Lee Neck Sizing Die
- Thread starter Wendyj
- Start date
I don't neck size and I won't. Neck sizing is primarily for lazy people. I don't believe that it improves accuracy and I have seen that it is detrimental for function.
I still shoot every weekend that a match and the weather cooperates. I don't know anyone, XTC shooter or Long Range shooter who neck sizes. You neck size and one day the case will stick in the chamber. To get the thing out you have to break position, find a cleaning rod, knock the thing out, and all the while the clock is ticking and conditions are a changing. To spend all the time, money and effort to get to a match, only to blow your score with crappy ammunition is stupid.
I do not recommend hunting with neck sized ammunition, especially against something big enough to eat you. Even if there was the slightest accuracy advantage, I will take function reliability ever time. I want my rifle to feed and extract. Other people may disagree.
As for brass life, I fully length resize, using small base dies in every caliber I can find them. I bump my shoulders back about 0.003" and case life is exceptional. Belted magnums are a poor design and since the base to shoulder distance is not standardized, unless you buy one of the special gages mentioned in this excellent article, Extending Cartridge Case Life http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar46.htm case life of a belted magnum will be short.
First time firing a belted magnum, I lube the heck out of the case before shooting. Lubrication on the case breaks the friction between case and chamber and that prevents sidewall stretch. Given that the shoulder to base distance of a new belted magnum case has nothing to do with base to shoulder distance of any rifle, because only the base to belt distance is controlled, lubing the case first time prevents case head separations. After that, I use the special case gage and bump the shoulder back 0.003".
Lubed cases shoot fine. I slathered these cases with Hornady lube or paste wax before firing, and the subsequent group size is very pleasing.
I have even obscenely greased bullets to see what happened. Outside of grease flowing down the case walls and extruding into the firearm, and a plume of grease coming out the barrel, well, nothing. Greased bullets also shot well and the amount of grease squeezed down the case is enough to prevent case stretching.
I still shoot every weekend that a match and the weather cooperates. I don't know anyone, XTC shooter or Long Range shooter who neck sizes. You neck size and one day the case will stick in the chamber. To get the thing out you have to break position, find a cleaning rod, knock the thing out, and all the while the clock is ticking and conditions are a changing. To spend all the time, money and effort to get to a match, only to blow your score with crappy ammunition is stupid.
I do not recommend hunting with neck sized ammunition, especially against something big enough to eat you. Even if there was the slightest accuracy advantage, I will take function reliability ever time. I want my rifle to feed and extract. Other people may disagree.
As for brass life, I fully length resize, using small base dies in every caliber I can find them. I bump my shoulders back about 0.003" and case life is exceptional. Belted magnums are a poor design and since the base to shoulder distance is not standardized, unless you buy one of the special gages mentioned in this excellent article, Extending Cartridge Case Life http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar46.htm case life of a belted magnum will be short.
First time firing a belted magnum, I lube the heck out of the case before shooting. Lubrication on the case breaks the friction between case and chamber and that prevents sidewall stretch. Given that the shoulder to base distance of a new belted magnum case has nothing to do with base to shoulder distance of any rifle, because only the base to belt distance is controlled, lubing the case first time prevents case head separations. After that, I use the special case gage and bump the shoulder back 0.003".
Lubed cases shoot fine. I slathered these cases with Hornady lube or paste wax before firing, and the subsequent group size is very pleasing.
I have even obscenely greased bullets to see what happened. Outside of grease flowing down the case walls and extruding into the firearm, and a plume of grease coming out the barrel, well, nothing. Greased bullets also shot well and the amount of grease squeezed down the case is enough to prevent case stretching.
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603Country
New member
Here we go with this chat again. After use of FL std sizing dies, bushing dies, std NK dies, and Lee Collet Dies, I've become a real fan of the Lee Collet die. And yes, FL sizing is good, as long as you are bumping the shoulder back a small amount. Just don't overdo it (over size it).
I use that Lee die until the fired case becomes snug in the chamber. Then I bump the shoulder back with a Body Die.
And...if I was hunting dangerous game, I'd probably small base size the cases, though in 50+ years of hunting and 35ish years of reloading, I have never had a case that would not extract from the chamber, nor have I had a loaded round that would not chamber.
I use that Lee die until the fired case becomes snug in the chamber. Then I bump the shoulder back with a Body Die.
And...if I was hunting dangerous game, I'd probably small base size the cases, though in 50+ years of hunting and 35ish years of reloading, I have never had a case that would not extract from the chamber, nor have I had a loaded round that would not chamber.
I've not had any trouble with extraction. Just read in Lee manual where fired case in my rifle didn't need firs. Said it saves life off brass and brass is more uniformed to my rifle. I've fls the 308 brass about 10 times now with maybe an extra 1/8 of a turn on die. Just curious if it was worth buying. Not to lazy to fls. Haven't done it any other way to date. Lube isn't that expensive.
603Country
New member
If you've reloaded the brass 10 times, then you aren't oversizing, so all is good. As for accuracy, a std NK die probably will not improve accuracy, though it does leave your fire formed brass a good fit for the chamber for some number of loadings. The milder the load, the more the re loadings.
The Lee Collet die sizes the neck in a different fashion, which in theory will give a straighter neck and better accuracy. It does seem to work really well with my 223 and 260. I haven't had a chance to try it out with the 270, 220, or 308, but I'll be reloading again soon.
All my standard Neck dies are boxed and moved to another shelf. Maybe I'll sell them.
The Lee Collet die sizes the neck in a different fashion, which in theory will give a straighter neck and better accuracy. It does seem to work really well with my 223 and 260. I haven't had a chance to try it out with the 270, 220, or 308, but I'll be reloading again soon.
All my standard Neck dies are boxed and moved to another shelf. Maybe I'll sell them.