I have basic sets of Lee and RCBS that I use for all my loading needs. I was ordering some more stuff today and ran across a few sets that claim to reduce or eliminate the working of the neck when sizing.

One set is the RCBS X-Die 2-Die Set 223 Remington.
Another die is the Hornady Custom Grade New Dimension Full Length Sizer Die 223 Remington.
And then there are the various bushing dies.

I was wondering which set of dies is the best for longevity of brass? It doesn't have to be any of these, it can be any set, I am just wondering if this is possible?

I know annealing will help with case life and I plan on starting soon but is there any way to lengthen the brass life without annealing?

Thanks
Dolomite

I have some "Snake Oil" that I use as part of a case lube that greatly extends the life of brass.











Let's see if he bites.

Neck sizing dies will give you the most longevity. However if your loading for a auto then you may not have good luck.

+1.
458

bushing dies are going to work the brass less than conventional dies. But powder charge is what really kills your brass. If you load hot they'll give up a lot sooner. One guy had a thread
going a few years ago and he was on his 77th loading of one case. Mild load and annealing every fourth or fifth time out. The less you work the brass, the longer it lasts.

I have neck sizing dies and have used them in the past but don't like the fact I can only use them in one gun. I mostly load for my 223 bolt gun and FL size in case I want to fire the loads in my AR. I load it to an OAL of 2.43 because that is what my bolt gun shoots the best. If I want to fire from my AR I just seat the bullet to the proper depth and fire away. I have done this on numerous occasions without any issues. I like the versatility of doing it this way but after about 4 loadings the case necks start splitting upon firing.

I do not load the rounds HOT, my primary load is 69 grain SMK's with 24.5 grains of Varget and CCI400 primers in RP brass. After FL sizing I trim to 1.759 or less but rarely go below 1.754. I will use shorter brass but when triming I only go far enough to get below the 1.760 max. I ordered everything I need to trim the cases to the same length so that is my next step in trying to squeeze that last bit of accuracy out of my rifle.

I guess I need to start annealing

Dolomite

The Hornady FL bushing die is much tighter sizing the base of the case, to the point were it was messing up some of my brass by leaving a .002" ring around the base were the die stopped sizing at.

I'm sending it back to Hornady with some brass sized correctly in my regular FL new dimension dies and some brass sized with the Comp. FL neck sizing die so they can open the base of the Comp. die up to match the base sizing of the new dimension die that works perfectly.

Plus if your case neck happens to get bent the bushing die will not straighten the case neck back out like a regular FL sizing die, this is what I don't like the most about it.

This, and having dies custom made to fit your chamber.