Why FL resize?

[Leo_B]

Very limited knowledge so far leads me to neck resizing as a better option. Why would anyone full length resize when neck sizing is an option? Stipulation, brass will be once fired from a bolt action rifle only to ever be used in that same bolt action rifle again.

 

[ELR LVR]

To ensure all cases are the same size - and all will DEFINITELY chamber
FL sizing is needed if using same ammo in different guns due to chamber differences
Sometimes with hotter loads you need to resized the rear(AKA: .200 line)
of the case back down if it swells slightly
Neck sizing only - can only be done with the brass that has been fired in that one chamber
Brass eventually needs the shoulder bumped slightly after a certain amount of firings
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There has been a time or two when I didnt and a case gets stuck trying to chamber.
Very frustrating when you have a perfect shot, are printing a nice group etc, and suddenly cant fully chamber the cartridge or it gets stuck and you have to get your cleaning rod out to slap the case out backward, damaging the bullet, possibly pushing the bullet into the case and dumping powder while its chambered etc.
This can happen if you only bump the shoulder .001" and the die loosens up without noticing and you've FL sized 100 cases and didnt realize the die slightly backed off lol.
And you werent bumping the shoulder.
You drove all that way to go shoot but cant shoot the ammo you loaded
now have to pull the ammo apart and resize all the cases. - AGAIN
Due to all these reasons
I simply FL size everything even for my accuracy only guns
Upon FL sizing I will also double check that sized case will definitely chamber in the gun, before continuing on with the rest of the brass.
I have a few guns chambered the same caliber, and some chambers are not exactly perfectly the same
So when one will chamber, it may not chamber in the other rifle
Which means no interchangeability of ammo.
BUT - Neck sizing is definitely an option as well as "Partially neck sizing" as another means of varying neck tension
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I only neck size myself, if I am going right back out to shoot again real quick and dont want to wait for the brass to tumble the case lube off from FL sizing
Very rare occurence since I always have sized cases ready to load anyway.
But to each their own method

 

[BTP]

Kinda a must for any semi-auto.

 

[CF Junkie]

I felt that way about neck sizing when I first got into reloading.
I had a .308 and only neck sized for about 4 years. I didn't need to lube the brass to neck size it so I was lazy and didn't bother full sizing. I shot 6,500 rounds through that chamber over the years.
Then I bought another .308 and did the same neck size drill. I kept the new barrel's brass separate from the old barrel's brass.
Managed to go two reloads with the new barrel before the third neck sized brass would not seat in the chamber.
I had to full size the brass to get it to fit.

I then, as I added calibers, I switched to full sizing for all my calibers to eliminate the potential problems with having to pull bullets and powder to full size brass after I neck sized it.
I've reloaded over 75,000 rounds and almost 69,000 have been full sized.
One thing about my reloads is that I am target shooting, so I am not loading for high velocity and high kinetic energy like I would if I were loading rounds for hunting.
Hopefully, your chamber won't cause you any problem with neck sizing continually, but that is always a possibility.

Recently, I started neck sizing my .223 reloads for about 3 or 4 reloads and then full sizing them for one reload. I started to do that to see whether it would work with my target rifle. I have not have any problems with that approach and full sizing allows me to set the shoulder back a bit after neck sizing a few times.
It keeps the brass from getting too long or too short.
I hate trimming brass so that keeps me from having to trim even a few cases.

 

[Wind River]

Neck sized brass will occasionally stick, even when fired from the same gun. The chamber did not get tighter, ha-ha, but brass does not always expand consistently. Some factory chambers are also a fuzz out of round, not common, but I’ve seen it.
Plus, I have not found neck sizing to be any more accurate, in fact, a bit less accurate. Some may argue otherwise.
That’s my experience and I’ve been a reloader for 50 years.

 

[Rob01]

One word, reliability. You gain nothing neck sizing only and open yourself to reliability issues.

 

[long40shot]

Only neck sizing will lead to chambering issues. I tried to explain that to a friend when he started reloading for his new 300prc. He bought a Redding neck sizing set, I told him to get a FL die, but no, he read on the interwebs all the reasons to neck size. After a couple loadings, he stated having rounds that wouldn't chamber. I asked him, are you still neck sizing? Finally he bought a FL die, magically, his chambering problems went away.

Matt

 

[Rob01]

Very limited knowledge so far leads me to neck resizing as a better option. Why would anyone full length resize when neck sizing is an option? Stipulation, brass will be once fired from a bolt action rifle only to ever be used in that same bolt action rifle again.

Editing the make larger and bold doesn’t change anything. We all read it and still not a good idea.

 

[Leo_B]

Good points all. I own a grand total of one bolt action, my .22 Hornet Savage 25 Varminter. I might get one more next year, probably .222 or .223 so no chance of mixing up brass and guns. I figured neck size 3-4 times then full length once then neck size again. Lots more reading and studying to do.

Editing the make larger and bold doesn’t change anything. We all read it and still not a good idea.

Except the one making the valid in general comment it's a must for semi-auto.

 

[Rob01]

I think he was just adding to the conversation for a knowledge standpoint.

 

[Medic505]

Good points all. I own a grand total of one bolt action, my .22 Hornet Savage 25 Varminter. I might get one more next year, probably .222 or .223 so no chance of mixing up brass and guns. I figured neck size 3-4 times then full length once then neck size again. Lots more reading and studying to do.

Except the one making the valid in general comment it's a must for semi-auto.

And, when I load for a simi-auto, I use a small base die. May be overkill but rounds always chamber.

 

[BTP]

I think he was just adding to the conversation for a knowledge standpoint.

Indeed he was

 

[dellet]

Now that all the details are known, specifically cartridge, I will cut against the grain.

Almost all Hornet brass sucks. It’s just a fact. It has no real shoulder to bump because it headspace’s off the rim. It’s not exactly a 1/4 MOA 500 yard target rifle. For all those reasons, neck only sizing isn’t a bad way to go.

Hornet brass splits often, annealing helps, but it’s not real easy with a small case. Not too hard to get the neck tho. The less you size, the less risk of a split, so in this instance there is not much to lose by neck sizing only. And maybe some to gain.

Then it’s just the question if the neck will split before the primer pocket gets loose. But most likely you will never have a shoulder blow out or case head separate.

 

[XTR]

The whole “neck size only” thing was a BR practice that I believe went away decades ago.

One other problem with not FL sizing is that eventually you will need to, so keeping lots separated is just one more thing to keep track of.

 

[paperpuncher]

Some reason not to neck size only

 

[ELR LVR]

The whole “neck size only” thing was a BR practice that I believe went away decades ago.

One other problem with not FL sizing is that eventually you will need to, so keeping lots separated is just one more thing to keep track of.

Precisely,
That was more when the chambers were tight enough the brass contracted right back to original dimension
So did not need a FL sizing anyway because it did not stay in the expanded dimension
It was a neat idea, except when clickers happened
Over the years, myself included, have found the brass likes to expand a little bit upon firing then be allowed to contract back down some
Benchresters chambers were tight enough the brass was not allowed to expand enough to need resizing
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as an experiment - I tried a tight chambered 6x284, hoping to prevent case head expansion
All I got was clickers for it
so I would believe the whole "Tight Chamber" thing...would only work best for smaller cases like
22BR and smaller

 

[Leo_B]

Lots of good food for thought. And a bit of stuff I'm clueless on. All good for my ongoing learning process.

 

[ELR LVR]

Lots of good food for thought. And a bit of stuff I'm clueless on. All good for my ongoing learning process.

If you want to try something like Redding Neck bushing dies
and have a few different neck sizing bushings to adjust neck tension diameters
That is one reason to have a neck sizer nowadays
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However, in doing that I would get a bushing FL sizer instead
and do the same thing but FL sizing in the process

 

[Lonny in ID]

I went through a phase of neck sizing only, until I had chambering issues. Now I only FL resize. No more neck-sizing for me.

 

[ISS]

Sage advice all. I FL all my rifle brass.
Listen and learn is what Tony Boyer told me at the Super Shoot. He won everything that year.