SmallCaliberCentral

Do most reloaders on this site neck size only. If so do you have to full size first and then neck size throughout the life of the brass. Thanks.

Chris

hi chris
actually, just neck sizing only goes so far with your brass. this is one of the best ways to keep your brass from work hardening, and from having to fire form the brass again, which in turn, extends the life of your brass. the brass will tend to grow with shooting, so it will tend to need more force to chamber, or in extreme instances, will not chamber at all. so eventually you will need to bump the shoulder back just a tad, and the brass will again chamber easily. eventually the brass will work harden anyway, and some necks will begin splitting, but dont throw that brass away. you may want to learn to anneal your brass and really extend the life of that valuable brass.
maybe someone that knows a lot more than i do, will jump in here and give you a better idea of the why's and wherefores on the subject.

After shooting the brass in the same rifle, you should be able to neck size only for a number of reloadings, as the above poster suggested.

It has been my experience that the resulting snug fit of the cartridge in the chamber enhances accuracy and consistency. It may also extend the life of the brass.

Thanks. Thats what i was looking for. When you say bump the shoulder back running them throught a full length die will accomplish this correct?

you are correct, but, you adjust your die so you do not full length resize. you will have to play a bit with your adjustment, but don't adjust the die so it goes all the way down. you want to leave just a little gap between the die and the shell holder with the handle on the press all the way down. if you have a press that "cams over" like the rcbs, you dont want the press to cam over. try adjusting die so there is a gap between the die and the shell holder about the thickness of a nickel. this will probably not be close enough, but is a place to start. after resizing try the unloaded brass in your rifle. if it still won't chamber, adjust your die just a little bit closer to the shell holder and try again. this is the trial and error part that takes time. adjust the die down maybe 1/4 turn and retry, and so on and so on. soon you will hit the right spot and you can lock down your die, and resize, bump the shoulder back, on the rest of your brass that needs it. don't forget to lube the case before running shell into the die.

Another option when your fireformed cartridges are hard to or don't chamber - you can use a Redding Body die. It bumbs the shoulders and leaves the neck alone so you will still have to neck size.

Thanks. I just bought a body die for my remmy fireball. Do you need a special caliper or micrometer to use the die. I have nothing to mesure the shoulder of case. So will i need to purchase additional equipment.

Yes you will....get the Hornady Headspace Guage Set, or just use your rifles chamber as a guage. If you put a piece of Scotch Tape on the bottom of the case and try to chamber and close the bolt, you should feel significant resistance in doing so. If no tape and no resistance, you have bumped the shoulder back too far and created excessive headspace. Adjust die accordingly to give just a slight trace of bolt closing resistance on a sized case.

Thanks eveyone. I learn something new everyday on here. Love it.

The way I think to extend the life of the brass if I'm not wrong, is to full lenth your brass when it's new. Then use a Lee collet neck sizer die to size the neck only, and then after a few more loadings like that according to the brittleness and make of brass you're useing, anneal the neck to sofen it again before it splits. When the case shoulder pushes forward to the point it won't chamber any more, use a Forster shoulder bump die to push it back, then it should chamber again. The body of the case never gets touched and always fits the chamber perfect. When I follow these steps my cases don't grow hardly any and last for many shootings. I've got some winchester brass I loaded five times so far, I 've only had to trim them when they were new. I annealed the necks when they got hard to seat the bullets around the 2nd or 3rd loading. Hope this helps.

cshooter: I'm just wondering why you'd want to F/L size new brass in the first place. You only need to ensure proper bullet seating tension, so if it's brand new and fits your chamber, why start to work harden the case by F/L sizing? You are work hardening your brass right off the get go by doing it that way. Once fireformed, it is a perfect replica of your chamber, needing only neck sizing next time.

It it fits your chamber, no need to F/L size.......ever (until it won't chamber easily, that is.)

I'm still shooting formed brass I made up from 222 Rem Mag cases to 223 Rem in 1976 by only neck sizing, and ONLY F/L sizing when necessary. Think about it before you grab that F/L die.......

Rick, point well taken. Never thought of it that way. This is why I love this forum, it keeps us all (me), on the right track. Thanks again.

Can you neck size only with a fl size die. or must you purchase a neck sizer die only.

Yes, you can. Referred to as "partial full length" or PFL for short.

I use this method when I am waiting for the neck die to arrive.

Thanks. I have redding dies and read the instructions and didn't see anything. I will look further.