neck sizing?

groundhogassassin

groundhogassassin

New member
I've only been reloading for about a year now and have gotten pretty good results by reading a lot on the subject. i would like to get more accuracy from reloading and I've read that neck sizing helps that. Does it really help brass life and accuracy? Also which brand should I consider? I've read good reviews for the lee collet neck die, but I would kinda like to stay with Hornady considering all my other equipment is hornady. And how do I determine how far to set the shoulder back? I will be shooting these rounds through one gun.
 
Neck sizing works well with bolt or single shot actions,,,Not so much with semi-auto functions...I have no experience with Hornady dies, so not much help there...I use Redding and RCBS neck sizing dies with good results...

When you are adjusting your die, chamber an empty case in the rifle and see if there is any major resistance when closing the bolt, if so, adjust your die down 1/8 turn and try again..Continue until the bolt closes with little or no unusual resistance...

Another area to check, since you are trying to increase accuracy, is your neck tension...Measure the outside of the neck on a sized case with a dial caliper and record the reading..Seat a bullet and measure at the same place again..you should have a difference of .003" to .004" for adequate tension...less than .003", or more than .004" and you will have variation in the cartridge case pressure at the time of firing...I've found that the better quality dies produce more consistent readings, provided you use a quality lubricant in the neck at sizing...
 
Lube during neck sizing??!! WTH dies are you using?
I personally hate Hornady neck dies. Typically use Lee, but have some RCBS also.
I rarely do anything but neck size. I am still loading my 308 with brass from the 60's... I don't think I have a case that doesn't have 30 reloads on it.
 
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GHA,,,I use Extra Fine Powdered Graphite available at most auto parts stores...The box I have was given to me by my reloading mentor many years ago and I still haven't gotten down to the half way mark on it, so don't buy a large box..

I only dip about every fifth case in it and shake it off...Using the graphite instead of an oil based lube prevents any possibility of contaminating the powder if your ammo is stored for any length of time after loading and lets your neck sizing ball on the die work much easier, with less chance of stretching the neck as the ball is pulled back through...If you over use it, you run the risk of a build up in your die and it will need to be swabbed out once in awhile..
 
Originally Posted By: groundhogassassinI've only been reloading for about a year now and have gotten pretty good results by reading a lot on the subject. i would like to get more accuracy from reloading and I've read that neck sizing helps that. Does it really help brass life and accuracy? Also which brand should I consider? I've read good reviews for the lee collet neck die, but I would kinda like to stay with Hornady considering all my other equipment is hornady. And how do I determine how far to set the shoulder back? I will be shooting these rounds through one gun.

11 -Does it really help brass life and accuracy?

Yes... it really does - Full sizing is very rough on cases and case life - and reduces accuracy. You may read or hear that benchrest s hooters full size their cases, but they do not use FL dies that are like what you get from off the shelf - their dies are made to be an exact match to their chamber, and are ~0.001" under size - whereas the FL sizer dies that come with your set are MUCH smaller than your chamber and can ruin your cases in as little as four loadings.

1- Also which brand should I consider? I've read good reviews for the lee collet neck die, but I would kinda like to stay with Hornady considering all my other equipment is Hornady.

You do mnot need to use the dies from the maker of your press - most of my dies sets are made up of different makers - even in the same box - you can pick the best die for the job.

3 - And how do I determine how far to set the shoulder back?

Noooooooooooo!! You do not want to set the shoulder back! You get headspace, then case stretching, then the heads fall off of your cases and you are SOL.
 
What I haven't seen mentioned yet is that sooner or later most cases will become difficult to chamber with neck sizing alone. You will need to set the shoulders back about ever 4 or 5 loadings. With factory chambers, neck sizing will increase the lifespan of your brass and will increase accuracy a smidge. In custom chambers, the tolerances are so tight that full length sizing makes very little change in case life
 
What Old Turtle and Horsedr write is good advice. Personally I have and use RCBS Precision Mics for most of the rifles I reload for(they don't make mics for some calibers such as .30-06). SO I measure each of my casings after firing so I know how much shoulder movement there has been and whether I need to FL resize or can just Neck size for the best accuracy I seek out of each reload. As Horsedr says, with a tight chamber, you won't have much shoulder movement at all and you can Neck size until you feel that tightness in closing the bolt if you don't want to go to the extremes I do in chasing "dime sized" groups in target shooting.

As for the Neck Lube question, I use Imperial Dry Neck Lube and dip each casing into the canister (shaking off any excess) before seating the bullet. Just some things that I've found useful in my reloading.
 
I went and got an rcbs neck die for .22-250 a couple weeks ago works great so far but haven't had a chance to test any rounds yet. I probably went overboard with this but I recently ordered the hornady concentricity tool, rcbs hand neck turning tool, the hornady lnl headspace and bullet comparator, the lnl OAL straight gauge, a neck thickness gauge and a chronograph. spent quite a bit more than I should have at the moment, but we'll see if it all helps in the long run
 
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