When to neck size?

[35WhelenAI]

For hunting loads, use a full length sizer and start by sizing the neck a bit at a time and eventually it's going to touch the shoulder/case body. Continue lowering the sizing die a bit at a time, set the sizing die at the point those rounds chamber reliably in your rifle. I typically chamber rounds by rotating them 90° at a time to be sure they feed no matter how they sit in the magazine. For target shooting, a bit of resistance is not an issue, however for hunting you get one wrong and it's an issue. Park BS argumentative attitudes at the door fellas, if this is where you need to compare size it's ridiculous. Predictable who shows up with that in most cases.

 

[Harvey_NW]

You might still get some case stretch after pulling the expander up. Better would be to pull the expander and use a mandrel.

I've heard of it but never had it happen, but I have had what I mentioned. Let me just say running a case through a sizing die and having it come out longer will make you scratch your head and question things!

 

[35WhelenAI]

Lube the inside of the case neck and stretch minimizes. I use a nylon cleaning brush with a thin cotton patch wrapped around it coated in dry graphite. A small ziploc bag with dry graphite is a great place to dip the brush to keep it coated consistently. Case stretch can be and is part of the game depending on what your goal is for sizing and the purpose of the rounds.