neck sizing vs FL sizing

[bobcat30]

Well went to range today found neck sizing only shrunk my group roughly .25 so as of now im gonna neck size only and will let ya guys know how many reloadings it takes b$ i have to FL. And it wasnt a fluke either shot 4 different 5 shot groups to prove it to my self.

 

[Flouncer]

To my highly amateur and unqualified eye, or ear, the term "Full Length" resizing, when used in comparison to neck sizing, is a misnomer. The Case is not not full length sized. It is not neck sized. It is partially or very slightly resized, preferably a minimal amount. Does that sound correct ??

 

[RonAKA]

To my highly amateur and unqualified eye, or ear, the term "Full Length" resizing, when used in comparison to neck sizing, is a misnomer. The Case is not not full length sized. It is not neck sized. It is partially or very slightly resized, preferably a minimal amount. Does that sound correct ??

Standard dies do resize a significant amount -- potentially back to standard specifications for factory brass. In many cases you can resize brass from one gun, and use it in another. However, FL dies have problems resizing the case near the head. If the case is oversize there because it was over pressure or fired in a gun with a large chamber, then it may not be possible to resize it to fit a tighter gun using a stanard die.

But this is with standard dies. Many who use a bushing die or custom made FL die, do as you say, and just minimally resize it so the brass is worked less, and provides a better fit in their specific chamber. This brass is much more likely not to fit another gun.

 

[ReedG]

Flouncer, they are two totally different kinds of dies. Some people do, in fact, neck size their cases by backing a full-length sizing die out to where it only resizes part of the neck and/or slightly resizes the body and part of the neck. Technically, if you mount an FL die in your press so that the ram touches the bottom of the die, such as recommended by most manufacturers' instructions, it will resize the entire case -- sometimes drastically. A rifle with a particularly loose factory chamber can allow case expansions at the neck, shoulder and base of several thousandths of an inch. When FL resized, the die takes the case back to factory specs for the full length of it.

Neck-sizing dies are cut so as to allow the case to fully enter the die without resizing the main portion of the case but to resize the neck to a certain size, usually controlled by bushings though some dies are cut to one specific size. There also are shoulder-bump dies, which are usually used for rifles with a custom chamber, that will push the shoulder of the case back a certain amount, usually .001 or so, while resizing the neck. This type of die basically precludes ever having to FL size a case for the specific rifle it was fired in.