Neck sizing

[Wolfdog91]

So, who does it and why ?

[BK7saum]

I do not neck size anymore. I find that everything is more consistent with a light shoulder bump from full length resizing. I used to neck size and every few reloads would have to fl size anyway.

As long as your dies aren't overworking your brass, you don't give up much case life to FL resizing. Of course you will have to trim a little more frequently, which means your brass is stretching/growing somewhere and likely near the web. I set up my dies to bump the shoulder about 0.001" on bolt guns and about 0.0025" on semi-autos. The amount varies by how well the cases are lubed.

I see both sides of the argument for neck sizing. I choose not to and it works very well for me.

[unclemikeinct]

Not for my bolt action rifles. I shoot long range Varmint bench rest. 850 to 1000 yds. at steel targets. If & when I catch perfect conditions during my 2.5 mins of shooting five shots. I just can't take the chance of one difficult to chamber round throwing things out of balance. Disturb the rest or bags it is a chance I cannot take. So, I full length resize [bare minimum set back] w/o the neck ball in the FL sizing die. I use the correct expander plug to match my brass & give proper neck tension to the bullet. One big benefit to the expander plug vs. the neck ball/de-capping stem is. A lot less neck stretch & brass trimming. I hope that helps you. unclemikeinct

[sigep1764]

I used to neck size for my 270 WIN, but saw no appreciable change in accuracy. I am shooting lower power loads 99% of the time in that caliber, so the cases are gonna last a long long time anyway. For 223, I load it all the exact same way with full length resizing and 20 grains of 748, whether it is for the bolt gun or the AR's. I was very lucky that both platforms like that load.

[414gates]

Neck sizing only has been proven to have less benefit than FLS, when the FLS is just a shoulder bump of 1 or 2 thou of fired - for smokeless powder reloading of modern high velocity cartridges at full velocity.

The black powder and low velocity cast bullet reloaders may do things differently.

[charlie b]

I am not a competitor or hunter. I neck size most of the time just because I don't like messing with the lube. I use the Lee collet die for neck sizing. It has given me almost zero runout (dial indication moves just enough to notice, about the width of a marking on the dial).

The cases I use for cast bullets have not been full length sized except for the first reload.

Jacketed cases get full length sized every time I clean them, which is about every 5 reloads. The shoulder is NOT bumped when I do that. I have never had a case stick. I've only had a couple that felt harder to extract, but, those were during load development and were hot loads.

I have found no difference in vel with or without full length sizing.

If I was a hunter I'd full length size everything.

If I were serious about target shooting I'd get a custom full length die made and use it every time.

[popper]

IIRC the idea behind neck only sizing is to just size the neck down to where it should be vs most sizers that size way down and then expand back up to proper ID. To reduce cold working (hardening) of the neck. Supposedly to get more reloads between annealing.

[country gent]

I played with partial neck sizing for awhile with decent results this is where the hull length die sizes the neck and just bumps the body shoulder. But I also had to have easy chambering of the rounds. I shot high power when match rifles were a bolt action still, a rapid fire with tight chambering ammo just didnt work. ( 10 rounds with reload in 60 or 70 secs) With the garand and M14 M1A ease of chambering is a must also. I see little difference in accuracy with one over the other. It also depends on action type, single shots lever actions semi autos pump actions all require ammo to feed and function smoothly the bolt action has more camming power and tighter rounds can be used.

I found the bushing dies to provide some improvement in accuracy more from adjusting neck tension than neck sizing. On the fitted chambers this was more day to day consistency.

One thing that really may help is buy a gauge for measuring shoulder length and set the sizing die to where the shoulder is only bumped back .002 from fired and neck is sized this slightly sizes the body sets the shoulder and sizes neck making for some good ammo.

[lightman]

I have experimented with neck sizing and found little to no improvement in either accuracy or case life in factory rifles. Cases mostly fail due to loose primer pockets or split case necks and neck sizing doesn't address either one of these. Plus you will have to full length size every 3rd or 4th time anyway. To me, its not worth the hassle of dealing with hard to chamber rounds. I have a few Redding 3 die sets that have neck dies and some of them have never been used.

I do neck size for a couple of custom rifles with tight chambers. I have to turn the case necks on these rifles and I use bushing dies. If I could do it over again I would go with a no turn reamer and skip the neck turning and neck sizing.

But trying new things can be fun and educational so give it a try if you want to.

[higgins]

I'm not concerned with hunting or defense ammo, so function is not as critical as it might be for those applications. For range shooting at steel or paper with rifles I first FL size cases, then neck size until they get difficult to chamber. With jacketed loads for longer range I FL about every two or three loadings. For cast bullet loads in bolt actions I can neck size several times before FL sizing becomes necessary. I FL size every time for lever guns.

In my case it is only for convenience. I'm not concerned with case life since I have plenty of brass for everything. If neck sizing I use my Spartan press that stays mounted on a stand made of a length of pipe with flanges on each end. The press is on one end and on the other end is attached a piece of 2x8 board I put my foot on. It is plenty stable of neck sizing rifle cases, loading pistol ammo, and seating bullets in rifle rounds. When I'm done I set it back in the corner. The alternative for FL sizing is to unbolt the Rockchucker from its storage place, bolt it on the workbench, do the lube and apply effort required to size cases, then put the RC back in it's storage place, which is more complicated than it sounds.

[Johnch]

I necked only for my 223 Varmint rifle
I used a Hornady 22 cal neck sizing die
It would size any 22 cal rifle case LONGER than a 218 Bee case
I chucked a second Hornady 22 cal Neck Sizing Die up in the lathe and cut that die down to do 218 Bee

For me , I could Neck Size only 3 or 4 times before I had to bump the shoulder back
But I tried to use the Hornady 22 cal Neck Sizing Die on 22 Hornet brass and found it was to thin and had not been sized properly

I was not shooting a Max load
As I feel that would have reduced the number of times I neck sized to 1 or maybe 2 before the shoulder needed a touch

John

[charlie b]

FWIW, when neck sizing I've never had a problem chambering a round, only a bit more difficult extraction, ie, it takes a little more force to lift the bolt.

[Hick]

I suspect whether or not you see a benefit in neck sizing will have a lot to do with how hot your loads are. If your loads are fairly hot (not above the manuals-- just fully loaded) the case will gradually grow to make extraction difficult-- then you have to full length size. On the other hand, if you are only doing milder loads neck sizing can extend the life of the cases dramatically (I have 32WS and 30-30 cases that have over 20 reloads neck sized only).

[rbuck351]

I partial fl size most all of my bottle neck rounds sizing down to about .020 from shoulder. I don't know if it helps anything or not but it gives me close to 0 headspace which should help prevent case head separation.

[Half Dog]

I use this die:

https://www.forsterproducts.com/product-category/case-sizing-lubricating/case-resizing/bushing-bump-neck-bench-rest-sizing-dies/

I anneal after 3 shots and the brass still looks great. I shoot a bolt action 243 and can’t complain about the accuracy. I guess everyone has a preference.

[Rich/WIS]

I neck size brass for my cast loads and have no problems with hard chambering or extraction, but loads are in the 1500-1600 fps range. Haven't had to FL even after 10+ loadings. Jacketed loads (hunting ammo) are FL sized. Even when neck sizing I stand the cases in a block and give them a light spritz of lanolin/alcohol lube on the outside of the necks.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I do.
Brass lasts longer.

The Lee collet style necksizer is designed to keep the neck as straight(true) as possible. Also, the Lee's design allows easy modification to get the exact neck tension for the boolit size your rifle prefers.

[skeet1]

If anyone loads for the 303 British you will soon find out the value of neck sizing!

[Larry Gibson]

I also neck size whenever possible. Variety of reasons; longer case life, accuracy, etc. With cast bullet loads, at least the vast majority of them, full length or even partial resizing just isn't necessary.

[Walks]

I do, always have. I use Lyman 310 dies if I've got them in that cartridge. Std NS in others. For .30-30; I Partial Size. makes the brass last a whole lot longer.

[oley55]

308 WIN

I do in fact neck size with a Lee Collet die, BUT I first full length size with the Redding Body Die.

[jdsingleshot]

My .25-20 has a chamber that is about .002" larger than standard maximum and a fired case has a slight bulge. So I only neck size and the case does not get worked elsewhere. No problem loading or extracting. I full length size most of my other calibers.

[405grain]

It depends on the situation. For varmint cartridges I neck size and barely set the shoulder back about .002". On a hunting cartridge like 7x57, where most shots will be around 100 yards or less and chambering reliability is more critical than absolute accuracy, I will full length resize. Also, when I have more than one gun in the same caliber I full length resize. For me the (supposed) advantage to neck sizing is that it should match the cartridge to the chamber better and hold the bullet more centered along the axis of the bore. Dose it work? I don't know. My aim is good but there aren't any benchrest or target shooting trophies sitting on my mantel, so I'll try anything if I think it might improve my groups or miss fewer varmints.

[Shuz]

I neck size my competition cast boolit brass because I don't use much ,if any, lube and I have cases that have been reloaded 20 times or more before necks split.

[farmbif]

now that I no longer go to public ranges where I can pick up all the free brass I can carry I neck size for bolt action guns to extend brass life.
but with previous fired brass that did not go though my gun I full length size my first reload. with new brass I never full length size and only neck size if its dented bad