? bushing bump dies

[1johnlb]

Thinking about picking up a Foster bushing bump die. What I'm interested in knowing, is will the 308 bump dies work on 06 cases, also? Or will I need, both? If they will, are the body's big enough to work on other thirty cal chambers like the swiss7.5 or the 300wm?

[jsizemore]

Go to saami.org and your questions will be answered.

[GabbyM]

Answer is no.
Foster Bump dies have a chamber size internal body like most neck dies have. .308 being wider at the shoulder your 30-06 would be loose and unguided when neck enters the die bushing. Also the 308 has a 20 degree shoulder angle while the 30-06 has a 17 degree 30 second shoulder.

Hornady makes a universal 30 caliber neck die. It is a total piece of junk.

I have the Forester 30-06 Neck Bushing / Shoulder Bump Kit die package that comes with three bushings. .334", .332", .330". It has proper size for both jacketed and my .310" cast bullets. Very nice die set but they aren't cheap.

[1johnlb]

Thank you, GabbyM


Very nice die set but they aren't cheap

That's one of the reasons I'm asking, their not cheap. I like cheap, so much I'll probably just open the body of a Lee fl die to just bump the shoulders back.

[country gent]

I believe the shoulder angles between 308 and 30-06 are diffrent also.

[GabbyM]

Thank you, GabbyM



That's one of the reasons I'm asking, their not cheap. I like cheap, so much I'll probably just open the body of a Lee fl die to just bump the shoulders back.


If you have a chamber with a true SAMI dimension chamber. Full length dies move brass very little. From the small sampling of rifles I've loaded for the last few decades. It seams to me the newer rifles have much tighter chambers than the old rifles. It's still a **** shoot.

Nothing wrong with Lee dies. I’ve loaded thousands of rounds with them with good accuracy. However if you plan to shoot more than a few hundred rounds per year . I’d highly recommend spending a little more money. Neck size die plus body die from RCBS, Saeco Redding or Forester. Out of the half dozen or so I own of straight up neck size dies. My Saeco dies seam to be the best so far as tolerance. However my RCBS Cowboy dies are fantastic and the forester bench rest seater with floating chamber is the very best you can get. Wilson hand dies from Sinclair are also great if you don’t have much space to work with. I own a Wilson bullet seater die in 223 Rem that I use extensively with a cheep arbor press. Huge advantage there is you can use them on your kitchen table or wherever you have heat in the winter. Since you do not need to bolt down your press.
In my experience. Saeco Redding neck dies work the necks no more than .005”. That’s off SAMI dimensions. I’ll just say that the last caliber I set up was my 222 Remington and I purchased a standard Saeco neck die set with a FL die also. Plus an RCBS .224” neck expander for my cast bullets. The standard die does not over work the brass. But then neither do my newer RCBS dies in various calibers. AS far as I can tell all of or major manufactures have improved there quality over the last thirty year. And why not? My most favorite die purchases over the last en years have both been RCBS. First is the great 30-30 Cowboy die set. Then the RCBS X die in 223 Rem. I love the Lee universal decap die for military brass.

What I buy for my hunting rifles is. A neck die, Shoulder bump die and bullet seating die. I don't look to buy a full length die buy often the sets include them at a lower coast than separate purchase. For auto guns like AR-15 you simply can't beat the RCBS X Dies. You may want to look at them for your 30-06. For a big game rifle you want cases sized to chamber easy. It's not like you'll be shooting off a concrete bench with a 36X scope. In the end you get good tools then you still have to use them well.

[1johnlb]

I've been using the Lee neck sizers and they have worked great until recently when I began following the slow twist threads and picked up 2 slow twist barrels. Now with the higher pressures I'm running into problems with the bolt sticking after about 3 to 4 reloads on the winchester brass where with the thicker pmc brass I haven't had a problem yet. So far it looks like my shoulders just need bumping back. I've got more of the pmc so might be time to rest the winchester or just use it in another rifle at lower pressures. I'm thinking, I'm going to eventually run into the same problem with the pmc though. So will probably pick up the 06 foster bump die soon since most of my near future shooting is going to be with the 06.
If I'm reading the foster info correctly, alternative size bushings are available. I've got a standard 30/06 and 308w shilen chambers and intend on shooting bullets sized at 311, so which alternate bushings should I order with it, their both dedicated lead slingers that will have multiple designs run thru them, not just the xcb.

Thanks
John