22BR dies and neck question

[FroggyOne2]

What I have noticed from two samples of Lapua BR brass that a fellow forum member was nice enough to allow me to have so that I could make some comperisions, is that the "blue" box brass when necked down to 22 cal thickens as it nears the shoulder joint. Not so much on the "gold" box brass. With the blue box brass, the neck will clean up 80% @ .249 dia. With this measurement, I should be able to size the case with a .248 bushing (which I have) and be able to run .001 tension on the neck. This without using the expander in the die. I have both the Redding die (neck bushing sizing only) and a Forester FL sizing die. I have noticed that the Forester is sizing the neck way down! Two schools of thought here, size with the Forester to get the shoulder bump and then ream the necks with a chucking reamer that is just under the dia of the bullet, which would clean up the necks. Or send the die back to Forester and have it honed up to the dia that I need.
Am I wrong in my thinking?

How do you feel about this?

 

[FroggyOne2]

A bunch of readers, nobody has a clue? I'm curious!

 

[dtucker]

I personally will not ream the inside. Thats just my opinion. If i am going to do any cutting it will be on the outside only. And hey, thanks for the contacts again.

Dan

 

[FroggyOne2]

Well you are most welcome my friend!

As for reaming vs neck turning, well the way I see it, if I ream, it may assure that there will be less chance for a dount due to necking down the brass. But where I am going to set the bullet, that should not be a problem. But if I want to bump the shoulder back with the Forster die, something will need to be done to the die, hence thinking about sending the die back or having someone ream the die to a more proper dia for sizing the neck. I guess the position I am at is kinda of a mental block as to which direction I wish to go with this. So I am looking for feedback on good ideas.

 

[dtucker]

I hear exactly what you are saying. Do i have the barrel froze or should i use moly. Doing 1 of the 2 will get the end result you want. Flip a coin ;D Some of the things i used to do in the past that cost extra are no longer done as i really see no benefit to it. To some they may think different. 1 thing i found out long ago is their are mucho opinions, so i just do what i think is best and what my heart tells me.

 

[NorCalMikie]

First question. Has the brass been fireformed? Everything will change at that point. Any enlargment in the neck/shoulder area will probably be moved. Where?, you won't know till the case gets blown out.
The Forster "Bushing Bump Die" will bump the shoulder and a bushing will do the neck. How much room do you have in the chamber neck?
If it was me, I'd be firing the brass before I made any decisions about reaming or cutting. You start cutting and reaming and when the brass gets fireformed everything is different than when you first made your measurements. ???
Fireform first and save yourself a lot of frustration.

 

[gotcha]

Looks like the old "devil & deep blue sea" ! I agree w/ dtucker re: nk. reaming. I've tried this & ended up ruining about 1/2 my brass. Reaming the Forster would probably be the best bet. But, you'd be stuck w/ only one neck tension & the possibility that necks could thin if you take advantage of the useful life of the brass. With all the prep you've done you've got a lot tied up in that brass. Why not just spring for a 22BR Redding FL "S" die? ....... Not saying you don't have the skill/ equipment to do the neck reaming well. Just saying I didn't Dale

 

[expiper]

Its an old delima...when I shot a 22 BR I turned the necks while the cases were still 6mm...then when necked down the thick spot went around the corner and became shoulder "meat"....Roger
PS ,,my latest BR's are all "no turn"...they shoot just as good and you dont have to turn necks on hundreds of cases.....after 55 yrs of this I must be gettin lazy..hahaha

 

[FroggyOne2]

Roger,

I will have to admit, that thought did come to mind. And may try a few like to see how it turns out.
This is the first time I have necked anything down, so some of this is new to me. And I will fire a few first before doing anything to the brass, I don't want to induce runout perminately. My understanding that there will be some run out from necking the case down.

 

[quartermaster]

Wouldn't the neck turner expander coupled with turning up on the shoulder a bit take the indifference out?

 

[FroggyOne2]

That is generally the way I do it, just having thoughts out loud. I was playing around last night, measured the neck sizing on the Forster die and it is sizing the neck down to .235 without the expander in the die, which is the way I prefer to do it. This checked with LC 223 brass. I did it again with a pc of Lapua brass and the last number increased by two digits.

 

[ThunderDownUnder]

FroggyOne2, I neck the cases down using the Redding 91316 FLS 22BR - Remington die. Just use only the body of the die to neck down. I use a no-neck turn chamber and fireform with a moderate load and then inside ream all the cases with a standard Forster inside reamer. After fireforming the reamer will take a tiny amount of brass right at the donut junction. Then shoot away without any worries at your full target load for the 90gr Vlds of your choice. Accuracy with this method and with Berger 90gr Vld projectiles is absolutely outstanding!

Ian