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308 neck resizing woes

BillOrrBillOrr Member Posts: 99 ✭✭
Hey guys, I've been full case resizing for my rem 700 308 for a few years now and; after doing some reading on accuracy, want to start resizing just the necks of the cases. I've got myself a hornady 30 cal neck die, a hornady reloading book and an RCBS single stage press. Don't think it made that much of a difference but I'm using various once and twice shot brass.

There were no instructions with the neck die and I can't seem to find anything online that helps me. I tried a few shells a while back and they had serious problems going into the chamber when I was done. I went back to the full case resizing and they worked fine. I don't know how far down/in to go with the cases and don't know how to tell if the neck is sized right...

Basically I don't know what the heck I'm doing.

Any tips/knowledge on neck resizing would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Bill

Comments

  • AmishWarlordAmishWarlord Member Posts: 84 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    When you chamber a round dose it bind up when the case neck goes into the chamber throat or does it bind when you try to lock the bolt?

    I had a problem with my .416 necks. They would spring back out after neck sizing. The cases where losing their annulling after three fireing. I set up my hobby torch and re-annulled the necks. After that they held the neck sizing.
  • BillOrrBillOrr Member Posts: 99 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by AmishWarlord
    When you chamber a round dose it bind up when the case neck goes into the chamber throat or does it bind when you try to lock the bolt?

    I had a problem with my .416 necks. They would spring back out after neck sizing. The cases where losing their annulling after three fireing. I set up my hobby torch and re-annulled the necks. After that they held the neck sizing.


    It binds when I try to lock the bolt. The shells I used where once-fired so they shouldn't be that stretched/tight.
  • zimmdenzimmden Member Posts: 237 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    If all the brass was fired in your gun and ejected without being tight, it should go back in after reloading. The neck die does not size the body of the case. If your loads were too hot or the brass was fired in a different gun, the brass probably expanded and needs to be full length sized. After you shoot rechamber the empty case. If it is tight, FL size. If not tight, neck sizing only should work. Make sure cases are not too long. Trim to specs if necessary.
  • BillOrrBillOrr Member Posts: 99 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zimmden
    If all the brass was fired in your gun and ejected without being tight, it should go back in after reloading. The neck die does not size the body of the case. If your loads were too hot or the brass was fired in a different gun, the brass probably expanded and needs to be full length sized. After you shoot rechamber the empty case. If it is tight, FL size. If not tight, neck sizing only should work. Make sure cases are not too long. Trim to specs if necessary.


    huh...I don't remember if they were shot out of the same weapon I'm reloading for... I have an M1A that they may have come from originally.

    Therein may be my problem. Good call, thanks
  • 62fuelie62fuelie Member Posts: 1,069 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    That might be the rub. Neck sizing is a good tool, BUT it only works when the cases are to be fired in the same rifle all the time. You will find that the once-fireds from the 700 will have a problem chambering in the M1A as well. Cases fired in a self-loading rifle tend to stretch a little more than those in a bolt action or a single shot, like the Ruger #1. Keep your cases separated and you will do fine and should get more case life out of the neck sized cases.
  • Riomouse911Riomouse911 Member Posts: 3,492 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    A buddy just told me today about resizing brass fired in a 7.62 chambered machine gun and an M1A; he said he felt like he was going to break his Rockchucker because he had to resize the entire body to fit into his Savage and Howa bolt guns. Apparently the shoulders were set forward a bit more in the autos than in the bolts, so he had to re-set them back. If your .308 case donor gun is an M1A, you might be having the same problem.

    Neck-only sizing (IMHO) works best when brass that is is fired in a particular gun is neck-sized and then reloaded and used in that same gun. (As all chambers are going to be different, even from the same maker). Since you want to work the brass as little as possible with the neck sizing only process, you won't bring the brass back to a standard size.... so what works in gun A might not (and with my luck WILL not) fit in gun B very well.
  • FrancFFrancF Member Posts: 35,278 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    BillOrr-

    Bill this is a simple way to set up your dies (full-length) for simple neck resizing. This is a method I use for pre-adjustment on my own .308 brass.

    Step one. With your shell holder in place extend your RAM all the way up.

    Step two. Place a nickel on top of the shell holder with your RAM fully extended.

    Step three. Adjust your resizing die just so it kisses the nickel.
    Viola! You have just set your resizing die to about three quarters length of the neck.

    As stated before, keep this brass dedicated to .308 you are shooting it in. Now depending on how tight your chamber is you might have to resize a little bit more or get away with a little bit less. My Remington 40X shoots best right around this area. But an important note lube your cases as normal. Hope that helps tell me how it works, oh and before I forget another trick I use to seat by bullets.

    During the seating process of your bullet, rotate the case one third turn and another third turn that another third turn. I do this and nine times out of 10 the bullet run out will put you in the range of .003 - .005 range. Unless you got really crappy dies.[:D]
  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Full length size your brass.

    Fire form to your chamber, I use cast bullets.

    Trim, inside and outside champher, uniform and deburr flash holes.

    Neck size, a nickel is a good guide but so are the marks on the cases themselves. Test fit neck sized case.

    Not every rifle responds well to neck sized only.
  • Okie743Okie743 Member Posts: 2,580 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You can use a propane cigarette lighter and hold the brass neck of a hull at the very tip of the flame and soot the neck then into the die and then you can see the imprint on the neck exactly how far the neck is being sized. I usually go with about 3/4 of the neck. You can then try the hull in your gun before a bullet is installed. Also rotate the hull in the press when installing the bullet so as to reduce the chance of bulging the shoulder are of the hull.
    I always pretest reloaded ammo for proper chambering before going to the range or hunting and then mark the ammo as chamber tested. It's appears to be normal to find a neck sized reload every once in awhile that chambers with some resistance. Of course you will have to keep the hulls you want to neck size with the same gun they were fired in.
    Neck size by itself usually won't result in a big difference in accuracy. I glass bed the gun and float the barrel (bolt action), then search for a reload that the gun likes on paper with both a cold barrel and a warm barrel, match the hulls by weight within 5 grains, deburr and uniform the primer hole inside, then neck size the brass. On a very accurate gun, the reloading process of matching the brass by weight and deburring the primer hole seems to result in the most consistent results. I also test to see what bullet jump the gun likes during the finals.
    A accurate gun can make a guy look like he is a good shooter, a non accurate gun WILL MAKE a good accurate shooter look very bad, especially when hunting. (how do i know this)
    This is one of the reasons why I tune my guns and reload, a CONSISTENTLY accurate gun makes me look like I'm a good shot, when it's really the gun that is good.
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