Turning necks, now you see how bad brass really is...

[Lefty Trigger]

Got into turning necks this year with my 22BR project gun. Finally got the procedure down and it's working out well. So this got me thinking on my new .223 bolt rifle that has really wild swings in neck tension to turn a few to skim the necks. Wow, Hornady brass is really inconsistent. Some barely touch the cutter and some shave off more than I think it should. I only did 5 because my 23 degree cutter has not arrived yet so I cant get near the shoulders but running them through my die and seating bullets made a huge improvement. I'm now sold this is a beneficial step toward consistent rounds

 

[JEFFPPC]

Good job Lefty. Try it, find the result, thunk for yourself and learn. Your WAY ahead of the herd that find someone to agree with them, who also probably never tested. And declare it as the gospel. Good thinking and good work.

 

[mikecr]

You don't have to turn necks to see it's thickness and variance.
Just measure it up front with a ball mic.
From there you can pick the cases that are even worth bothering with.

Also, you never want to touch shoulders with a cutter anyway. Just the neck-shoulder junction.
For this, a cutter angle higher than shoulder angle works.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

You don't have to turn necks to see it's thickness and variance.
Just measure it up front with a ball mic.
From there you can pick the cases that are even worth bothering with.

Also, you never want to touch shoulders with a cutter anyway. Just the neck-shoulder junction.
For this, a cutter angle higher than shoulder angle works.
View attachment 1285293

I'm new to this whole neck turning process but was told that you need to cut slightly into the neck/shoulder junction to prevent the die from pushing in a donut at that area. I assumed this is why PMA tool makes cutters to match shoulder angles. I have a 30 degree for my BR brass but had to order a 23 for the 223 and a 20 for my 7mm-08.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I'm new to this whole neck turning process but was told that you need to cut slightly into the neck/shoulder junction to prevent the die from pushing in a donut at that area. I assumed this is why PMA tool makes cutters to match shoulder angles. I have a 30 degree for my BR brass but had to order a 23 for the 223 and a 20 for my 7mm-08.

Those specific shoulder angled cutters are mostly relative if you are seating bullets below the neck/shoulder junction. If not, just turn t a safe spot and stop, which makes a precise angle irrelevant, anyway. And I never want the bullet below that junction unless I create enough clearance to make it irrelevant. More to that story but as long as the base of the bullet doesn't run into a donut, let it fly.

 

[mikecr]

Cutter angles never actually match shoulder angles.
Brass & chamber dynamics result in local forming (which will depart a bit from standards).

Nothing wrong with a close match, as long as the cutter angle is higher in fault.
But it doesn't have to be so close as to lose sleep over it.

The actual purpose of hitting neck-shoulder junction is to prevent formation of a donut when brass is fire formed. That's one reason why it's beneficial to turn necks while brass is NEW.
As far as bringing later formed donuts(from excess sizing) into play with neck sizing & bullet seating, just don't do that. Don't seat bullet bearing so deep, and never, ever, FL size necks.

 

[Bill K]

It is not just Hornady brass. Take any new brass case, some will have less high/low spots, etc. when you neck trim, but they all need some trimming, if you are after each case being consistent in smoothness and no high/low spots in it.