So I have a couple hundred once fired Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor cases I'm trying to get resized. I have a Redding Competition 3 die set. The brass was loaded new from the box by me and shot once and wet tumbled. Ive never used a bushing neck sizer before and I'm really confused what I'm doing wrong.

I measured a lodes round neck diameter with a new case and it measured 0.293. I read online I should subtract 0.002 for correct neck tension and order that bushing plu one 0.001 under and over to be safe. So I have 0.290, 0.291, and 0.292 bushings.

The 0.290 bushing sizes the necks but it is too small to fit a bullet in. The 0.291 doesn't touch the neck at all, so I'm confused what I need to do? I've noticed that the necks on the Lapua brass I have is thicker than the once fired Hornady brass I have. Does this mean I need to turn the necks? I have a Hart turner I picked up at a garage sale. When I tried turning a neck town a little I was able to size it to seat a bullet with the 0.290 bushing. Or do I need to get a different die with an expander ball? I'm confused. Help much appreciated!

Sounds to me as if one or more of these things is possibly wrong:

1.  The bushing(s) are mismarked.  Size a fired case and measure the OD.  It should be almost exactly what diameter of the bushing.

2.  The neck wall thickness of the brass differs from what you thought.

0.293" - 0.264" = 0.029" --> 0.0145" per neck wall (which seems a little too thick)

Use your caliper to check the consistency of the neck wall thickness on your brass.  A regular caliper will measure a little too thick (about 0.002") due to the flat faces of the jaws but it will still give you a reliable value for the variability.

3.  Brass with a different numbers of resizing cycles may achieve different neck diameters during sizing due to work hardening and spring back.  


Are you using an expander ball?

The bullet is supposed to be a press fit in the case neck.

Do you mean you can't seat a bullet by hand or that you can't seat it at all without collapsing the case/damaging the bullet?

The bushing are labeled correct.
I mean when I try to seat a bullet it gets stuck on the boat tail and won't seat. Like the neck is not wide enough to seat the bullet. I cant even actually seat a bullet with the brass the way it is without any resizing at all. It's like it needs to get wider at the neck. I don't get it. Every rifle I've ever shot you could slip a bullet in the spent case before you resized it. It's like this Brass shrunk at the neck after firing

Depending on your chamber dimensions and the characteristics of the brass, that's perfectly normal.

"The 0.290 bushing sizes the necks but it is too small to fit a bullet in. "

The bullet will expand the case on seating.  Normal.

Measure the sized neck before and after seating a bullet. The neck should be larger by .002"  after seating.


A light or starting load may not expand the fired brass neck. Normal in my 243 win. 

Give us some numbers, please, something to go on.  There are no pictures and no numbers.  How can we help?

Check out HornadyLoader's explanation starting at 23:45.  




Kevin Beebe is one of my favorite reloading youtubers.  Highly recommended for somebody getting into reloading.  He provides a wealth of information on his channel.  I've been meaning to give him a plug for quite some time.  Fully deserved!!!


Hopefully you will find his instructions as helpful as I've grown accustomed to for the past couple of years.  Haven't seen him be active for a few months.  Hope he's doing well.  I also downloaded his Reloader's Workshop software.  


Appreciate his work...

Video good,  if you dont have a loaded round. No crimp needed on match grade ammo.  Proper neck tension is all thats needed. 

When you have a few loaded rounds, measure the neck with a micrometer.  Take the smallest measurement and buy  a bushing .002"  smaller for a bolt gun.. Autos , you want more neck tension, so buy a bushing .003"  smaller.   Start there, more bushings will be needed . I have 3. 

When using different brands of brass that have different neck wall thickness,  use the correct bushing.  
Remember, on seating the bullets, neck should expand .002"  minimum. 

Above works best with neck turned brass.

If using non-turned necks,  buy the  Redding type S FL sizing bushing die.   This die gives the options  of using an expander or not.   Select a bushing that lets you feel a slight drag, as the expander pulls thru the lubed necks.  This is the best method when loading unturned necks, with a large variation in neck wall thickness. 

1. Or buy match grade brass and sort by neck wall thickness, using a tubing type micrometer and skip the expander. 
   

Are you chamfering the case mouth after sizing?
If not, I would recommend a very light chamfer.

#1 In the Comp. Neck Sizer make sure the expander ball is out.  You want the decapping pin retainer in place.
#2 Did your trim and not chamfer and deburr the case mouth? I would even just kiss all the brass chamfer tool after each firing if you did not trim.
#3 Wet tumbling leaves the brass to clean and inhibits seating with increased resistance.

Redding Competition 3 die set.  

There is no expander with this set.   

Because the bushings come in .001" increments, sometimes they aren't exactly sized as marked. Manufacturing tolerances, being what they are, you may get a bushing that's +/- .001" of the marked size. My new Lapua brass measured .291", I opened it up to .292" with a mandrel before loading it. A .289", maybe even a .290" bushing should work for me if I decide to go that way.  

Try flipping the bushing so the markings are facing down in the die. Many people have found that helps. I always leave a little slop in the bushing die so I don't touch the neck shoulder junction when using them. If I shake my bushing dies I can here the bushing moving back and forth a little.

IMO Lapua brass comes from the factory with too much neck tension. You only need .001" to hold a bullet for a bolt action. .002" for a hard use bolt gun to hunt with, .003" for any .223/.308 semi-auto. Any more than this isn't needed or wanted.

My brand new Lapua brass has  .0145" wall thickness and the neck is sized .289 from the factory  

0.0145 + 0.0145 = 0.029"  0.289 - 0.029 = 0.260  ( bullet used 140 ELD-M .264) It was so hard to seat the bullet, that I got dents from the seating stem on the bullet.

So I had to chamfer the case neck and run the brass trough the expander ball, then used a .290 bushing ( always, account for the “spring-back.”. If brass is sized to a smaller diameter it will spring back plus 0.001 inches bigger than the tool used) ended up with a reloaded round measuring 0.292

God Article on necksizeing here:  RELOADERS CORNER: REALLY UNDERSTANDING CASE NECK SIZING