Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Need Bushing Diameter Help

Here's the situation; I'm having a custom, fast twist .25-06 built for my BIL's retirement. In with the rifle package, I want to include a set of bushing dies. I'm currently looking at a set of Redding Elite Type-S Bushing Dies.

My issue; I don't know what diameter bushings to buy for his first set. I don't own any .25-06 brass and have never reloaded for this caliber. Can someone help with common neck wall thicknesses of available brass? Online, I can find loaded Winchester ammo (I'd only have to sell one small child to pay for each box ), loaded Hornady ammo, a few pieces of Hornady virgin brass, and PPU brass and loaded ammo. There is nothing locally.

I greatly appreciate any input.

Ed

Have you looked at Redding's site

They explain the process purty well

https://www.redding-reloading.com/online-catalog/118-type-s-bushing-dies

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I have. I own several sets of the Redding bushing dies, and have solved it for those calibers, but my issue is with the unknown neck wall thickness of current production .25-06 brass.
I know that the majority of the centerfire calibers that I load for using US production brass runs around 0.014"- 0.015" neck wall thickness.

I just want this to be as perfect as I can get it right out of the box for him. If need be, I'll presume that 0.015" is most common and go with a bushing diameter that gives me 0.002" neck tension.

Ed

Hey Ed,

A suggestion if I may.

Get a standard Redding die set, a mandrel die and mandrel from Sinclair, PMA tool or 21st Century

It will work the brass a bit more and need one extra step, but it'll be a bit easier to set up consistent neck tension from where you are sitting.

Great way to go imho.

https://21stcenturyinnovation.com/buy-online

Thanks for the suggestion, Higgenz! I have used the Lee Collet dies, but never a mandrel setup. Is it similar to the Lee system?

This will be the first custom rifle he has ever owned and, though he's been reloading for several decades, it's always been with standard RCBS dies. I'm going to give him some help with more advanced brass handling techniques such as annealing, trimming, etc, so adding the mandrel step(s) will benefit both of us, particularly him.

Again, thanks to you guys for chiming in!

Ed

Just measured some loaded rounds...

PPU brass from 2020 with a seated 115 Ballistic Tip measures a BCH under .283.
90s era WW brass over a 100 gr Sierra Spitzer FB measures .2825.
Recent (before the bankruptcy) RP brass over 87 Sierra FB spitzer measures .2817.

Hope it helps.

No. Mandrels only expand necks sized by some other means.

Well, the Lee dies crimp onto a mandrel (if memory serves) where as the mandrel's I'm suggesting open up a sized down neck to the correct diameter.

Ideally, you'd size them down 3-4 thou (with a bushing) and run a mandrel for 2 thou tension. With a standard set of Redding dies, I'd bet you are sizing down 6-7 thousandths.

Custom gun, the guy who chambered it should be able to tell you the proper size.

Bushing size is determined by the thickness of the brass neck and the desired amount of interference fit when seating a bullet. Unless the chamber is so tight as to require neck turned brass, which again puts the emphasis back on the thickness of the neck walls, the chamber has nothing to do with bushing selection.

You’re never going to be able to tell until you have brass and bullets in hand. Even lot to lot variations can change the measurements. So you’ll have to buy him the components too, or you’ll be buying multiple bushings and hoping one will work.

A Lee collet die will bypass the bushing selection hassle.

Bushing Dies are going to fhuqk him up,wayyyyyyyy more than "help" him. The 25-06 is a bust to boot. Hint.

While a nice notion,you might as well connect mechanical dots and revisit the WHOLE enchilada. Hint.

Thank me later.

Just sayin'..............

This…and will make straighter necks to boot.

Lee's are barely suited to rate decoy anchor weights,but you Brokedicks are a hoot! Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............