Full or neck?

paintandpins

Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I have decided that the price of rounds coupled with the amount I use is pushing me towards reloading. Though not sure of all the terms and ideas yet I have been working my way through a book which was recommended and it talks about neck and full sizing. While I can see what it means and the advantages of neck one of the rules the book suggests is that rounds for hunting should be full sized. I am just wondering why this would be when it spends most of the chapter going over the advantages of neck only. Any help will be greatly appreciated and I am sure I will be asking for a lot more advice in the future, I’m working on what I need to buy to have a good set up at the moment.
Cheers
Mark
 
If the cartridge is full sized then it is a 'belt and braces' method of making sure you don't miss the opportunty of a lifetime due to a stuck round in the chamber.
If you are absolutely 100% sure there is no way any other rounds/cases could get mixed up with your own, then go for the neck sizing every time. The case will have already been fire formed in your chamber, that's assuming you fired the round in the first place!!
 
Neck sizing is the thing right now. Redding makes a neck sizer with interchangable bushings and all the long range buffs wouldn't think of full length resizing.

NEck sizing has all the advantages you read about but after a while, the brass will still need to be full length resized to fit into your chamber reliably. It is really a good idea to FL resize all hunting loads for that reason, as EMcC pointed out.

You haven't mentioned the rifle or the caliber but I'm guessing you aren't stalking with a full bench rest gun in an exotic chambering. If factory rounds suited you (other then the cost) then full length sized cartridges will suit you as well since the FL sizing process is just to size the cases as close to factory spec as possible. For practice it's OK to neck size but in the end, you'll need a FL resizer anyhow. Lee sells a die set with both kinds.

In the for-what-its-worth department, I have at least 4 rifles that shoot full length resized rounds as well or better than neck sized cartridges. ~Muir
 
Thanks for the info,

I’m going to be reloading 308 for the Remington 700 so nothing exotic. I will no doubt go for the full length as I have kg's of brass in 308 from various rifles and to be honest the only reason I’m going down this path is to save cost on the amount of ammunition I use and have always been happy with factory rounds.
 
I full length re-size, & I also chamber & eject all rounds that are destined to be used on deer & fox, an extra point is if your buddy forgets his ammunition, (YES IT DOES HAPPEN! :D ), he can use some of yours.
 
I'm also in favour of full length resizing.

Not sure I like the idea of checking ammo by chambering it :eek:

Wilson do a chamber gauge where you just drop your rounds in, you can check for correct headspace and case length too.
 
I've always 100% chambered every round that I take out stalking/hunting. Don't bother on the range.

Recently just got into reloading, inspired by MUIR, and am comfortable with only necking my own rifle's brass. I check, only on one case trimmed a little, and am just getting to the stage where third fired brass will be considered for full sizing.

I really only put 20 bullets a year into a deer in the UK and feel comfortable with what I do.

Stan
 
If you get it right you can actually neck size using just a standard full length sizing die as many of us "old hands" used to do if we wanted extra accurate, supposedly, ammunition.

This is because no modern case is actually parallel sided but tapered. So if you put the die in the press so that it touches the shellholder then turn it back two or three full turns.

Next run a fired case up as if sizing. Take the case out and see if the neck has been sized. Keep turning the die back down into the press until it sizes the whole neck but does not push back the case shoulder.

Done! You are now neck sizing only using a full length sizer die. Some people even get "technical" and smoke the case shoulder with a sooty candle flame to get the correct "touch" point where the die touches the shoulder but does not set it back.

So no need actually to buy a neck size die at all. But as others say personally I never found that there was any "extra" accuracy with these neck sized rounds at all.

Really it is just about working the brass less IMHO. I full length size every time and every fifth reload or when the cases start to get harder into the die I will use a "small base" sizer die.

I never cycle live rounds through my rifle to check "feeding". It is an accident waiting to happen. I have firstly confidence in my reloading ability and secondly am only shooting deer. I might make up a dummy to check if rounds loaded to that length with that bullet will cycle but never live rounds. Or put rounds in the magazine to see if they ride up and down freely with that overall length. But cycle through the chamber? Never.

I am not shooting dangerous game of either four (or two) legged variety so don't do it.
 
Enfield: You bet! That s what we call "partial neck resizing" and it was such a standard practice at one time that RCBS would include instructions as to how to do it. In these, they would have the shooter place a US 5-cent piece between the shell holder and the FL sizing die. (about .070" thickness) to set the proper distance the die should be backed off.

It works very well for all the reasons you mentioned~Muir
 
Chambering live rounds: I once had a round pick up from the mag & go up the ramp, partially chamber & then positively refuse to close up fully, this was all down to me not doing my part fully in the reloading dept, I addressed this issue by doing things in a different way, but I still chamber & eject all rounds to be used in pursuit of live quarry, as a missed opportunity can sometimes be frustrating! , said chambering takes place in the same way as making safe in the normal way, in a safe direction, in this case an oil drum filled with sand. Just to illustrate that even the experts can get loads wrong, We were completely out of foxing reload components, & so had to buy factory, on spotting some 60 rounds or so of Lapua .223 we quickly grabbed them thinking" well its the Rolls Royce of ammo is'nt it" &" some nice brass for reloading when we get the gear", so off we go a foxing, load up, then have need to make safe, withdraw bolt, this leaves the bullet in the chamber lead & the powder charge is now in all the magazine spaces! cutting this story short, twenty plus of these rounds were not seated/crimped properly & resulted in a huge consignment going back to the factory. So I will always check stuff works. :D
 
I never cycle live rounds through my rifle to check "feeding". It is an accident waiting to happen. I have firstly confidence in my reloading ability and secondly am only shooting deer. I might make up a dummy to check if rounds loaded to that length with that bullet will cycle but never live rounds. Or put rounds in the magazine to see if they ride up and down freely with that overall length. But cycle through the chamber? Never.

I'm with you on that one. Call me paranoid but loaded ammo, bolt and rifle are only out or in the same place when I'm actually ready to shoot. So if I'm dry firing or otherwise have my rifle out, the ammo is locked away. On the way to the range or stalk and the bolt is on my person.

I too work on the basis that my reloading procedures are enough to ensure that all round will chamber. I full length size every time and also use a hand die for seating: it's tight so anything out of spec wouldn't get past, in fact a fired case from a loose factory chambering wouldn't fit.
 
Enfield: You bet! That s what we call "partial neck resizing" and it was such a standard practice at one time that RCBS would include instructions as to how to do it.

I'd forgotten that! But you are right that was what it was called.

It used to be done a lot with the 303 as these were otherwise subject to a lot of excessive "stretching" each time they were fired. This because of headspace issues associated with military chambers and them being rimmed cartridge.
 
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