Hey guys,

 I Have a custom 243 and 6.5 Creedmoor that I want to start Reloading ammo for. I want to purchase the Redding competition dies but I'm a little confused on which dies I need. I have been reloading 223 and 9mm for the past 2 years. But Bolt action seems to be a little different. Should I go with a Full Length Sizing die and not worry about the neck sizing die or go with the set that has the neck sizing die, body die, and bullet seating die? Also I will be purchasing either Norma or Lapua brass and using Sierra, Nosler, and Barns bullets to try out which I like the most. I understand I need a Bushing for the Neck Sizing Die and I want to make sure I understand how to figure out which size bushing I need. I Load my new brass like normal and then after the bullet has been seated I will measure the neck width and subtract .001 from the measurement. If I'm wrong I would love some advice. Thanks in advance I appreciate all the help I can get.

A Redding type S FL sizer die is probablythe way to go. You'll need your brass before you get the neck bushing though as neck wall thicknesses differ. The die full length sizes but allows you to choose  how much you size the neck based on your bushing choice.

Buy a Redding Competition seater or a Forster ultra micrometer seater. These are expensive dies but you will likely end up with them anyway.

Only in that a bolt gun may deliver more accuracy if you can make the ammo match what the gun likes.



Depends, are you looking for best accuracy or are you looking for maximum brass life.
For the former (best accuracy) you will want to full length size--and here, I use bushing FL sizing dies.
For the later (brass life) you will want neck only bushing dies and a body die when the shoulder needs moved back.

If you have a gun that shoots 0.3" 5-shot groups, the difference in accuracy is on the order of 0.05" (5-shot groups) between FL sized brass (smaller) and NO sized brass (larger).
Brass life might be as much as 2× longer with NO sized brass over FL sized brass.



For benchrest guns where the cartridge is never extracted without being fired, you can use as little as 0.000,5 of neck tension.
For target guns where the ammo does not have to put up with any abuse but the cartridge may have to be ejected before being fired, 0.001" can be utilized.
For tactical guns where the ammo has to put up with being dragged over the countryside before reaching the final firing positions, 0.002" is preferred.
For semi-autos where the cartridge is slammed into the chamber into and over the feed guides and then stopped rather instantly as the shoulder hits the end of the chamber, 0.003" is preferred.

Although my tactical rifle is used as a target rifle, I get sufficient accuracy with 0.002" neck tension(*) and don't bother with lighter grips.

(*) the term neck tension is actually measured in units of force per unit of distance (PSI, Pascall) but we tend to drop the Young's Modulus of the brass and simply use the diameter dimensional change when the bullet is inserted. While this is wrong in a physics sense, it is what reloaders use as neck tension.

KISS for now, a good foundation is what you need to concentrate on.  Adding to many factors into a simple equation confuses the new reloader.


The best thing to do is get the Redding Type S Match FL Die sets.
They come with a type s full length sizer die and a competition seater die.  (you may need to get different seating stems for VLD bullets for the various calibers).
I would get a head space tool like Instant Indicator from Redding or other tool. I would set the FL sizer to bump the shoulder 0.002"-0.003", and I would take the expander ball off the decapping rod, and I would just use the decapping pin retainer so that you rely on the bushing to control your neck tension.

If you are using the guns for hunting on competition where an alibi is not a good thing because the round did not chamber, then FL sizing is the only way to go.

For pure paper punching on a recreational basis you can consider getting Redding Type S Neck Die Set.
This comes with a type s neck die, a body die to bump the shoulder, and competition seater die.

You need to measure your neck wall thickness (each brand is different).

The simple rule of thumb is:
For single loading into a bolt gun - you want 0.001" spring back
For loading from a magazine in a bolt gun - you want 0.002" spring back
For loading all other types of guns...  - you want 0.003" spring back

Example using Lapua 308 Brass (not neck turned) loaded with Sierra 175 SMK measures nominally 0.338".  So, we take 0.002" off because I am loading from a bolt gun magazine. The best bushing to try would be 0.336"  Whereas, if it was Winchester or IMI it is way different.

Keep your brass separated by the gun and the "lot" of brass. So that you can record # of firings and other details along the way.  Do not mix the brass with other guns brass.

175 SMK in <unturned> Win cases wants a 0.332 bushing as the final sizing step.

I've used the redding type s bushing dies a bit back.  Using the body die to bump the shoulder back and bring the case back to size when things start getting tight, and using the type s neck die with bushing in between fl sizing.  The bushing dies work good but will yield best results if you are turning your necks, either for a custom chamber or just to clean them up.  The bushing, without neck turning,  any imperfections on the outside of the neck  will be pushed into the inside causing some runout as you seat the bullet I have assumed in principle. 

I really like the Forster dies for neck and fl sizing.  You can order a custom expander button to your desired neck tension that will size your neck from the id pushing any imperfections to the out reducing runout inside the case neck where it would seem to matter the most.  The lee collet die is same in princple and is nice as the mandrel can be ordered to desired size and the mandrel itself runs full length in dia, I just prefer the Forster for other reasons.
YMMV.