Neck Sizing

When the gun fires, the cartridge is driven forward against the chamber shoulder by the firing pin,...
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OR stopped by the extractor claw, depending on the gun design AND the individual gun/ammo tolerances. ;)
 
Yes, we hope to avoid over-resizing to the point of headspacing on the extractor. I've seen it a lot in 1911s. That's why I went to headspacing on the bullet in mine. It is significantly more accurate, produces much less leading with cast bullets, and I don't have to worry about breaking the extractor.
 
There is definitely something wrong with both barrels. Chamber cut too deep on both them. It was a quite common problem in the Contender.
Most folks didn't care because we hand loaded for them anyway. Fire forming brass is only time it's an issue.
 
rtmamba, I've neck- and full-length resized cases in my .270 to see if there is any difference in accuracy. When I FL-resize, I set the should back 0.002". I have never had a FL-resized case fail to chamber, but on more than one occasion a neck-sized case won't chamber, forcing me to pull the bullet, dump the powder, take the deprimer pin out of the die and FL-resize the case, then reload the powder and reseat the bullet.

I used a RCBS neck-size only die, BTW. The other day I just happened to shoot the same load with both sized cases and concluded there was absolutely no difference in the accuracy of one vs the other. Recognize the only difference is the shoulder is moved back 0.002" compared to the neck-sized case. The real surprise was I had the bullets seated to 0.130" from the rifling; usually I get the best results when they are either 0.015" or 0.02". In this case, I followed the suggestion given by UncleNick in previous posts and discovered the deeper seat worked. My 4-shot groups were in the 0.5"
range in both cases.
 
I opened a discussion a couple years back on the Lee collet neck-only size die and how well we get along. :D

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=607555

My short recap here can be summarized with:

I only dabble in rifles and 95% or more of my handloading and shooting is handguns. However I do a prairie dog hunt for 3 fantastic days each year and I have more success each and every year.

I only F/L size when I’m adding brass to the rotation. 600-700 rounds through the rifle each year and I’m only neck sizing for this.

My reasoning is multi-faceted.

My first goal was ease of volume loading and I can assure you that neck-only sizing with the Lee collet die is much easier than lubing and F/L sizing for me.

My second goal or hope was longevity, case life. Now I don’t track my brass like hardcore rifle handloaders do but I can say that my rifle has about 3,700 rounds through it and my neck-only sized brass makes up more than 3,200 of that number and so far I have lost zero pieces.

I truly do NOT know if I’ll find an increase in accuracy if I tweak my methods and this is simply because if the wind is calm AND if I’m able to successfully learn with my range finder how far out the dog is, he literally stands no chance out to 275 or so and I’m making ghastly kills out to 400 yards.

That’s my endorsement of neck-only sizing with the Lee collet die. .223 Rem with a 50gr Hornady V-Max fueled by H-335 and launched around 3,400fps from a Howa 1500 with 24” heavy barrel.

My only proof of success is a body count that increases each year and still zero failed pieces of brass. Oh, to add, 551 shots on the trip this year and only 52 pieces got trimmed even though zero of those were longer than 1.760”

I love all the rifle discussion you guys have here and especially the deep discussions on handloading for rifle, I truly enjoy these. At the same time, I don’t see myself ever becoming a hardcore rifle guy. And when it comes to neck size versus F/L size, at least for my hunting ammo, my vote is staunchly for neck sizing and I have no plans to change.
 
I can say that my rifle has about 3,700 rounds through it and my neck-only sized brass makes up more than 3,200 of that number and so far I have lost zero pieces.
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The failure rate of the brass is determined by the number of loading cycles for each individual case, not how many rounds of FL or neck sized go through the rifle.

I'm not disparaging neck sizing, only pointing out that the benefits are not uniform across all rifles or applications.

I have a range of rifles from tack driving varmint guns to minute of deer hunting rifles, in calibers ranging from .22 Hornet to .458 Win Mag. Some of them are more accurate than I am, some aren't and while they might be improved some, since they get their intended jobs done as they are, I'm not looking to do more.
 
The failure rate of the brass is determined by the number of loading cycles for each individual case, not how many rounds of FL or neck sized go through the rifle.
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Haha okay, I did not make myself clear when I said what I said.

Here is what I mean.

3,200 rounds across about 800 pieces of brass, so that’s an average of four reloads plus the original firing when it was factory ammo.

Across my 800 pieces, zero failures.

This might be more significant when my round count is 6,400 than 3,200 but it is the data that I have.

I’m suggesting — okay let’s be honest, I’m hoping that the fact that I am NOT working the bulk of the cartridge case and working it two ways actually (one by sizing and the other direction by firing) that I’ll experience longer case life.
 
Speaking of brass failure, I got into .17 Rem around 30 years ago with a 14" Contender. Started off FL sizing, bought a Lee Collet set, and then later a W.L. Wilson bushing setup, still use both. The majority of my original 200 pieces of brass are still useable. I quit counting loadings around 5 or 6 several years ago. I've lost about half a dozen or so cases to splits (mostly neck) and 1 head separation, primer pockets are getting to be the biggest issue. Then I found that .17 is now hard to find.
I mostly shoot rifle caliber pistols and each has it's own peculiarities and how it likes to be loaded.
When I got my first .257 TCU barrel, i wound up waiting over a year for CH4D to make a set of dies. In the meantime, a cheap set of Lee 25-45 Sharps FL dies served to do the initial case forming and subsequent neck sizing was done with a Wilson 7 TCU die with the bushing for .257. Worked great.
:)
 
I have loaded each .223 Lapua Brass over 100 times, I did only neck size them . this is before I knew what annealing was. Was only shot from my Remington 700 SF II .

Only issue I ever ran into was when I sold the gun, I didnt label my box so when I went to the range I grabbed the wrong box.

Those neck sized rounds didnt chamber too well in my AR15. I had to take the charging handle and had to rack it back against the a picnic table to get the round loose.

There still loaded all 100 of them in the same box labeled “ do not shoot”

But Lapua Brass is no joke top notch .
 
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akinswi, you need to put that Lapua brass back to work.
Pull the bullets, dump the powder, take the decapping pin out of your FL die, lightly lube with Imperial wax, resize and reload. Should not be a problem, I've had to do this several times and, for the last few years, none of my size dies have decapping pins. I use a separate decapping die for that step.
Be careful and good luck.
:)
 
I was thinking about doing that, But they are there until I get another bolt .223 gun . Ill just shoot those in it.

But Lapua Brass is outstanding to say the least
 
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