Sizing full length of necks va partial length

[mikecr]

Below is a Redding bushing die that does not size the base of the neck. I always thought they were making room for donuts on neck turned brass.

Do you think neck turning causes donuts?
It is best to not bring donut area and shoulder angle into tension, as FL neck sizing does.
That is, unless you need so much neck tension that high variance of it doesn't matter to you.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Who makes a bushing die that sizes the whole neck? I didn't know they existed until I read your post....but that's typical of me.

They are not compatable with bushing dies. Neil Jones, and Warner dies use them.

 

[338 dude]

I’ve read on different forums in recent years, that neck sizing is not as good as FL.
I’ve always neck sized only for my bolt guns for over 30 years and it works well for me. I can usually get them shooting pretty small with load testing.
What do the BR and F class guys do?
Are the people that make that statement full of $hit, just flapping gums or is there something I’ve been missing?
My centerfire shooting consists of varmint and informal long range games.

I only neck size as well until there is resistance closing the bolt and I will use the body die that came with my Redding set and not use it again until I feel resistance closing the bolt

 

[paulT]

I like to size @3/4 case length of necks as i believe partial sizing of case lengts helps keep overall runnout to min, out of All the Non custom dies thats available i find lowest runnout for both sized and seated rounds using aLee Collet die to partial size necks followed by a die to bump shoulder a couple of thou no other standard or even some of the match dies avalible have given as good low runout, I seat bullets with a Wilson inline seater die with arbor press and dial indicator and consistantly seat bullets between 20-30 on seating force dial indicator.

 

[Uncle Ed]

Do you think neck turning causes donuts?
It is best to not bring donut area and shoulder angle into tension, as FL neck sizing does.
That is, unless you need so much neck tension that high variance of it doesn't matter to you.

When you turn to the neck shoulder junction the brass below what you turned is thicker. When this thicker brass flows upward the donut starts forming. I try and only skim turn but it seems more brass is removed just above the shoulder. Meaning the thicker brass is just below where the turning stopped.

I'm not a expert but Redding made their bushing dies so the base of the neck is not sized. This tells me they did this for a reason, and I do not think it was to help center the case neck. If the case walls are not the same thickness the upward brass flow could push the bullet off center. With a non-bushing full length die the expander will push any thickness variations to the outside of the neck. And Redding still puts an expander in their bushing dies for a reason.

In the image below full length resizing is what causes the upward brass flow. And it seems the people who neck turn and do not use a expander are the ones with all the donut problems.

 

[jimmymac]

I’ve found that if I barely skim the shoulder when neck turning, I don’t get donuts. YMMV

 

[Uncle Ed]

My donuts do not last long enough to cause any problems. I completely destroyed two donuts this morning.

And I didn't save any for mikecr..............

 

[Bill Norris]

Dang Bro, u should have passed them around. Looking tasty no doubt.

 

[Tokay444]

I only next size as well until there is resistance closing the bowl and I will use the body die that came with my Reading set and not use it again until I feel resistance closing the bolt

When I’m reloading, I want to do everything the exact same way, every single time. Otherwise, each time I load, something is different. If I need to anneal every third firing, I do it every firing. If I need to full length size every fifth firing, I do it every firing. Control every variable that you can control so that when a shot doesn’t land where you’re hoping, you know it wasn’t something else.

 

[Tony1320]

Hi Tony1320 - why do you want to change what you've been doing?

Redding Full Sizing dies are some of the best on the market. Full sizing with a proper shoulder bump should do the job quite adequately, at least that's been my experience.

For me, sizing the case to achieve the optimum fit for my rifle is the goal of the sizing process. The rest: bullet / powder / primer choice are the primary elements that affects accuracy.

I'm going to order a die for a new caliber. Going to try the Bullet Central die and saw the option for full and partial length sizing of the neck. Watched the video explaining the reasoning and thought it was interesting. I like to learn

Right now all my dies are Redding Type S FL, I bump shoulders back .002~ and I back off the cap off about 1/16th turn as per Redding manual to let the bushing float

 

[Fire Dog]

I never size the entire neck. Usually it's about 1/2 to 3/4. For me I never want the bushing/die to impact the shoulder and I've always been happy with the results. I was taught years ago with bushing dies to leave a pinch of float to where you can hear the bushing click up and down if you shake it and was told that also helped center the neck up. That's all anecdotal, totally unscientific but I'm not going to waste components testing it because I know it works for me.

Leaving a little float is exactly what Foster, Whidden, Redding, Wilson and Hornady recommend because if you don't then you will start to crush cases when the bushing has not aligned with the case mouth because it it trapped to tight to allow for the float to align the bushing with the case.

 

[Lucky Shooter]

Shade tree method for partial neck sizing with collet-----don't
blame Butch for this one.

This is in addition to body sizing with a Redding Body Die.

I use pin gages of my chosen size in place of the Lee mandrel.
Nothing wrong with the Lee mandrel but this provides a wider
choice of neck tension.

To partially size the neck, just use the collet die for the next longest
case-----use a 223 die to partially size a 222 neck.

This hasn't been proved out on the range but warmer weather
is on the way.

More later after taking this to the range.

A. Weldy

 

[wolfman]

Glad you asked this Tony- I've been wondering ever since I saw the option over on Bullet Central as well.