Neck Sizing Bushing Advice....

[Nodak7mm]

In the middle of a "move", dont have some of my tools and in need of advice. Went to load for my STW and after fire form and subsequent resize went to seat and neck tension is really loose. Initially used a .314 bush on fresh brass, neck tension was great and now neck tension just barely holds the bullet after fireform. Do I drop .001 or .002 in bush size (.313 or .312) to get optimum neck tension? (I am using redding dies with neck bushings).

Outta curiosity, if you have too much tension, how many .001 do ya go down?

Rod

[Varmint Hunter]

I am kind of surprised that you are experiencing less neck tension after the first firing. If anything, with the carbon residue left in the neck I'd expect bullets to seat a bit tighter.

Either way, with a hunting rifle that will be fed out of a magazine I would drop the neck size bushing by .002". In my experience, slightly tighter necks may enhance accuracy too, but in a hunting rifle you will probably never see any difference.

[meichele]

Some of my loads like .002 the best and 1 load likes .004 the best. I would recomend at least .003 for a hunting load if the rifle is NOT a single shot and you use the magazine.

[jb1000br]

[ QUOTE ]
I am kind of surprised that you are experiencing less neck tension after the first firing. If anything, with the carbon residue left in the neck I'd expect bullets to seat a bit tighter.

Either way, with a hunting rifle that will be fed out of a magazine I would drop the neck size bushing by .002". In my experience, slightly tighter necks may enhance accuracy too, but in a hunting rifle you will probably never see any difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

Go a thou tighter.

VH -- the brass hardens after the first firing, and creates less tension. my guess is it doesnt take to the sizing like virgin brass.

I have seen this too, even when moving the neck only 0.001 or so and starting with less than 0.001 tension.

so i'd expect it to be worse with factory chambers and tolerances.

RE: thickness of carbon - i hit my necks with a worn bronze brush in drill inside, and steel wool on the outside so they are clean (and yes, they still measure the same thickness as virgin)

i doubt the carbon buildup on the inner neck is measurable, but then again, i have never tried to measure it with my 0.0001 ball mic.

YMMV,
JB [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Buffalobob]

Same thing happened to me. Neck turned 100 pieces of 17 Rem brass. By third firing I could not get any tension. Fortunately, I had a full length die that had a tighter neck. Now I do not need to use the expander ball. So much for neck sizing only. I won't be turning any more 17 Rem necks again either. And people think you save money by reloading.