i just built a 308 winchester on a remington action, hart barrel, it should be a great shooter. My question is about reloading and neck tension. I'm gonna be using redding neck sizing dies with the bushings to set neck tension. What size bushing do i need? I've never loaded with this kind of dies before. the gun will be for just shooting paper if it matters.

0.002" smaller than a measured (outside neck dimension) loaded round

Depends on the neck thickness of the cases used. I use .331 - .335 bushings in .001 increments which covers the thinner necks, my neck turned match cases and thicker milsurp cases. I also look at .002 - .003 neck tension.

Larry Gibson

not real sure what the outside neck dimensions are i don't have any loaded rounds. will it be fine to check a factory shell (loaded). If it matters my brass is lapua.

You can measure the case neck thickness, multiply by 2 then add the bullet diameter.
As an example. Say your case neck measures .014"
2x.014 =.028
plus .308
.028 +.308 = .336
Now to determine bushing size subtract .002"
Which leaves .334"
This is why you need to measure the actual cases you will be using.

muck

Redding bushings do not have much of an inside edge radius. You can polish a radius on them or use Wilson bushings. Wilsons are the same extrenal dimensions and have a bigger edge radius. This helps the necks size down a little more concentrically.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Redding bushings do not have much of an inside edge radius. You can polish a radius on them or use Wilson bushings. Wilsons are the same extrenal dimensions and have a bigger edge radius. This helps the necks size down a little more concentrically.

SR I have to ask this question, but first let tell you about some certain ammo so you can understand what I'm getting after. The 6.5 Grendel was designed off of Lapua brass. In fact Lapua engineers had some input on the final case dimensions. The base of the neck and shoulder junction on the Lapua case is a sharp angle. Fast forward to recently where Hornady is producing 6.5 Grendel ammo. Immediately people begin to have head space problems of the Hornady not chambering. It was soon found out that the neck shoulder junction on the Hornady case was a rather large radius. That's been resolved. My question is if you radius out the Redding bushings is it possible that this same head space problem could arise as just mentioned? Just changing that angle on the 6.5 Grendel case was critical. I'd be careful of how much one would radius the bushing.

Most users of the bushing neck sizing dies do not resize the full length of the neck. Which leaves the neck shoulder junction in the as fired condition.
Some of us think this is a good thing. Possibly helping to "center" the case in the chamber.
This would preclude the problem you have mentioned.

muck

.333 for Winchester cases

quote:

My question is if you radius out the Redding bushings is it possible that this same head space problem could arise as just mentioned?

No
As muck indicated.
It sounds like the 6.5 Grendel chamber design could have been designed better. There is little point in having the sharp shoulder other than making the chamber reamers a little cheaper to grind.