Full Lenth resizing vs. neck only

[mcxring]

I'm mainly shooting from a .223 AR-15, do I need to fl. size my cases everytime or can I neck resize only, can my rcbs resizing die do this, or do I need to buy a special die to do just neck, i have read that fl sizing reduces case life.
Thanks Mike

 

[Mark Walker in TX]

For an AR, or any gas gun for that matter, you should always f/l size every time.

 

[mcxring]

thanks for the reply, fl sizing its is.
mike

 

[DogPatch06]

+1 for F/L every time for gas guns. Especially when you start out. I've been loading for my 556AR for some time now. I've found that I can neck size only for 2-3 firings after they've been full length sized (Lake City). Only with light loads appr 2820ft. sec for plinking (55grainers). I do put every neck sized case into a Lyman gas gauge prior to charging to make sure I won't have an issue. I don't use a progressive press currently. The NATO chamber might be helping my process out a little but I'm not sure if the areas of the chamber that are dimensionally larger than 223 actually contribute to more reliable cycling, aside from my limited understanding of pressure and bullet length. Looks like you have a 223 chamber. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Judd]

I used a Small Base full resizer because that is what was recommended to me by the guy I bought the gun from. I never had an issue and he told me gas was the main reason the small base was created. So while I can't say the others won't work but I can't tell you the small base FL resizer works great.

This was a .5 MOA Colt Match Target w/ 24" barrel and shot awesome. I just found I don't like chasing brass and the black guns weren't for me.

 

[fredhorace77]

BTW mcxring yes to your second part of your question...if you ever do decied to just neck size your full length sizer can do this process also for you... Just run your case holder all the way up in your press and run your die down to touch the shell holder and then back die out enough to just give a little light between the two. run a case thru it and look at the neck if it is resizing still too much back the die out some more and this will keep it from resizing so much of the neck and also limit how much resizing is done to the case head

 

[mcxring]

Thnx. Fred
Mike

 

[KevinThomas]

Mike, a quick correction on that last (sorry); backing a F/L size die off a bit does not cause it to N/S a case. This becomes what we refer to as "partial sizing", and really has no valid place in the reloading world. Use either a F/L die that properly sizes the entire case, or a straight N/S die that touches only the neck. Use a case gage, such as one of the bump gages from Sinclair, an RCBS Chmaber type gage or a Redding Instant Indicator, whatever, but know how much you're pushing the shoulder back. In gas guns, you want a minimum of .003" to .005" every time you resize. The S/B dies are no problem at all, and will likely decrease the potential of jams, either during feeding, or extraction (yes, the S/B dies do ease extraction). Not absolutely neccessary in most guns, but it certainly doesn't hurt a thing. As others have already mentioned, gas guns should NEVER be feed neck sized cartridges. It's a wide open invitation to some serious problems, and I guarantee you, you'll encounter them sooner rather than later. Full length sizing, always, and without exception, ever.

 

[243winxb]

Case life is cut short by splits in the neck. Standard RCBS dies in FL & neck types will not give longer case life. They both work the neck the same amount. Using a Redding FL type-S bushing die can, as the brass neck is not over worked. Best to always FL size for an auto. Neck sizing for an M16 slowed feeding from the magazines, causing jams. Not a good method.

 

[amlevin]

.223/5.56mm brass, for me, is so plentiful the last thing I'm worried about is case life in my AR's. I F/L size it and when bored, I'll anneal a bunch of it. With the annealing, the cases seem to last until I finally loose them 8) 8)

I'd like to thank all those Non-Reloaders that discard a couple thousand pieces of .223/5.56mm brass each week at the range I shoot at. I've actually had to take a holiday from picking the stuff up.

Now if I had a .223 Bolt Action, I'd be neck sizing but for a totally different reason than case life. Accuracy would be high on the list then.

 

[BoydAllen]

The whole issue of whether to FL size or not has primarily come from the predominance of FL dies that work brass more than is needed. If you have a Fl die that only reduces case necks enough so that the expander ball, while felt, as it passes through the sized neck, does not produce much pull, and the body dimensions of the case are only reduced by the amount necessary for ammunition to chamber correctly in the type of rifle being used, there is no problem FL sizing every time, from an accuracy or case life perspective. Also, dies should be set by case measurement...period. I know that huge numbers of shooters use other methods to set up their dies, but these methods are part of the problem, not a solution. I use an attachment for dial calipers to measure fired and sized cases when I am setting up FL dies. There are other tools that do the same thing. IMO, you can produce the best ammunition with a collection of junky equipment, as long as you have the best dies, and good measuring tools, and if you do not, no amount of fancy equipment can compensate. It is similar to trying to compensate for a really bad barrel. Good luck with that.

 

[mcxring]

great feedback thnx

 

[fredhorace77]

kevin this partail sizing your refering to may not have any valid placement in reloading for you...but the entire shooting world is not you..it works excellent for me in my loads..just giving mcxring options on what i do..may not work for him or you but to say it has no place in reloading is just simply not true.

 

[DaveWhite]

Well said. +1 on that, though expander balls are not strictly speaking necessary.