Redding bushing help for VarTarg

[Sidewinderwa]

I have Redding dies but have never had one requiring bushings. I am putting a 20 VarTarg together and want to make sure that I have the correct bushing. I believe that I need the .226 size bushing. Am I correct on this? I have a Savage target action, right bolt, left port coming. Ordered a Benchmark barrel for it. Getting excited and trying to get everything together for it. Please help me out on the bushing. I am getting the titanium bushing. I believe that I just need to run the 221 Fireball brass through the VarTarg die and trim. Am I right on this?

[acloco]

Probably not.

Just neck size or partial length full size the neck down to 20 caliber. I would try this with and without the expanding ball in the die....and see how a bullet seats and if the round will chamber. When necking down, the brass has to go somewhere...it is not always pushed down into the neck/shoulder junction.

IMHO, I would make all of the 221 brass necks the same thickness first. Would even go as far as getting 90% cut on the necks...and then neck down.

When I order three or four bushings for a project like this, I order the steel bushings first, load the brass, fire, size, and check for any issues....then buy the titanium bushing.

[Joe O]

Might as well go right to the man that established the cartridge.I Talked to Todd yesterday about the very thing your interested in doing.I ordered the book."Terrific Twenties",and the 20 VarTarg will be my next build although,I doubt it will be on a Savage action,for issues I have with The bolt.I agree with acloco about prepping the necks before sizing.Even with a no turn neck size(chamber)you can clean them up for uniforme tickness.You'll want the largest bushing to be .002 smaller than the neck size of the loaded round,and two more, smaller.You can't always depend on what may be packaged by manufactures.I bought a Forster bump shoulder,neck bushing die they sold with three bushings;
.228,.226,224,for my .204ruger.Well since the loaded rounds were .226,it was pretty obvious the .226 wouldn't work.and with the .228 ,the bullet would just drop through the neck(wobble).I sent the two larger back and they replaced them (free shipping) with a requwsted .225 and .223.What is the neck size on your barrel?
The woodchuck Den
PH 330897 0614

[Sidewinderwa]

I do not have the barrel yet. I was told that it would be a tight, no turn chamber. My 204 is a 228 measurement on a loaded round, in Winchester brass. That is where I got the 226 figure from.

[Rick in Oregon]

SW: Get the chamber neck ID from your smith prior to ordering any bushings. Good advice so far too, but remember to do your case neck work if needed, then seat a bullet (with a standard die if you have one) and check the neck OD of the loaded round. Then it's time to think about bushing size......

You'll want to know the exact chamber neck ID so you'll have a "no-go" figure (for loaded rounds) to always be sure you've got enough room for proper bullet release and brass 'spring-back'. BR guys work with as little as almost zero, but I like to leave at least .001" all around. In my custom 204R, the chamber neck ID is .230", and loaded WW brass mics .028". Nice and tight "no-turn" chamber. This is as much as .002" tighter than SAMMI spec, and it shows on the target. Once you know your chamber size, and your loaded round neck size, you can really start to tweak bushing sizes/bullet tension, and the results can be surprising in a positive nature, plus your brass will last almost forever if loaded prudently.

I'd want to know my chamber neck ID before ordering anything to give a baseline of what you're working with. Chamber necks can vary....how many times has the reamer been re-ground? Is it new? What size neck will it yield? Questions, questions......

[Sidewinderwa]

Rick, the neck chamber is .231. I will only have the Redding dies so I will need a bushing to load a bullet for it. The dies are $138, I was trying to keep the cost down on the number of $22 bushings. I think I will need a .226 or .227 as Remington brass is normally thicker than the Winchester 204 brass on my 204, that I measured.

[TOO builder]

Interesting to finally stumble on this thread. I am in the same place right now building a 20VT on the Savage RBLP target action. I had a difficult time deciding on dies to order and finally decided on the Redding bushing style neck die set. I ordered a prefit Shilen barrel so not exactly sure what the neck dia. is other that it is not supposed to be a tight neck.

I also was not sure what size bushing to order and everything I read says to measure a loaded round to determine your bushing size. Figuring ya gotta have a bushing to come up with a loaded round I decided to start with a .227 and then go from there. I remember reading on one of the forms where the suggestion was made to start with a .236 for your first bushing and then step down to .227. Not sure if that is necessary or not??

[Sidewinderwa]

I ordered the .227 bushing. I was sent the wrong recoil lug so I am waiting for that to arrive before I can put everything together to start the reloading process. I did prepare some cases and the necking down process went just fine with little effort. I did use some Redding Imperial Resizing Wax to do it. I think that the .226 would be too small.

I have a Benchmark barrel and HS Precision stock. That stock is already set up for the 3 hole receiver.

Good luck on your project.

[Ray P]

Sidewinder...........With my custom 204 Ruger w/ a chamber neck of .231 I using a .225 neck bushing on winchester brass if this helps.
Later
Ray P

[Rick in Oregon]

Sidewinder: My 11 twist 204 has a .230" neck I.D. I'm using WW brass not neck turned with a .224" Redding neck bushing. That gives me pretty good neck tension for constant ignition, and loaded rounds measure .228" at the neck. HTH a tad.