Problem

[skipper]

Years ago I sawed the body off of a neck sizing die. I’ve been neck sizing without touching the case body since then. If, I say if, I feel like I need to Full Length size cases because the bolt gets tight I will pull out the ole FL die. Not very often!!!

[broper]

Never thought of that. I just bought a Lee collet neck sizer for .204. If I like it I'm going to get them for all cartridges I have.

[Bill K]

Just a note. If a case head breaks off on a fired case and the case body is still in the rifle chamber, 99 out of 100 times all you need too do is run a tight fitting wire brush into the case body in the chamber, give it a turn or two and pull it back out. They usually are not stuck tight ( like the are in a die) and extract very nice, just as they do when you extract a case after firing one. Bill K

[broper]

I actually did have have a case head break off in my Ruger #1. It's a 218 Bee and the cases had been fired 10 or 12 times. I tipped the gun up and the remaining part of the case just fell out of the chamber.

[Bill K]

That is about the norm, when that occurs. But sometimes the old wire brush trick will work, if it does not fall out on it's own, with a bump. We all live and learn, at one time or the other. Bill K

[skipper]

If we're talking about case head separation, then we probably need to count the number of reloadings and check for signs of impending case head separation after say 5 or 6 reloadings. Usually there will be a telltale bright ring towards the case head that is a warning sign. Incipient case head separation can be very dangerous.

[Bill K]

That is what it is Skipper. I know I watch for that line, but I also know I have pushed it a time or two and had a case head separation with the main body broke off in the chamber. That is why and how I learned the brush trick.
Being old and cheap, sometimes, caused me to push a reload more than I should have and just start a new case.
Again live and learn. Bill K

[broper]

Yeah, we all make mistakes once in awhile. If you haven't then you probably haven't reloaded or done much shooting. It happens, we learn from our mistakes. Like Bill, I try to watch my cases and I have discarded quite a few over the years. But once in a while you get lax or whatever. I've been reloading for about 55 years and really haven't messed up to many times. The broken case in the die was a first for me.

[Rick in Oregon]

When I finally saved up enough for my M70 in .270 Win back in 1971 (still have it), I was just into handloading for about three or four years....still a rookie. After loading up a few boxes of 270's and seeing the immediate improvement in accuracy, I felt like Mr. Know-It-All...... NOT!



This was when I learned about that aforementioned "incipient case head separation".......groan.

I was at my range working on "the load", all happy, and had the unpleasant experience of pulling back the bolt to eject, and only got the case head....big bummer for a rookie. The bronze brush was used to extract it at home, then the facts surrounding this issue was studied. I made the recommended case "pick" out of a thin piece of TIG rod, bent it at 90* with a sharpened tip, and found that virtually every case I'd fired in that Winchester was ready to separate!

It was then I studied and learned about proper die setup in the press to avoid shoulder set-back. In my target rifles now, like Skipper I very seldom ever use my F/L die, always just neck sizing those cases. In fact, I've got a Redding F/L 204 die that's never been out of the box, and I've been at the 204 since the very first one hit the west coast in 2006 (Sako M75V that came direct from Beretta USA).

Moral: Most here already know this, but for anyone not familiar with this big bummer, look for that shiny ring just above the web of your cases, and make a "case pick" to scratch the inner case walls to easily detect the incipient crack/separation. Sizing die setup, neck, but specifically F/L is critical, period.

This issue is very inconvenient when at the range or in the field having your way with Skippy and his pals, but imagine it happening in the black timber just before dark, and the round you just touched off at that nice bull and missed comes out with the head only! What second shot?

[broper]

I always neck size if they are cases that have been fired in my guns. New cases or cases I get somewhere else, I always full length size the first time. I started hand loiading on myn own in about 1968. Before that a couple of older guys I knew showed me how to reload and explained about die setup. One had an old C-H c press the other had a Lyman Spar-T. Back then I didn't know of anybody that neck sized. Fortunately I've never made any real bad mistakes.

[Bill K]

Interesting fellows. I started reloading in 1953/54 on a C-H press for the 30-06 and 222 Rem shortly after. Still have the press and 06 dies and still use it for some loading. Most are done on a Rock Chucker.
We all learned a lot from the old school of hard knocks, it seems. Back then it was set the dies up as instructed by the maker and go for it.
Now days, I also mostly just neck size. But must bump on occasion, when rounds need it, ever so slightly.
Still wonder sometimes, since you see articles and some pretty high end target shooters saying F/L size and others say neck size only. So I guess it comes down to do what you like best and what works.
Kind of what makes this game we choose so fun and interesting. And adds flavor to the game. Bill K

[broper]

Yep. I had some 6m/m Rem. cases awhile back that I had to bump the shoulder back on. I think the first cartridge I loaded for was .270 Win. that one of the older guys had and then 22/250 that the other one had.