SmallCaliberCentral

Hey guys,
Decided to start neck sizing the brass for my 204 rather than to keep FL sizing it. However, I am having trouble with the neck sized brass chambering easily. There is a decent amount of resistance when only neck sizing at the end of the forward throw and bolt turn down. When FL sized, rounds feed effortlessly. The brass is Hornady and the brass was previously fired from this same rifle. The FL die is Redding as is the neck die. What could possibly be making this problem?
Jeff

My first thought would be the shoulder needs bumped back. Seems strange that it would need it after every firing though.

My thoughts exactly!

+ Another.

As mentioned, strange that it would need the shoulder bumped so soon. You may want to measure the rifle's headspace via the fired brass and consider investing in a body die just for shoulder bumping when/if needed to save the necks from oversizing/overworking the brass.

Good idea Rick!

Trim length?
I only neck size so not sure how the FL sizer affects Over All case length, but I imagine pushing the shoulder back a little would take the case mouth back a touch too?? - Please correct me if this is not so.
But if so, when neck sized only, the case may be just a tad over length and need trimming.

Are you lubing the inside of the case mouths?
Expander drag can pull the shoulder foreward and cause the brass to give a snug fit

Sth Oz, FL sizing increases case length, thus necessitating trimming more often.

Ol` Joe wrote:Are you lubing the inside of the case mouths?
Expander drag can pull the shoulder foreward and cause the brass to give a snug fit

I always lube even when using carbide expander balls.

To the OP, as a quick check you could coat/color one of your neck sized cases with a "Sharpie" (or use lay-out die) and see where the resistence is coming from. If you have a comparator you could neasure the diffence between a F/L sized case vs a neck sized case.

Are your loads warm/hot?

What kind of brass?

Definetely a strange problem.

The brass I'm using is Hornady. The loads are hot. 27.9 of benchmark pushing a 32grain SBk @ just under 4200fps. I was lubing the case neck with the Redding powder.

If I would use a body die and then neck size, isn't that the same as FL sizing?

If I would use a body die and then neck size, isn't that the same as FL sizing?[/quote]

The body die does not size as much as a FL die. I don't know how much differencs, as my other dies in the same caliber are neck bushing dies.

- Never used a body die but I don't think they're the same as a F/L die. Others can chime in on that one. There are F/L neck bushing dies made by Redding.

- 27.9 graind of Benchmark is on the high side per their online data center but it is-not an over charged load. With respect to hot loads, are there any other tale-tale signs (hard brass extraction, obvious bolt face marks on the case head, etc...)? You can always try a lighter charge and see if the issue sticks around or goes away.

- FWIW, I've never heard anything good about Hornady brass. However, if the brass is heavier it could have a reduced internal volume thus a creating higher pressures (much like military brass). You could try another brass manufacture and see if the problem goes away. Meanwhile you could fill a case with water and then weigh it to get an estimate of internal volume and compare to other cases.

There are no signs of pressure with the brass, primer, or bolt face

Rick in Oregon wrote:+ Another.

As mentioned, strange that it would need the shoulder bumped so soon. You may want to measure the rifle's headspace via the fired brass and consider investing in a body die just for shoulder bumping when/if needed to save the necks from oversizing/overworking the brass.

+1

check your travel length on your dies. I had the same issue and what was happening on mine was the neck was being pushed back slightly by the die and causing the case to have a slight mushroom. adjusted the die and fixed the problem. Maybe this will help.