First time neck turning 6ppc

[Anchorite]

When I shot short range everyone shot the .262 ND chamber. I had never turned necks before then so it was uncharted territory for me. I was told to buy two neck turners and set one to take off a little over half the amount and then set the second to do the final cut. I learned a lot about neck turning (I thought) but later found I had only scratched the surface in knowledge. Thanks to a mentor who has done more neck turning than anyone else I have ever known I have learned a lot more. Still learn every time I do the task.
.259 for a .262 isn't a bad thing. In fact, I would rather have at least .003 clearance in the chamber these days. One thing I have learned is to use a no-turn reamer whenever possible.

Bingo! I hate turning necks and got completely away from that in the past years. Only no-turn reamers now and quality (Alpha) brass anymore. Life is too short to spend your time turning necks.

 

[Steve Donlon]

They make cutter blades with different angles. The angle should match the shoulder angle.

It's a 30 degree cutter to match the shoulder. The lengths of the brass are all over the place because it's new brass that is already to short and I did not want to trim them all down to the shortest length, so some are cut down farther than I would have liked. But in the end, I have seen no difference in brass life. It is to no advantage to cut them down as far as I did though. But no donuts, I don't think you have to go that far, but I'm not sure how far you need to go because they have not been a problem so far with 6.5 Creedmoor brass. With 30-06 brass it does matter from what I have seen.

 

[D Coots]

It is possible to do the cut into the shoulder by feel.

 

[Steve Donlon]

It is possible to do the cut into the shoulder by feel.

Yes, you can feel when you hit the shoulder and have to push harder. When you see the cutter get close to the shoulder, go slower and gently and you will feel it come in contact.

 

[D Coots]

And if you don't trim all your brass before turning, you'll realize they aren't all the same length anyhow.

 

[Leon Noel]

And if you don't trim all your brass before turning, you'll realize they aren't all the same length anyhow.

Dave 100% on the trim. I size, expand and trim before neck turning. I check length after each cut as well and it it not unusual to see a 0.003-0.005" gain in length, with both Lapua 220 Russian and Alpha 6ppc. Trim again, turn again and I watch the cuttings and can easily tell as I approach the shoulder. The shape of cuttings and change of effort is apparent as you approach the shoulder.

 

[Steve Donlon]

I have noticed that after shooting, I don't have to bump the shoulder back or trim the case. I don't know if it's from cutting down the shoulder a little more or the fact that I use a body die then , neck size. But after the first firing, the shoulder has smoothed out and is even.