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Why Full Lenth Size?

Could someone explain the neccesity to full lenth size? I have a slightly oversize chamber on my 308 Win. When I fire a FL case in there, it takes up the form of the chamber..right? Next time, I neck size only.It gives me very consistent and good groups. Now why can I not just keep on neck sizing until my brass dies eventually?
I seem to miss the excact reason here??
 
bootlaceb said:
Could someone explain the neccesity to full lenth size? I have a slightly oversize chamber on my 308 Win. When I fire a FL case in there, it takes up the form of the chamber..right? Next time, I neck size only.It gives me very consistent and good groups. Now why can I not just keep on neck sizing until my brass dies eventually?
I seem to miss the excact reason here??

Just keep on doing what you're doing... you are doing fine.

If a problem comes up later, then ask it.


.
 
If neck-sizing only yields good accuracy, then that procedure is fine.

When you're working with pretty hot loads, most guys find that, after a certain number of firings, typically 3-5, the brass starts to become hard to eject, with stiff bolt lift. This will require you bump the shoulder and/or resize the case. With some rounds and chambers, pushing back the shoulder by itself,which IS possible with a Forster shoulder bump die) will do the trick. With other situations, you'll need to reduce the case diameter a bit as well. This is typically accomplished with a body die and/or full-length sizing die.

Short-range Benchrest shooters typically shoot hot loads in a minimum-spec chambers. Using custom dies, they can bump the shoulder .0015" or less and very slightly resize their brass, maybe reducing shoulder and web diameters by just one or two thousandths. In that situation, FL-sizing every time seems to work well.

In your situation, FL-sizing would probably work the brass a great deal more than just neck sizing, and I suspect you aren't stressing the brass with ultra-high pressures to start with.

I know one very competitive shooter who uses a Dasher and neck-sizes 4 or 5 times before he full-length sizes. Works for him!
 
You've gotten good advice from CatShooter and the MOD. What the MOD stated at the end of his post is true, Most short range BR shooter FL size every time, for the reasons he listed. A loose chamber however doesn't lend itself to long brass life if you FL size. So long as pressures are kept reasonable, you should be able to neck size for several firings before the need to FL size.
 
As Mike Said, good chambers and good Dies. I made the age old mistake of starting off cheap..I got Hornady 'Match Grade', Name sounds great)dies..the FL die is a thou or two smaller in the ID than the rest..and I battled like crazy to FL size my cases, lost a few Lapuas in the process., Due to my chamber being slightly oversize)
The run-out on 'Hornady made' rounds were also frightning!!
I now use Forster only, and can only ever advise to use the "better quality" dies...they're worth the few extra $'s.
But anyway, thanx for all the explaining..it makes sense now!
 

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