Sizing die question...

[Jody Simcox]

1. If I resize with the Forster bushing bump neck sizing die only, and my brass always goes back into the same rifle it came out of, would I ever need to use FL sizer?

2. If the answer is "No" to my first question.... due to variations in case neck wall thickness, I'm going to sometimes have to choose between variations in either neck tension or OD of loaded rounds, correct? Am I correct in thinking consistency with neck tension is more important for accuracy? I don't turn necks at this time, and I don't think that I really want to start. These are hunting rounds I'm loading.

Thanks

 

[msinc]

The answer to the first question is not no...you will, after several firings, have to eventually full length size {or some other method} to get the headspace length back to spec. {or at least to fit your chamber, whatever that may be.} How many times you can load up and shoot depends on the loads and the caliber. Heavy high pressure loads in a big blaster will need it more often than something a little more tame.
Many people turn necks...and they seriously don't have a clue whether it really does anything for them. All the benchrest guys do it and they set world records so it must work!!! Unless you have a special chamber with a reduced neck size that requires the neck of the case to be reduced to fit it....any neck turning other than just barely a whisp of touching the high spots is likely to do more harm than good.
I have always full length sized all my hunting rifles ammo and as above I barely touch the necks just to get rid of any high spots and they shoot just fine. Tried all the different tricks and saw little to no difference. I have seriously had more trouble finding bullets that will group accurately than I have gotten out of rubbing on cases. If that makes any sense...to say it another way...why rub on cases with "benchrest" accuracy in mind when you are hard pressed to find bullets that will group under an inch anyway????? One word...Berger. Try them.

 

[KevinThomas]

Or you could simply F/L resize each and every time, using a gage to set your sizing die for a shoulder set back of .001" to .002" (max, for a bolt gun) and avoid the potential hassles altogether. This is what most competitive shooters are doing, and we have some very good reasons for doing so. Not a fan of N/S in almost any context, and would really like to see it go the way of the Doodo bird.

 

[Eddie Harren]

I am not big fan of the "Doodo" bird either.

 

[Just Dave]

Like these guys said ^ Eventually, even with low pressure loads, your shoulder will flow forward, and need to be pushed back a tad.
I only turn necks if there is a huge wall thickness variation, but good brass usually does not have that problem.

 

[Richard Coody]

Like these guys said ^ Eventually, even with low pressure loads, your shoulder will flow forward, and need to be pushed back a tad.
I only turn necks if there is a huge wall thickness variation, but good brass usually does not have that problem.

he said he was using a bump die so he can set it.up for a proper shoulder bump

over time the case body will also need resizing. how long who knows. you could use a redding body die for that or a full length die

personally i have tried it all. i prefer a full length sizing die. avoid all the problems with bushings and neck sizing. custom is best but a honed forster works really well. whiddon has a full length sizing die with and expander ball kit that allows.you to adjust neck tension too. that is working quite well too!

i have an expander mandrel kit for refining neck tension. seems to work well.

 

[Texas10]

The answer is: it depends.

I have two 223 Savage model 12's that I never...NEVER have to FL size brass. I've reloaded brass dozens of times, only neck size and have had to trim it maybe once as I recall, and that was just to get it back close to minimum. I've annealed it from time to time, but it always chambers fine, shoots really well with frequent 5 shot groups in the zeros and ones. I use Winchester, Federal, Hornaday and Lake City brass and it's always the same in these two guns.

My 22-250 will go about three loads before needing a bump in the shoulder however, when I swapped the original barrel to an Xcaliber barrel, I headspaced it fairly close. Case growth slowed remarkably, and so did the need to trim.

Set your dies up properly for a .001 to .002 shoulder bump and you may get the same results.

Opinions may vary however, if the case will chamber easily after firing, some will say it's perfectly sized and needs no further work except neck sizing. But neck sizers vary as to method. Some will exacerbate run out, some will not. My Lee neck sizer uses a mandrel and produces .001 or less runout all day long in the 223. Different story for the 22-250. Had to go with competition dies to get near zero runout.

Although I don't participate in such, competition shooting is an entirely different animal. If you don't always FL size to a KNOWN dimension, you run the risk of not being able to close the bolt on a round during a timed live fire event. And de-chambering a live round, seated into the lands with light neck tension is a sure-fire way to be eliminated from the competition as the bullet may stick in the lands as the case is extracted, spilling propellant in the action. You simply won't have time to clean and clear, and get back in your groove....or so I've read.

 

[Brians356]

For a hunting rifle, I wouldn't bother investing in (and learning) neck turning. Just start with good brass. Lapua is considered (by most folks) the best if they make what you shoot. But if all you needs is 1 MOA accuracy, you can probably use any common brass and get there (or better) with a good bullet, sensible powder selection, and proper load tuning.
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[Milo 2.0]

I ask: How does a reloader bump a shoulder and I ask how does a reloader move the shoulder back. I say I find moving the shoulder back is impossible because I can not move the shoulder on a case back with a sizing die that has case body support.
There we have it guys^^^

 

[Brians356]

I ask: How does a reloader bump a shoulder and I ask how does a reloader move the shoulder back. I say I find moving the shoulder back is impossible because I can not move the shoulder on a case back with a sizing die that has case body support.
There we have it guys^^^

Thousands if not millions of chaps have done it. A FL die will reduce body diameter, if and where necessary, if you set up the die to move the shoulder back.
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[Rsadams]

Hmm sounds way familiar...

 

[Brians356]

Hmm sounds way familiar...

I had the same notion. Reincarnation?
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[243winxb]

hunting rounds

Always get full length resized. IMO.

 

[Milo 2.0]

I had the same notion. Reincarnation?
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That's plain mean, lol, was going to teach you to tranfers datums from brass to the die but my head partially exploded.

 

[Mark204]

I ask: How does a reloader bump a shoulder and I ask how does a reloader move the shoulder back. I say I find moving the shoulder back is impossible because I can not move the shoulder on a case back with a sizing die that has case body support.
There we have it guys^^^

I've seen this before............who said it?...........Its all coming back to me, I remember now.



Mark

 

[Rsadams]

Scared me for a moment...lol

 

[jpx2rk]

I was just waiting for "him" to join in on the conversation, but guess he is being "channeled" now. LOL