• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

When to neck size ?

Wolfdog91

Silver $$ Contributor
Ok so I know y'all are getting tired of my questions but I promise after this one I'll relax ....for mabye a day or two lol . Anyhow had a question on neck sizing.
I have never neck sized . I'm my Lil six or so years of reloading just never saw a reason to. Then in the last two years of me trying to get better at it and following guys like Eric Cortina and all these other high speed medal winning guys ,well it's just kinda reinforced that though of "hay what's the point". I mean don't get me wrong I know alot of guys that neck size swear by it and get really good groups ,but when it's your buddies granddad who shoots varmints vs guys who are winning national/world matches weeelll you see what I'm sayinglol . But mabye that's just my ignorance speaking idk.
But I'm curious about applications where neck sizing would be the best thing or at least a better thing to do. Like I've seen where people reccomended it for reloading small more delicate calibers like .22hornet , or like we've been discussing in another one of my posts where my rifle might have a sloppy chamber causing it fireform my brass short.
Not really looking for a definitive guide to what to do and when just curious about situations where it's a better thing to do. ( Btw thanks to everyone helping me figure out the deal with my gun acting crazy really appreciate it)
Thanks!
 
If I remember correctly, when this neck sizing only idea came around decades ago, the benefit had nothing to do with accuracy. It was supposed to make the brass last a little longer due to less stress working the brass. Seems like another "old wives tale or imaginary benefit" that gets attached to things.
 
I neck sized for years believing the myth promulgated in the 60's that it extends case life and produces more accurate reloads.

Speaking from a hunter's perspective, the problem with neck sizing is that it only sizes the neck and in many cases that will be fine until the case won't chamber any longer, then you will need to full resize. In some rifles, you can reload many times without having to full length resize. The problem is predicting when without having to test the chambering each time you reload. The last thing you want to discover is that a round won't chamber when you've driven a bunch of miles to hunt and you're in the field.

Also, cases expand radially in addition to longitudinally when fired. In many instances, it's the radially expansion that will prevent proper chambering. One of the benefits of full sizing is that it also sizes the case radially.

So, after many years of reloading and shooting I reached the conclusion several years ago that full sizing best serves my needs as long as I properly full size meaning only pushing back the shoulder as little as possible to permit the case to chamber easily.

What I learn after many years of full sizing properly is that it does NOT reduce case life and it does NOT reduce accuracy. I have the added benefit that I know the round will chamber and extract without difficulty or excessive stress on the bolt lugs.

You have many challenges hunting - you don't need to add uncertainty with questionable reloads.
 
You might be surprised how many chamberings allow a head space tolerance of .01" and a cartridge tolerance of a few thousandths of an inch below minimum chamber. If you stretch your brass .01" or more every firing it will separate in short order. Id recommend you use your chamber as a guide, not what's posted on the internet unless you understand the context of the person(s) posting. IMO Old Heli Logger has good advice.
 
I agree that old-heli-logger and 59FLH are on the right track. Neck sizing works well until the fired brass is tight in your chamber (lots of shooters start bumping shoulders before the brass has fully conformed to the chamber and thus are making short cases that may eventually separate). The only case I neck size anymore is K-Hornet, like was said above, and there are some Hornet guys that get better results with FLS and slight bump on those.
 
I only neck size my 22 Hornet. My varmint rifle, I use a body die to bump and a Wilson bushing neck die for the neck. Every thing else gets a FL die to bump the shoulder .001 and and mandrel
 
mongo chicago said:
If I remember correctly, when this neck sizing only idea came around decades ago, the benefit had nothing to do with accuracy. It was supposed to make the brass last a little longer due to less stress working the brass. Seems like another "old wives tale or imaginary benefit" that gets attached to things.
Click to expand...
Would you be surprised if I told you, folks have been neck-only, bump, and FL resizing since the beginning of smokeless powder bottleneck brass cartridges. Long before most folks owned a radio or electric appliance.

Wives Tale or Imaginary Benefit is a matter of perspective and opinion, but the sizing practices predated the companies that now sell you dies by more than a few generations.
 
59FLH said:
You might be surprised how many chamberings allow a head space tolerance of .01" and a cartridge tolerance of a few thousandths of an inch below minimum chamber. If you stretch your brass .01" or more every firing it will separate in short order. Id recommend you use your chamber as a guide, not what's posted on the internet unless you understand the context of the person(s) posting. IMO Old Heli Logger has good advice.
Click to expand...
Yes - before there were all these gauge gadgets, experienced reloaders set their full sizing die using the rifle chamber as the "gauge" to determine the optimum sizing required. This is still a sound way to set a full sizing die. The often published, .001 to .002" shoulder set back (bolt rifles) while that works most of the time, it still should be viewed as a guide, not absolute, in my opinion.

I use gauges now only because it's quicker and easier, but I always check the initial die set up by chambering a case in the rifle.
 
Wolfdog91 said:
Ok so I know y'all are getting tired of my questions but I promise after this one I'll relax ....for mabye a day or two lol . Anyhow had a question on neck sizing.
I have never neck sized . I'm my Lil six or so years of reloading just never saw a reason to. Then in the last two years of me trying to get better at it and following guys like Eric Cortina and all these other high speed medal winning guys ,well it's just kinda reinforced that though of "hay what's the point". I mean don't get me wrong I know alot of guys that neck size swear by it and get really good groups ,but when it's your buddies granddad who shoots varmints vs guys who are winning national/world matches weeelll you see what I'm sayinglol . But mabye that's just my ignorance speaking idk.
But I'm curious about applications where neck sizing would be the best thing or at least a better thing to do. Like I've seen where people reccomended it for reloading small more delicate calibers like .22hornet , or like we've been discussing in another one of my posts where my rifle might have a sloppy chamber causing it fireform my brass short.
Not really looking for a definitive guide to what to do and when just curious about situations where it's a better thing to do. ( Btw thanks to everyone helping me figure out the deal with my gun acting crazy really appreciate it)
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Full length size with a custom die that is matched to your chamber and in a cartridge like the 6BR or 6 Dasher and your brass may outlive you.
Dave
 
“If” we are talking the cartridge/brass you were talking about in your other thread . Just use your FL die and don’t sweat the shoulder keeping in mind with this brass you don’t want to bump the shoulders unless it doesn’t chamber . If you don’t plan to neck size all the time . Don’t waste your money on a neck only die just for those cases . It’s unlikely you will have the same issue with all brass and loads going forward especially once you have your own loads that blow the case out every firing .

Keeping in mind once you get the case fully fire formed you will be FL sizing with a slight shoulder bump likely every time after .

I’d also add unless this is a multi thousand dollar rig that you can shoot bug hole groups with . Don’t over think this loading process . There are multiple things you can do to shave 1’s off your groups but if you and your rifle can’t shoot well enough to see them you will just be playing in the noise of the variables never quite sure if what you did last has made a difference.
 
mikecr said:
Unless your chamber is 'fitted' (which is tighter than 'tight') you are neck sizing.
Personally, I don't ever FL size cases. I bump shoulders and partial neck size.
Click to expand...

Before we all get bogged down in the weeds I think we need to agree on the definition of full length sizing .

I I personally don't define FL sizing as sizing a case with a standard FL sizing die and standard shell holder with them both making hard contact and anything less then that is only partial sizing .

I don't consider only one measurement as the deciding factor if the case is FL sized . The FL sizing die sizes the neck , bumps the should and squeezes the body diameter down the full length of the case . Just because your die stops .004 short of the shell holder doesn't mean you haven't sized the neck , bumped the shoulder and sized the body the FULL LENGTH of the body .

Now if you stop where you have only sized the neck about half way down the neck , I could agree with that being partial FL sized but if you are only .004" or so off the shell holder , I consider that FL sized .
 
Last edited:
Nobody serious about long range accuracy neck only sizes. I FL every case, even my LR BR cases. I want to push the shoulder back .002 to .003", size the neck, and shrink the body diameter all the way to the case head. The worst thing is to have clickers......
 
Metal God said:
“If” we are talking the cartridge/brass you were talking about in your other thread . Just use your FL die and don’t sweat the shoulder keeping in mind with this brass you don’t want to bump the shoulders unless it doesn’t chamber . If you don’t plan to neck size all the time . Don’t waste your money on a neck only die just for those cases . It’s unlikely you will have the same issue with all brass and loads going forward especially once you have your own loads that blow the case out every firing .

Keeping in mind once you get the case fully fire formed you will be FL sizing with a slight shoulder bump likely every time after .

I’d also add unless this is a multi thousand dollar rig that you can shoot bug hole groups with . Don’t over think this loading process . There are multiple things you can do to shave 1’s off your groups but if you and your rifle can’t shoot well enough to see them you will just be playing in the noise of the variables never quite sure if what you did last has made a difference.
Click to expand...
Well not specifically that one but it got me wondering ! I tried finding something on YouTube but everything was basically " neck sizing is the ULTIMATE deal for accuracy!" Which wasn't waht I was looking for honestly. So figured I'd ask here to see. Because again after watching ole Eric walk down a line of what 30 odd people who compete at the national level and all of them say FL I know the whole NS is the best thing to do probably isn't the case. But figured " hay there's has to to something in which its desirable to do"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Classified Ads

Forum statistics

Threads
165,321
Messages
2,193,414
Members
78,832
Latest member
baconbag

Share This Page

Back
Top