# Neck or Full Length Resizing



## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

So to date I have always been a FL guy but recently Ive had several people tell me I should consider just going with neck resizing for the slight increase in accuracy. I shoot a 300 win and I'm curious what method you guys use and why. Does neck resizing really improve accuracy?


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Someone will likely correct me on this, but it is my understanding that by only neck sizing the brass you are using brass that fits your chamber more accurately and therefore there is less "wiggle room" (as it was described to me) for the brass and makes for a better use of gases.

Am I right?


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Bax is right in that if you reuse brass that has been fired formed in your rifle then you have taken one small problem out of the equation for accuracy. However if you are planning on using the neck sized rounds in a hunting riffle out hunting I would recommend that you run all the reloaded rounds through the action to make sure that you can close the bolt on them. I have seen hunters that reload their own ammo that have had problems with just neck sizing where the bolt would not close on the reloaded round or if it did close they had to use some force to do it. 

My personal preference for a hunting load is to full length resize the case just not to have that problem out in the field. But if you are just target shooting or using the reloaded rounds for varmets you should be fine with just neck sizing.


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

Using a break action single shot do you think I would ever have a problem with them fitting ?


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

I use Lee collet neck sizing dies for all my rifles now. I started using them and paying a lot of attention to matching overall length to each gun about the same time so I’m not sure which made the most difference in accuracy. Between the two my reloads are far more accurate than they used to be. I’ve never had any feeding trouble. The only single shot I load for is a Ruger.


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

Cooky, how often do you find yourself needing to trim the necks? I worry about neck stretching.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

What most reloaders call "neck sizing" is in fact partial full length sizing. They (I) use a full length sizing die that is set to size the case, but not set the shoulder back. The body of the case is sized slightly, and the neck is sized. This will cause the case to perfectly match the headspace for the chamber that it was fired in, and still chamber reliably. In the case of the belted magnums, it will allow you to headspace on the shoulder of the case, not the belt that may or may not match the dimensions of your chamber. That is why the better accuracy claim is made. It will also increase the life of your cases, because there is less stretching when the case stretches to contact the breachface upon firing.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

I’m afraid I’m no help on the stretching issue. After the initial trim to minimum and starting to use the collet dies I’ve only made it through my .308 brass twice, the 25-06 twice and haven’t made a full rotation through the .223s. RCBS claims you never have to trim again using their collet dies. The RCBS collet dies are full length sizers.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Bo0YaA said:


> Using a break action single shot do you think I would ever have a problem with them fitting ?


The answer is yes you may have a problem at some time. A rifle is a little different than a pistol but on my Thompson Center 357 Herrett and 7-30 Waters it is recomended that you feel a little bit of resistance when you close the action. They want it to headspace on the shoulder and not on the rim. It takes a little bit of a feel to get to that point. With a rifle and the leverage that you could put on closing the action you may jump from a OK sizeing to why doesn't it close.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Bo0YaA said:


> Cooky, how often do you find yourself needing to trim the necks? I worry about neck stretching.


Check your case length before every reload, your case/neck will stretch every shot. I found that I could get a few more loads if I annealed the brass after a couple of reloads. In my old 6mm Rem I could get about 4-5 reloads before the neck would get too thin. I trimmed and reamed after every reload.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

The difference in accuracy between neck-sizing and full length is minimal in hunting rifles. I'm not sure most shooters could tell a difference. It does make a difference but I can only tell in my benchrest or longrange guns. I wouldn't worry about it as far as accuracy goes, but, it does make a difference in brass life. Working your brass fatigues your brass. Anealing and neck sizing can greatly extend your brass life.
My recomendation...necksize a couple times, then bump your shoulder back about .001-.002, aneal, then shoot.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

It's already been said but I will say that if I don't do a full length sizing in my 7mm mag I can't close the bolt on about 1 in 10 rounds of my first reload brass. Second reloads are worse, at the very least I have to use some force to get it closed. It may have something to do with the case size and amount of powder and smaller cases may have less of a problem, I don't know but I do full length sizing every time. That's the only cartridge I've reloaded my self to date.


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

I neck size my 300 Win. But as has been said by others that are way more versed then I am, I do it more for extended case life than for accuracy. As of yet, I've not had any problems with any of the loads not chambering or difficulty closing the bolt. Then again I only started reloading a couple of years ago and had about 200 pieces of brass stockpiled. So, most of my cases have only been reloaded twice.


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

longbow. can you go into any details about anealing? I had some 257 bob brass neck crack after two loadings and I dont think I am shooting hot. Tight primer pockets and primers not very flat. It is hornady +p brass.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

10yearquest said:


> longbow. can you go into any details about anealing? I had some 257 bob brass neck crack after two loadings and I dont think I am shooting hot. Tight primer pockets and primers not very flat. It is hornady +p brass.


I've never seen +P rifle brass 10year. I thought that was a pistol thing only?


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

Its right on the bottom of the hornady 257 roberts brass.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Well color me ignorant! Never seen that befur!


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

10yearquest said:


> longbow. can you go into any details about anealing?


When you work brass..hammer it, stretch it, bend it, whatever, it makes it stiff and brittle. Repeated stretching from firing is working the bass so your bass gets brittle and starts to crack and slit. Annealing is a process that softens bass and is very easy to do.
Get a flat cake pan and fill it with about an inch or inch and half with water. Stand your bass up in the water and heat the bass...at least the neck and shoulder...to a nice bright red color using a propane torch, and while it is still red hot, just tip it over into the water so it cools fast. Move from casing to casing until they are are laying in the water and nice and cool. Remove, trim to length, de-burr, and your good for a few more go-a-rounds.
P.S. This process is the same basic process that makes steel hard...


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

BPturkeys said:


> 10yearquest said:
> 
> 
> > longbow. can you go into any details about anealing?
> ...


I do it the same way BP does except I turn out the lights and heat them up until they just start to glow. I'm not sure if it's the best way but it works for me.
Good post BPturkeys.


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

thanks to both of you. What do you think of my twice loaded brass cracking already? As you can see in the pic the primer is not very flat at all so i am assuming mild pressures. Plus the load is in the middle ground by the data I used. Maybe just brittle brass? So far i have lost two out of the twenty.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

10yearquest said:


> thanks to both of you. What do you think of my twice loaded brass cracking already? As you can see in the pic the primer is not very flat at all so i am assuming mild pressures. Plus the load is in the middle ground by the data I used. Maybe just brittle brass? So far i have lost two out of the twenty.


Yeah, maybe your brass is kind of hard, get all your brass annealed, trimmed to length (maybe even a tiny bit shorter if hunting loads), de-burred and inside chamfered, and I'll bet you start losing less brass.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

10yearquest said:


> thanks to both of you. What do you think of my twice loaded brass cracking already? Not good. I've never used Hornady brass but I'm thinking you need to aneal them before you ever load them.  As you can see in the pic the primer is not very flat at all so i am assuming mild pressures. Flat primers aren't always an indication of high pressures, but it's one of them. I've had factory 300 Short Mags primers completely flatten when I've shot them. I load my 338 Edge hot(!) and it doesn't flatten my primers but my primer pockets are expanded and my brass is trash after three reloads. Plus the load is in the middle ground by the data I used. Maybe just brittle brass? I'm thinking your right. Like BPturkey said, it's from working your brass too much without anealing it.  So far i have lost two out of the twenty.


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## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

I think its just brittle too. I have only loaded it twice now and I have other brass that I have loaded many times and haven't had the same loss percentage. I will most likely get different brass in the future and will look for brass thats been annealed at the factory. This was hornady factory ammo to start with and may not have been annealed at the factory at all, with no thought of reloading. I did the deburr and chamfer thing and will check length before the next go round. I will try to anneal them too I dont have much to lose on these cases anyhow. thanks for the insight!


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