When to neck size?

[mlevimadden]

I know you can only neck size if you're using the same chamber, but im more questioning when is it worth it to only neck size?
For example, Im loading up some 243, 6.5 Creed and 6.5 PRC that will probably only ever be used in their respective rifle. All of these are using Hornady brass and are for hunting/hobby target shooting, no competitions etc. Is it worth it to spend another $50 per die for an RCBS Neck sizer for each one or does that not come into play until you're shooting competitions, using expensive brass, etc etc?

It is worth it to neck size if you want to maximize case life. It comes with a trade-off of more likelihood to have difficulty chambering, especially in a field rifle. There is a second theoretical gain that you can see better accuracy from older chamber designs with loose tolerances in the neck and freebore areas, but this is not as applicable with modern chamber designs from the last 20 years.

I don't know of hardly any competitors neck sizing. I'm sure some bench rest guys are still doing it, but the vast majority all of the field rifle competitors and hunters are full-length sizing to have more consistent ammo and reliable feeding and chambering for field conditions.

Even if you are neck sizing, you will get to the point after a few firings where your brass will no longer chamber without a full-length re-size.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I neck size on the first few firings to get the brass to fully expand to the chamber. Once that has occurred, I will full length resize 0.002” or so for the remaining life of the brass.

 

[Marbles]

Nice aggressive comeback, I asked you a simple question.

No, you asked a question that was already answered with a basic reading of my first post, so either you didn't care enough to read, lack English comprehension, or simply wanted to insult.

I assumed you are smart and didn't lack comprehension and that as my post was short you have a long enough attention span to have read it.

I'll reply based on a lack of English comprehension and break it down.

I wrote:

I only full length size.

No implication of experience with neck sizing.

My reloads shoot fine and according to @Formidilosus full length sizing results in more reliable rifle function.

State a source, this is done because I lack personal experience to back up the assertion.

You asked:

are you just repeating what you have heard?

Well, I cited a source and made no claim of personal experience, so obviously.

 

[streamerfish]

It is worth it to neck size if you want to maximize case life. It comes with a trade-off of more likelihood to have difficulty chambering, especially in a field rifle. There is a second theoretical gain that you can see better accuracy from older chamber designs with loose tolerances in the neck and freebore areas, but this is not as applicable with modern chamber designs from the last 20 years.

I don't know of hardly any competitors neck sizing. I'm sure some bench rest guys are still doing it, but the vast majority all of the field rifle competitors and hunters are full-length sizing to have more consistent ammo and reliable feeding and chambering for field conditions.

Even if you are neck sizing, you will get to the point after a few firings where your brass will no longer chamber without a full-length re-size.

This is basically it for me.....Full length size only. Wanna run a full length resize with bushing die that works too.

Pretty much all of the very top level F class people full length size of some kind,. And those guys are full of all kinds of voodoo beliefs and seem to love to make reloading complicated (although alot of them are simplifying alot more the last handful of years). If they had any kind of inkling that neck only sizing was an advantage they would be doing it.

But guaranteeing that the round will chamber, in all conditions, is king.

You "may" be able to get your brass to last longer neck sizing...But your gonna have to full length size at some point.

My personal experience, although not vast, and I don't claim to be an expert, is that in variable weather conditions and sometimes even variable temps, I had issues with chambering when I experimented with neck only yrs ago.....

Also, modern resizing dies can be setup to really do just the minimum sizing needed without "overworking" the brass. Different types of expander balls, two stage mandrel setups, custom precise honing of the die to fit your chamber needs etc really allow for dialing it in if you want to take it that far.

 

[270-300]

I tried neck sizing about 8 years back on 300 win mag.

Its supposed to work the brass less and supposed to leave the body fit to the chamber to help improve consistency.

It was ok. Didnt benefit much. Still same strain on neck and shoulder.

After a few rounds of it i had a group of brass that was tight to close the bolt on. I resized them fl and ended up damaging the brass where the bottom of the cases were bulged more than the fl die had planned on. Im sure theres some way i could have done this better to avoid it, but i decided to stop neck sizing after this.

 

[mlevimadden]

This is basically it for me.....Full length size only. Wanna run a full length resize with bushing die that works too.

Pretty much all of the very top level F class people full length size of some kind,. And those guys are full of all kinds of voodoo beliefs and seem to love to make reloading complicated (although alot of them are simplifying alot more the last handful of years). If they had any kind of inkling that neck only sizing was an advantage they would be doing it.

But guaranteeing that the round will chamber, in all conditions, is king.

You "may" be able to get your brass to last longer neck sizing...But your gonna have to full length size at some point.

My personal experience, although not vast, and I don't claim to be an expert, is that in variable weather conditions and sometimes even variable temps, I had issues with chambering when I experimented with neck only yrs ago.....

Also, modern resizing dies can be setup to really do just the minimum sizing needed without "overworking" the brass. Different types of expander balls, two stage mandrel setups, custom precise honing of the die to fit your chamber needs etc really allow for dialing it in if you want to take it that far.

Totally agreed. I personally run a full length resize bushing die adjusted to bump the shoulder headspace datum back by .002. I think it’s a good balance of minimizing overworking the brass but making consistent brass every time that functions reliably in field conditions.

Even with my minimal shoulder bump and not annealing, I’m typically losing primer pockets in brass before seeing any neck splits. I see zero value in neck sizing or even annealing with my current needs.

 

[Choupique]

run a full length resize bushing die adjusted to bump the shoulder headspace datum back by .002

This is part of what confuses people. Some people call this full length sizing. Some people call it bumping the shoulder. Some call bottoming out and camming over on the shell holder full length sizing.

 

[Balderdash]

I tried neck sizing about 8 years back on 300 win mag.

Its supposed to work the brass less and supposed to leave the body fit to the chamber to help improve consistency.

It was ok. Didnt benefit much. Still same strain on neck and shoulder.

After a few rounds of it i had a group of brass that was tight to close the bolt on. I resized them fl and ended up damaging the brass where the bottom of the cases were bulged more than the fl die had planned on. Im sure theres some way i could have done this better to avoid it, but i decided to stop neck sizing after this.

Did ypu full length resize after letting the cases expand to full chamber size?

 

[270-300]

Did ypu full length resize after lettingvthe cases expand to full chamber size?

Im not sure how you would only neck size if your resizing after everytime the brass expands. Unless you mean until i let it get to the point it was hard to chamber, then yes that was when i did a full length and started destroying brass. Now all i do is full length.

 

[Balderdash]

Im not sure how you would only neck size if your resizing after everytime the brass expands. Unless you mean until i let it get to the point it was hard to chamber, then yes that was when i did a full length and started destroying brass. Now all i do is full length.

OK.

The point of only neck sizing for a couple of firings is to let the brass get fully sized to the chamber. After letting the brass become fully expanded to the chamber, then the resize is meant to be minimal about .02 back from fulll chamber size - what is commonly referred to as a shoulder bump. Especially on belted magnums, full length resizing after not sizing at all for a few firings is what caused your issues.