Questions about My Proposed Loading Procedure

[South Pender]

I plan to use neck sizing with an LE Wilson bushing neck sizing die with a .222 Rem. Once the cases get hard to chamber, I plan to size them with a Redding body die to get them to where I can continue with neck sizing.

Two questions:

(1) Is this a reasonable procedure? and

(2) At the body resizing stage, should I do the body resizing with the body die before or after running the cases through the Wilson neck bushing die?

All help and advice greatly appreciated!

 

[fkimble@charter.net]

I'd clean the brass, size the body, clean the cases to remove case lube, then necksize.

Frank

 

[tmwinds]

I would full length size and bump the shoulders after each firing using a proper die. Just my opinion but I don’t know anyone that neck sizes.

 

[Straightshooter1]

I plan to use neck sizing with an LE Wilson bushing neck sizing die with a .222 Rem. Once the cases get hard to chamber, I plan to size them with a Redding body die to get them to where I can continue with neck sizing.

Two questions:

(1) Is this a reasonable procedure? and

(2) At the body resizing stage, should I do the body resizing with the body die before or after running the cases through the Wilson neck bushing die?

All help and advice greatly appreciated!

Your proposed procedure should work.

The first thing I would do before body sizing would to be sure an fire form the brass (going with a second firing having just neck sized), then set up both sizing dies so that both dies are set up properly . . . mainly to avoid any premature case head separation due to having the wrong head spacing.

I've done something similar to your procedure with my .308 Federal brass. I have not FL sized them in 9 firings with just neck sized them along with bumping the shoulders with a Forster neck bumping die. Bumping the shoulders every time has avoided any issues with hard chambering. . . . so far. I'm sure the body, like at the web area, has work hardened and it measure ~.0015 larger than sized brass does and hasn't yet had any chambering issues. This is kind of an experiment to see how long I can go with method for this brass. And BTW, I also anneal them after very firing, so the shoulder bumping is pretty consistent.

 

[ebb]

South been doing it for years. If it were a hunting gun where I needed it to preform first time every time at a moment's notice full length size. Maybe even if I were going to a match and wanted to make sure i had no issues. But for most everything that isn't depending on a split-second shot, it will be fine and will be easy on your brass. I think I was on my 3rd or 4th reload on 6.5-284 before I needed the body die.

 

[K22]

I prefer to FL every time. Whether the shoulder is bumped or not depends on the brand of case, the rifle, the number of firings and the datum line measurements of a sample size of fired cases.

Often, I can get by with just a zero to .001" bump. The FL size also sizes the radial dimension of the case which is often enough as long as you do not extrude (lengthen) the case with the FL die which can happen if the die does not touch the case shoulder.

I base all my sizing on the fired case datum line measurement after virgin cases have been fired formed in the rifle chamber. A spot check in the rifle chamber is always a good idea to confirm the sizing is adequate.

Since I'm primarily a hunter, reliability of reloads in the field is just as important to me as accuracy. Therefore, FL sizing is the best approach for me. Contrary to popular belief, FL done properly, does not shorten case life or degrade accuracy, at least that has been my experience over many years of reloading.

 

[Benchrest Braxton]

i’ve been trying the same thing. neck sizing with a wilson hand die and then going to full length wilson after things start getting tight.

on my 223, i hit issues with the body dimensions getting tight before the shoulder, nothing super tight, but i don’t like weird resistance on bolt close.

i just gave up and went to full length sizing instead, but made sure to not bump the shoulder back.

 

[Homerange]

I plan to use neck sizing with an LE Wilson bushing neck sizing die with a .222 Rem. Once the cases get hard to chamber, I plan to size them with a Redding body die to get them to where I can continue with neck sizing.

Two questions:

(1) Is this a reasonable procedure? and

(2) At the body resizing stage, should I do the body resizing with the body die before or after running the cases through the Wilson neck bushing die?

All help and advice greatly appreciated!

How hard do you intend to stoke this trebly ?
If you plan to stick within normal 'in print loads' just use a LCD and expect to get 10-20 loads per case.
Keep your bolt lugs lightly lubed and just forget about any body sizing.

^^^ is what I do for a trebly and 223 and you don't get any simpler loading procedures.
If you are to start pushing things or popping out heavy pills these simple strategies might not work.

 

[6BRA]

There is a TShirt sold by the SW national winner...says, I neck size..

 

[JSH]

I was convinced that neck sizing was “the” way to go for years, because that was what I was told.

The only thing I neck size are some soft load cast bullet loads, and then they get bumped and annealed every third time.

All of my bottle neck cases get a bump every time and my averages have went up and remained steady. I look at some old neck size targets and thought they were good.

Bottom line, use what works.

 

[Webster]

I plan to use neck sizing with an LE Wilson bushing neck sizing die with a .222 Rem. Once the cases get hard to chamber, I plan to size them with a Redding body die to get them to where I can continue with neck sizing.

Two questions:

(1) Is this a reasonable procedure? and

(2) At the body resizing stage, should I do the body resizing with the body die before or after running the cases through the Wilson neck bushing die?

All help and advice greatly appreciated!

Always FL resize every time. That's the opinion of the best shooters on the National long distance teams. I use Redding FL "S" type bushing dies. Varmint hunting rifles always under .400" groups or better.

 

[joelpend]

I have never neck sized but I will not say it can not be successfully done. In my vast experience a hard closing bolt is no good for accuracy. So if you can neck size and maintain a bolt that closes consistently easy then it might work for you. I generally use custom made dies that full length size minimally and I anneal frequently if not ever firing. If you do not anneal then the brass will harden at varying rates which will be problematic.

 

[South Pender]

Thanks, guys for sharing your ideas. If I've read things correctly, FL sizing is preferred over what I have proposed. I could pick up a Wilson FL bushing die, I guess, and use the same bushings I plan to use in the neck die. However, if I go with the original plan, it would seem that I should use the body die before resizing the necks.

I guess my understanding of FL vs neck sizing is somewhat dated and probably incorrect. My belief has been that neck sizing is preferable because, by not reducing the diameter of the case body, the cartridge aligns more centrally to the bore, which should allow the bullet to enter the bore more fully-centered than would be true with FL sizing where the reduced-diameter case body has to lie at the bottom of the chamber, thus forcing the bullet to enter the bore at a slight angle. Any validity to this theory?

 

[6BRA]

Stacked problems, multiple dies involved. 1 die...

 

[LHSmith]

Thanks, guys for sharing your ideas. If I've read things correctly, FL sizing is preferred over what I have proposed. I could pick up a Wilson FL bushing die, I guess, and use the same bushings I plan to use in the neck die. However, if I go with the original plan, it would seem that I should use the body die before resizing the necks.

I guess my understanding of FL vs neck sizing is somewhat dated and probably incorrect. My belief has been that neck sizing is preferable because, by not reducing the diameter of the case body, the cartridge aligns more centrally to the bore, which should allow the bullet to enter the bore more fully-centered than would be true with FL sizing where the reduced-diameter case body has to lie at the bottom of the chamber, thus forcing the bullet to enter the bore at a slight angle. Any validity to this theory?

Sometimes rationalizing theory turns out to be counter-intuitive. There is good reason the vast majority if SR Benchrest Competitors went to FLS about 20 years ago. The problem with NS is that the case develops a memory and resists sizing when you finally decide to FL size. In between all sorts of problems develop including accuracy- case fill will be variable. If you choose loading near or at the upper load window it is preferable to FL every time. The key is to find the FL die that most closely matches your chamber and realize that brass is expendable if accuracy trumps economy.

 

[South Pender]

Sometimes rationalizing theory turns out to be counter-intuitive. There is good reason the vast majority if SR Benchrest Competitors went to FLS about 20 years ago. The problem with NS is that the case develops a memory and resists sizing when you finally decide to FL size. In between all sorts of problems develop including accuracy- case fill will be variable. If you choose loading near or at the upper load window it is preferable to FL every time. The key is to find the FL die that most closely matches your chamber and realize that brass is expendable if accuracy trumps economy.

Yes, I can see that. The case capacities could vary slightly between light and heavy powder charges, with the latter blowing the case out a tiny bit more than with the lighter charges. FL sizing would eliminate that variable.

 

[Dave M.]

I plan to use neck sizing with an LE Wilson bushing neck sizing die with a .222 Rem. Once the cases get hard to chamber, I plan to size them with a Redding body die to get them to where I can continue with neck sizing.

Two questions:

(1) Is this a reasonable procedure? and

(2) At the body resizing stage, should I do the body resizing with the body die before or after running the cases through the Wilson neck bushing die?

All help and advice greatly appreciated!

Just full length size every time if you are truly looking fit consistent world class accuracy.
Dave

 

[nakneker]

Full length size is the way to go, doing it correctly is worth learning, invest in some tools that tell you what your brass is doing so your not reloading blind.

Neck sizing was popular for awhile. I did a lot of it in the nineties. Never stuck a case or had a failure, I would full length size every 3rd or fourth firing. Its not that neck sizing doesn’t work, it can be done but there’s a reason why most experienced reloaded full length size.

 

[Doom]

Neck sizing is an acceptable method and if loads are kept mild you may not need to FLS for quite a while. Whether superior or inferior to FLS is something to be determined. Depending on the application and shooters ability it may not matter. Unless you are shooting beyond 600 yds I would neck size.

 

[LHSmith]

Neck sizing is an acceptable method and if loads are kept mild you may not need to FLS for quite a while. Whether superior or inferior to FLS is something to be determined. Depending on the application and shooters ability it may not matter. Unless you are shooting beyond 600 yds I would neck size.

I often wonder who the readers of this forum are that are satisfied using "mild" loads? Most of the posts I read are about getting both accuracy and top performance with modern cartridges or the latest and greatest wildcat that has just been standardized for use in newfound competitions.
Remember you can't neck size for lever, pump, or semi-auto's, and chances are if you do NS, you will eventually have to FLS and those rounds will not shoot to same point of aim.