevin
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