Neck size or FL size 6br?

[mattri]

For those shooting the 6br are you FL sizing or neck sizing?

Considering that this round is primarily fired in single shot bolt action rifles it would seem that FL sizing to ease loading wouldn't be an issue.

Just curious as to what the consensus (if there is one) is on which gives better accuracy. Thanks, Matt.

 

[dreever]

I shoulder bump .002 every loading just to insure they all feel the same when chambering. I use Redding bushing dies.

Danny

 

[WyleWD]

I shoulder bump .002 every loading just to insure they all feel the same when chambering. I use Redding bushing dies.

Danny

Agree with dreever, bump the shoulder .002 and neck size only. WD

 

[Preacher]

If you want them to be the same each and every time, you need to Full Length size them each and every time....

 

[bozo699]

If you want them to be the same each and every time, you need to Full Length size them each and every time....

Absolutely unequivocally without a doubt +1
Wayne.

 

[DennisH]

I use a FL bushing die! Neck tension is about .002 , works great for me!

I have tried them all, and the above die works about the best for "me".

 

[artbosco]

If you want them to be the same each and every time, you need to Full Length size them each and every time....

Absolutely unequivocally without a doubt +1
Wayne.

+2 Always Full Length Size!

 

[DennisH]

Wayne,

Would your comment include: Competition FL neck bushing die?

 

[djporter]

On my varmint guns I do not want to fight the bolt home, so I body die size, setting shoulder back .002" & neck size. On my target gun I neck size only until the bolt starts to close hard, then I body size setting shoulder back .001". That works best for me.

 

[bozo699]

Wayne,

Would your comment include: Competition FL neck bushing die?

Dennis,
Absolutely it would,...I have and do own competition neck dies but use them in conjunction with a body die! The key to accuracy is consistency, if the brass isn't the same each time you fire it, it will act differently, Personally I want it to be the same so it will shoot the same, just one mans opinion.
Wayne.

 

[BoydAllen]

The thing that you want to avoid is the trap of saying to yourself that you will neck size till the cases get tight and then use the body, or a FL die. Cases don't get tight at the same rate, and if there is a difference in the effort that it takes to close the bolt while you are attempting to shoot a group, it will show up on the target. Dies need to match chambers. If they do not, no amount of brand perstige or fine exterior machining will matter. You can either specify a reamer to match a die, or find a die that matches your chamber. Fortunately Harrell's offers these for a very reasonable price. Friends who did not listen, on this point, ended up buying two dies. The first one would have been fine, if they had sized some brass to determine its internal dimensions, and ordered their reamers to match, but they went with the reamers that their gunsmiths already had, which were a little to small in the back to produce chambers that would work with the standard FL dies that they first bought. Just because one doesn't want to be bothered by a particular detail, doesn't mean that it won't jump up and bite you in the ....

 

[SS427]

I have about 15 reloads on 100 6BR brass and have only neck sized them. They still chamber perfectly without any tightness. Accuracy was fantastic for the first 1,300 rounds, but have recently started to lose the accuracy. Not sure why.....could be I need to bump the shoulders and use a FL die. All I can say is I don't think I gave up any accuracy by neck sizing only during those first 1,300 rounds.

When you guys talk about full length sizing, I assume you are talking about using a custom or semi-custom FL die only? I can't imagine a one-size-fits all Redding, RCBS or any other brand of FL off-the-shelf die being a better idea over neck sizing.

I'm on the FL sizing idea now with my 6PPC, using a custom die, but only because I'm a sheep following the herd. I've never seen any on-target proof that one is better than the other. Anyone have some tests they have run to prove this? (First time I heard you needed to FL size was because a FL sized case chambers easier, and you don't disrupt the gun on the bags.)

 

[BoydAllen]

The need to FL size is a function of pressure. If you don't load hot, you can get away with neck sizing for a lot more firings. Evidently you are not loading hot, which is fine, if it gets you where you want to go. As with the PPC, I would recommend a Harrell FL die, sized from fired cases, for a BR, or Dasher. If your FL die is not a good fit for your chamber, it may not size near the head enough. or it may size too much making cases crooked and causing length growth at an accelerated rate.

 

[mattri]

Excelent replies, thanks to all who have posted.

So the use of high quality FL sizing dies trumps the accuracy advantage of factory neck sizing dies?

If someone were to buy a rifle chambered in 6br and did not know which reamer was used, could they use standard load data to load a few rounds and then send the fired brass to Harrels to have dies made?

 

[BoydAllen]

If by factory neck die you mean the old style one piece variety.....wash your mouth out ;-) They are the worst possible. If you are talking about bushing neck die, it depends. As far as getting a Harrell die goes, what you describe will work. Just remember to make the load a hot but safe one. I prefer more than one neck sized firing, to make sure that the case is as close a match to the chamber as possible. Once you get your bushing size down, in steel, buy one in carbide.

 

[WyleWD]

So the use of high quality FL sizing dies trumps the accuracy advantage of factory neck sizing dies?

mattri, I just don't think you'll ever be able to get a consensus on the above statement. My advice to you would be to try it both ways and go with what works for you.

I compete against a quite a few exceptional shooters in various places and have heard this debated multiple times each year, and to this day no one has ever convinced me through dominant shooting or extended brass life that FL sizing is "trump".

A few months ago there was a debate on this exact same issue here on the board and it came down to "do what works for you" or at least that's the way I interpreted it. WD

 

[Flouncer]

May I invoke the "L" word regarding neck sizing ?

 

[DennisH]

The thing that you want to avoid is the trap of saying to yourself that you will neck size till the cases get tight and then use the body, or a FL die.

This is why I use a competition FL bushing die! Same die everytime I reload and everything is set the same with each loading!

I don't have any trouble with my brass and clearance/headspace issues!

 

[artbosco]

So the use of high quality FL sizing dies trumps the accuracy advantage of factory neck sizing dies?

The Accuracy Advantage does not come from partially sizing one portion of a case [necks] and allowing the remainder to grow out of the originally designed dimensions on a progressively expanding basis, until the case can't be chambered. You don't want a lower 2/3rds, ever changing, mutating case dimension.

The Accuracy Advantage comes from Full Length Sizing each and every time, as you bring the entire case back to its original design, over and over. Accuracy comes from [dimension] consistency, consistency, and consistency. Accuracy and Consistency are synonymous.

 

[mattri]

Not to be obtuse but I thought that was the point of neck sizing. The fired brass conforms to the chamber and then you just size the neck down to hold the bullet.