If you pull a bullet, do you need to resize...

n/a

the case neck? Does the bullet stretch it out enough to require resizing? Thanks!

XXCross

Required? Not necessarily, but it sure wont hurt to do so.

zimmden

It depends on how much neck tension you want on the bullet. A dial caliper will show you how much "spring back" the neck has after bullet is pulled. A benchrest shooter may want as little as .001 below bullet diameter. A hunting round should have sized neck dia. of .002 to .004 below bullet dia. to securely hold bullet in magazine, pocket or chamber. Older, brittle brass may have very little spring back and will require neck sizing.

guntech59

Funny this topic should come up.

Last night I pulled forty 140gr bullets from some 6.5x55 loads. All but three of them felt OK going back in (after changing the powder load) but not as hard as usual. Two of them had VERY little tension and one of them almost fell in.

Soooooo....tonite I will pull them again, remove the primer punch and resize so I know they are right. I really don't want the bullet getting pushed in and increasing pressure in a 105 year old rifle.

I just don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about it.

Wouldn't the different neck tension have an effect on pressure and accuracy?

zimmden

When you size with die with a fixed neck size diameter, your "squeeze" is determined by the neck thickness of the brass which varies by .001 to .003". The expander ball opens the case neck to a predetermined diameter (depending on springback) to give similar tension on the bullets. If you neck turn your cases and use the proper neck bushing, you get exactly the same tension on each loaded cartridge. Most benchrest shooters use very light tension to improve accuracy. Pressure should not be affected since the bullet actually starts moving when the primer ignites before the powder starts burning. Cartridge to cartridge consistency is essential to the best accuracy.

JustC

I always do.

jonk

I never have, but then I reload mainly for old military guns and a gun that only does 3MOA isn't going to do notably better or worse with immaculate handload procedures. For most I don't even sort brass by headstamp.

2 exceptions would be my 1903 Springfield and Swede 96. They are 1.5MOA guns (with the 1" group not being unheard of) and I find it more important to sort everything out.

I'd try seating some and see if they are loose; if not, just go for it.

cnsay

I do. I pull the depriming pin out of the die and run the die and expander ball through.

5mmgunguy

You should.