Bushing Neck Die

[Kurt]

That was an interesting project that came together.

[J.B.]

That is a good result indeed. I wouldnt have been game enough to tackle that. With Meacham gone and CH4D no longer making these bushing dies, its certainly leaving a void for those without the skills and equipment to machine up their own. I mentioned earlier that Redding have 'commenced' a neck sizing die but clearly based around a different area of shooting. ( ie. 6.5, 308 etc. ) .. Another company , 21st Century Innovation are making expander mandrels to suit their dies and also Sinclair dies. I notice now they also have some neck sizing options also ..but again , designed around similar diameter calibres as Redding. I'm making enquiries now regarding mandrels to assist with some of my case modifications ..so I emailed about the possibility of 'larger diameter' neck sizing collars. May have no chance at all.. but we certainly wont if we dont enquire. Supply and demand again I guess.

J.B.

[Nuclearcricket]

Steveu, while I don't fully condone changing a die like you did, and thats just me, there are a few advantages of doing what you did. The big one is that it will keep your case properly aligned with the neck. Now that being said. I have made 2 bushing dies for my self and I had forgotten that I had a spare die body laying in the box that isn't fully finished.
One issue that I ran into with the bushing die was that it seems that things in my press were not perfictly aligned and when I sized the neck area on a 45-70 case it came out off center. I was not happy with that at all. Since I made the die I knew everything was on center and ran true. The manufacturer told me that there wasn't anything wrong with my press and it was all in tolerance. now it just sets there, can't tell you when it last had a die in it. On the other hand, a Co-Ax press works very well. Everything runs true and straight.
The 2 dies that I made up, one is for cases from 2.1 to 2.3 in length, the other is for short cases in the 1.9" length range. The spare I have is also for the shorter cases but would work for a bit longer case by just putting a spacer in under the bushing.
The first one I made was for the 44-77, since I feel I will only ever have one rifle in that caliber a bushing die would be ideal. I made it so I can size the neck, deprime the case, seat the bullet and put a taper crimp on as needed. I am pretty sure I could make it so that I could flare the case mouth with the same die if needed but I all ready have a separate die for that operation.
The nice thing about bushings is you can make diameter changes as needed. I have seperate bushings for PP as well as GG bullets, I don't see the need to over work the necks any more than I have to, especially considering the lack of replacement brass for the 44-77.
I do kind of wonder what a machine ship would charge to make up a die for you. I know shop rates have sky rocketed over the past couple of years. It wouldn't surprise me the least that a shop would charge $200 or more for a single die body set up.
Sam

[Steveu]

Thanks guys! I do appreciate the feedback. I’m using my coax press to load on now. I did have to modify the back pin that opens the jaws to allow a 45-70 rim to drop in easier. I need to load some ammo and put it on a gauge to check the runout.

Cheers, Steve