Actually Kevin Thomas is a very wise man who worked with Jim Hull. And far above the abilities of most shooters here.
So tell us dmoran how many major reloading test labs have you worked in?
"There's two very common misconceptions that you've expressed here, and I'd like to address them both. One , that N/S extends the life of the brass. As I said, if done properly, F/L sizing gives you every bit as long of case life as N/S can, but without all the additional headaches that go hand in hand with neck sizing. You will have problems if you stick to neck sizing. It's not a question of if but of when. I tend to believe in Murphy in these things, and he'll usually find you when you can least afford a visit from him. And Two, that full length sizing somehow produces less accurate ammo than neck sizing. It doesn't, and is generally the other way around. Virtually all accuracy labs that I'm aware of use nothing but full length sizing for all their testing, and accuracy is what most reloader's dream of. I've fired literally hundreds of thousands of ten shot groups, with well over 95% of them staying far below the 1/2 MOA mark. In fact, when a rifle wouldn't consistently hold 1/2 MOA or under, I scrapped the barrel, as I could no longer use it for test purposes. All of that ammo was full length sized, NEVER neck sized, as it had to work in a variety of different guns. MY predecessor at Sierra, Jim Hull, used to say that a loaded round should fit in a chamber," like a rat turd in a violin case." Jim had a way with words, and creating visual images. But the idea is that it should fit freely, without binding or jamming when chambered. Forget the nonsense about N/S ammo giving better accuracy, because it's exactly that, nonsense. A few isolated examples of individual guns or groups don't change that, and it's the long run averages that count."
Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA
So tell us dmoran how many major reloading test labs have you worked in?
"There's two very common misconceptions that you've expressed here, and I'd like to address them both. One , that N/S extends the life of the brass. As I said, if done properly, F/L sizing gives you every bit as long of case life as N/S can, but without all the additional headaches that go hand in hand with neck sizing. You will have problems if you stick to neck sizing. It's not a question of if but of when. I tend to believe in Murphy in these things, and he'll usually find you when you can least afford a visit from him. And Two, that full length sizing somehow produces less accurate ammo than neck sizing. It doesn't, and is generally the other way around. Virtually all accuracy labs that I'm aware of use nothing but full length sizing for all their testing, and accuracy is what most reloader's dream of. I've fired literally hundreds of thousands of ten shot groups, with well over 95% of them staying far below the 1/2 MOA mark. In fact, when a rifle wouldn't consistently hold 1/2 MOA or under, I scrapped the barrel, as I could no longer use it for test purposes. All of that ammo was full length sized, NEVER neck sized, as it had to work in a variety of different guns. MY predecessor at Sierra, Jim Hull, used to say that a loaded round should fit in a chamber," like a rat turd in a violin case." Jim had a way with words, and creating visual images. But the idea is that it should fit freely, without binding or jamming when chambered. Forget the nonsense about N/S ammo giving better accuracy, because it's exactly that, nonsense. A few isolated examples of individual guns or groups don't change that, and it's the long run averages that count."
Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA
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