OzFclass

G'day all,

I was to get some Redding F/L bushing dies for my 308. I have a .343 neck. Whats the best bushing size to get for it? Ive heard BR guys have only 2 thou clearance. Would 4-5 thou overall be enough?

I shoot FS.

shaun,
a good starting point is a bushing that will give 0.002"tension on your bullet. you can establish this by measuring with a micrometer the diameter of the sized neck prior to seating, and the diemeter of the neck with bullet seated.
0.004" clearance is a good ammount.
keep safe,
bruce.

Bruce,

A sized case at the moment is around .335 - .336 and loaded neck is 337 - 3375. This is with Forster Ultra dies and Lapua brass.

So really I should order a bunch of bushings and test them out and see which gives me 2 thou tension?

Hi Shaun,

It looks like you already have around 2 thou of tension with your current setup.

If you don't plan on turning your necks then you should be good with the .335 or .336 bushing. If you plan on turning your necks get a .334 instead of the .336, but in all reality you probably won't take .0005 of the neck when you turn it and end up using the .335 bushing like I do.

I have both the TiN and steel bushing and I don't think TiN are worth the extra cost. I apply a very small amount of imperial sizing wax to the neck (not shoulder though) and they go in and out beautifully.

Catchya mate.

Sam