Anyone using a Hornady 6ARC bushing sizing die?

[Former11B]

If so, what size bushing? I?m reading .266? most places for 6ARC and other 6mm. Going to get some calipers on some ammo tomorrow but wanted to see what anyone else was using.

I normally use RCBS dies but got Hornady brand match dies with the seating micrometer and ELD stem so the requirement of the bushing in the sizing die is new for me versus an all in one expander mandrel/decapping pin assembly

Any other 6ARC lessons learned are appreciated
Thanks!

[alamo5000]

I use the Mighty Armory 6 ARC die for sizing. It works very good. I like it better than all other brands, which of course I replaced every other die for every caliber that I shoot with Mighty Armory ones as well.

For a seating die I use the Hornady one with the micrometer. For the other rifle rounds I tend to use the Forster Micrometer seating dies. The last time I checked Forster didn't offer it in 6 ARC.

I would consider switching the Hornady seating die but honestly it works great as is so there isn't any urgency. Also I like the idea of having different seating stems as an option which is another plus for the Hornady die.

I do all of my expanding with mandrels from 21st Century. I size without an expander then go back with the mandrel. That said Mighty Armory's dies have the best mandrels I've ever used if you want to use them in the sizing dies.

I'm not really sold on the bushing die thing so I'm no help there. Especially since I am shooting with a semi auto it definitely isn't my thing. I would probably experiment with it more if I was into bolt guns, but so far nothing yet on that front.

[alamo5000]

I normally use RCBS dies but got Hornady brand match dies with the seating micrometer and ELD stem so the requirement of the bushing in the sizing die is new for me versus an all in one expander mandrel/decapping pin assembly

I'm not sure what you mean here.

What is the 'requirement'? Not sure why you have to use a bushing die other than that's what possibly came with the set?

[Former11B]

I'm not sure what you mean here.

What is the 'requirement'? Not sure why you have to use a bushing die other than that's what possibly came with the set?

In this particular sizing die that comes in their match grade die set, it utilizes a bushing for neck expansion/tension like RCBSs Match Master and Gold Medal series.

I use the RCBS MM seating dies because of the ease of the side loading gate that allows an easy drop in and then aligns bullets but it was OOS the couple places I looked as an individual item. My normal RCBS sizing dies use the standard one piece mandrel/expander and decapping pin which is what Im used to. Needing a bushing is new to me. Without the bushing, it?ll just decap the brass and not size the case neck

[alamo5000]

Ah. I see. I misread/misunderstood the original post.

I have no idea what size of bushing but among people that use those types of dies they tend to get a set of them instead of just one. I've personally never really used them myself so I don't know what size of bushing to use.

Like I said though, the Mighty Armory are expensive but I like them a lot. I will look around and see if I have another sizing die for 6 ARC. If I do it's all yours.

[BoilerUp]

I use bushing dies for a few of my bolt actions but don't shoot 6 ARC. What I can tell you is that the correct bushing is highly dependent on which brass you are using. So, you can cross your fingers and get the "most common", or you can wait until you get your calipers and do the math, but even then it's worth going + / - to see if makes a difference in accuracy. So, unfortunately, I usually end up buying about 3 different bushings and not deciding on which one I prefer until I compared the accuracy results. And if yo swap brass you may need to start over and you may very well find that you have to swap out bushings depending on which brass you are using. Take good notes.

[BoilerUp]

Oh, I'll also add that I use L. E. Wilson bushings because they are designed such they have .0005" difference between placed upside down vs right-side up, so you get a bit of extra variation to play with vs most manufacturers bushings which will give you the same neck tension either way you insert the bushing.

[Former11B]

Measured some Hornady ELD I got in. Franklin Calipers said .270 OD case neck but the Starrett micrometer said .2690 and I think I trust that a little more. I did order one bushing, .266 but debating grabbing a .268 just in case, but .2690-.003=.2660, so it is still well within the guidelines for proper bushing size

Either that or just get a standard RCBS FL sizing die and skip the bushing thing altogether. I dont have accuracy problems with a traditional sizing die in 223 and 308

I do have an annealer so I can fire that up and start annealing so Im not over doing it with work hardened brass

[BoilerUp]

Yeah, it's kind of a cost-benefit thing. For me, I don't think the extra effort to find the perfect neck tension via a bushing die is worth the accuracy results in a gas gun. But, you won't really know for sure until you try and "cost" is subjective (time + $ for equipment). Most useful is to run a few different bushings AND use a FLS and see how it impacts groups. Then you'll figure out which equipment was worth buying - after you bought it. I did this with my 6mm Creedmoor and found I got slightly better results with a particular bushing vs the FLS (or even using no expander ball but also run a mandrel through OR use a Lee collet neck sizing die), but this is a sub .5 MOA gun that I want to be able to shoot out past 1,000 yards. It was the difference between a ~.5 MOA and ~.4 MOA group, IIRC.

[Former11B]

I ordered a standard full length sizer to go along with it to see which one I liked better and can test loads side by side to see if theres a meaningful difference

With the 16in barrel Im not looking for miracles beyond 600 yards but if all goes well I may get into the bolt gun side of it and see what a 20-22in barrel can do.