Well that must be a mistake with the .3985". You must have meant .3385".
Thank you for pointing that out Woods, and you are correct, that was wrong. The sized necks actually measured .3285". I never wrote it down, and couldn't remember the correct measurements during the short walk from the basement to the upstairs! What a memory. I edited my orginal post to avoid confusion.
IMO the bushing dies work best when you outside neck turn the necks to a consistant neck thickness. Then choose the bushings to determine your bullet grip with the neck thickness you turn to.
Woods, I completely understand your explanation, and agree, however.... I use the dies a bit differently. I choose the bushing that will give the proper neck tension, and the expander, which in the past was the correct diameter, to iron out any dings, and to adjust for any neck thickness variances. Now in the past, (4 other calibers), I didn't experience this "heavy sizing syndrome", and the expander just barely touched the inside of the necks. Turning the necks is definately a sure way to improve the consistancy of neck tension, but I'm not ready to go that extra step, for "Garand accuracy". (Call it laziness). The combo of a wrong sized expander, and a loose necked rifle chamber, is really messing things up!
As a whole, I'm really a fan of the "S" series dies, I like the control it gives you, to overcome variables. If I was using a standard FL die right now, I would be stuck sizing the neck down heavily, and then dragging an expander ball through it, sizing it heavily back. That can't be good for the brass. At least with the "S" die, you can limit the amount of neck constriciton, avoiding heavy expander sizing, or omit the expander all together, like Woods suggested. Oh, how I love versatility!