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Hi a question for you re loading whiz kids. I bought some new Lapau brass in 7.62x39. I loaded some up using a full length die and took them to the range along with some Winchester brass that I all ready had.
After firing them I took them home and neck sized them in a Le Wilson bushing neck die. The bullet retention on the Lapau cases is fine but the bullet just drops into the case on the Winchester cases. Any ideas does using a different brand of brass make that much difference.
Looks like I will need different bushings for different makes of brass at this rate.

Yep, Winchester is about the thinnest brass around. I only use it in my 45-70 as the thin walls means I can squeeze in some extra powder.

Winchester also is a lot more brittle than Lapua so there is more spring back, I'd try annealing them and resizing them again first to see if that helps.

This annealing thing keeps cropping up I don't have the time or the kit to do it. I think I will just buy some more Lapau and ditch the Winchester stuff.

All you need is a drill, a bit, a blow torch and some tempilaq.

Even Lapua brass will need annealing at some point.

Alpha1 wrote:This annealing thing keeps cropping up I don't have the time or the kit to do it. I think I will just buy some more Lapau and ditch the Winchester stuff.

Before you ditch them, why not find out the bushing size they would need first? That might help you identify whether the problem is the brass thickness, springback, or both. It is perfectly natural, and to be expected, that different brands of brass need different bushings. That is half the reason why these dies are made to use interchangeable bushings. For the sake of a £10 bushing you might save the brass, avoid the need to anneal, and have a more complete set of tools and capabilities as a result. Alternatively, perhaps you could just use a FL die to size them.

As I'm sure you know, the way to find the bushing size required is to size the case (using a FL die or whatever), then seat a bullet in the case and measure the neck diameter of the loaded round where the bullet is in contact with the case. Depending on the desired neck tension for the application and the calibre the bushing size is typically something like 0.001" or 0.002" under the neck diameter of the loaded round. If extra springback is expected perhaps err on the smaller of the two.

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Were can you get bushings for £10?.
You are right of course I suppose I will just have to invest in some extra bushings.
When it comes time to anneal them Adam I will just give them to you. :shakeshout: clapclap

Alpha1 wrote:Were can you get bushings for £10?.

You've got me - they've gone up, but steel Redding ones are only £12.50 here, so I'm sure there are cost-effective options elsewhere.

Alpha1 wrote:You are right of course I suppose I will just have to invest in some extra bushings

At least find out which one you need. Maybe you can post in 'wanted' - someone may have a surpus/spare or loan one.

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Forster bushings are a bit cheaper to buy however they do not do the pretty gold coloured ones and they are not interchangeable with Redding. Regardless of make they are invariably limited to .001" steps unless you go for special order. I found myself being asked to machine them out to a specific dimension quite often and I ended up making my own as it was easier than ordering them in only to find I could do with .001" down.

Machine my own now why did I not think of that.

Alpha1 wrote: When it comes time to anneal them Adam I will just give them to you. :shakeshout: clapclap

That is kind of you Dave, I'll gladly take them off your hands. :goodjob: