Neck sizing fire formed brass

[ftrrookie]

Just ordered my first set of neck turning tools from 21st Century and while I have a pretty good grasp on how to turn new brass I'm going to be turning 2x fired brass and am confused by the conflicting instructions on how to do this.

One school says not to use bushing type dies (all I own) because they leave a small portion unsized at the shoulder/neck junction. It's further stated that I should only use full length sizing dies set up according to factory instructions.

Another school of thought says I should only neck size fire formed brass using a bushing type die and not to full length resize at all. But there is no explanation on how far down the neck to go. I wouldn't think you would cut into the unsized portion of the brass but I don't know for sure.

What say you?

 

[savageshooter86]

I was told by PMA that turned fired brass was no problem. Told me to FL size case then use expander die and turn just like usual

 

[Shynloco]

I was told by PMA that turned fired brass was no problem. Told me to FL size case then use expander die and turn just like usual

Ditto! That's what I do and it works just fine. As far as FTR's question about how far down the neck to size, I've done it half neck and full neck and I see no discernible difference in accuracy down range on the target. So I just full neck size, but then use an oversized expander mandrel on the entire neck to get me to the .002 Neck tension which is my main concern as that gets me the most consistency in grouping and best accuracy. I'm certain some will say the "half neck sizing" is the ticket, but I've not found that to be the case in any of the calibers I reload for.

Alex

 

[Martin52]

Turned fired brass that is resized in a bushing die is certainly no problem - but you have 2 x fired unturned brass.

If you are going to turn this unturned brass, i agree with your second paragraph - use a non bushing FLS to resize this brass before expanding then neck turning. Once it is neck turned, continue with a bushing die.

Martin

 

[BoydAllen]

Just be sure to set you one piece FL die properly so that you do not push back the case shoulders more than you should. I would say that if you have been shooting reasonably warm loads that a bump back of .001 should be fine. Remember to remove or reseat the fired primer before measuring the fired case.