Problem with neck sizing

[Millet]

Hello Guys,
I'm having alittle trouble with sizing my 243. win brass necks. Hornady once fired brass. 90% of them size great but a few won't give enough of bullet grip. Do they need to be annealed or is it something with my sizer. Using a Lee collet neck sizer. Any help is appreciated!

 

[justgoto]

Whenever I have neck tension problems, I make sure the die is set properly; and if it is, I anneal.

I also use the Lee collet neck sizer.

 

[Engineering101]

If they are once fired they should not need to be annealed. It could be that they were over annealed at the factory and are too soft. Pull the bullet out of one case, expand, resize and load to see if that helps. If it does, they are too soft.

 

[gohring3006]

if your die is set properly I would discard the problem brass its not worth the risk

 

[MMERSS]

but a few won't give enough of bullet grip. Do they need to be annealed or is it something with my sizer. Using a Lee collet neck sizer. Any help is appreciated!

What is the outside neck diameter of a loaded round? Measure three or four cases and the loose ones.
What is the outside neck diameter of a sized case? Measure three or four cases and the loose ones.
What is the outside neck diameter of a fired case? (used to estimate how much you are working your necks when sizing and another indicator for when to anneal if needed)

These dimensions may help with a response.

 

[waspocrew]

Is this the first time trying the lee collet neck die? It takes just a bit to figure it out. It sound like it's not quite deep enough. I also watched a video on Lees website about how to properly adjust the die for correct neck tension. That helped clear up my issues.

 

[gregw83]

have you tried pushing down harder on the lever of the press? Lee says that a minimum of 25 lbs of pressure is required to properly neck size with their collet dies

 

[Millet]

I just starting reloading and this is the first sizing die I've used. I think I partly solved the problem. My press wasn't mounted very sturdy but I improved it. Now only 4 in 100 shell are on the loose side. I turned my die in about 5 turns past the shell holder which seems to to work well. The lever stops about 2/3 way down instead of towards the bottom of the stroke which seems to give me a better "feel".

 

[justgoto]

I just starting reloading and this is the first sizing die I've used. I think I partly solved the problem. My press wasn't mounted very sturdy but I improved it. Now only 4 in 100 shell are on the loose side. I turned my die in about 5 turns past the shell holder which seems to to work well. The lever stops about 2/3 way down instead of towards the bottom of the stroke which seems to give me a better "feel".

That would eliminate all your leverage; and also make for inconsistent neck tension.

My press bottoms out just before it "cams-over" so I set my neck sizer so I get my desired tension right when the lever stops. That makes all my cases exactly the same neck tension.

Most people set-up their press so the lever's range of movement "cams-over" so they have a consistent pressure on the case.

 

[Millet]

Thanks Justgoto for that tip. I set my die to where it sized just before camover and it works great. It's a lot more consistant. Thanks everyone for the help. Happy reloading

 

[justgoto]

Thanks Justgoto for that tip. I set my die to where it sized just before camover and it works great. It's a lot more consistant. Thanks everyone for the help. Happy reloading

Glad to help!

 

[Reloader222]

It might be that the expander ball is oversize. You can sand in down a thousand of an inch, but you may also consider decapping all cases first. Then take out the expander and resize all cases. This would give a proper grip, but might increase pressure. 0.002" is regarded as sufficient neck tention. Therefore if you near to maximum load, reduce the load and checkout for pressure.