1st turned necks. Opinions please

[SDPlinker]

Not when it's the only way to get the brass neck wall thickness to a dimension that gives you the necessary neck clearance... I have Peterson brass. It is amazingly thick. A load unturned neck gave me .001" clearance. So neck turning was the only way to make it work.

If you have to then you have to! The majority is just a waste, produces no results except for exercise.

 

[GW Hunter]

The one on the left is better than the one on the right to me. What cutter angle did you use? I get further onto the shoulder with a K&M +3* cutter, a wider but shallower cut area. My cutter makes a less abrupt transition than yours looks like, but that might just be the picture. Looks like a Weatherby so I'm not sure how the angle interacts with a radiused shoulder. K&M makes an inside reaming mandrel if I get into donut trouble, but looking at results I doubt I will using the correct cutting angle and a bushing die.

For me it's a one-and-done process on new brass. Some people disparage it, but I view it like uniforming flash holes - it doesn't hurt, it doesn't take that long, you only have to do it once. It's all voodoo anyways.

It's a 280AI. I used the PMA tool with a 40* cutter. I need to mention how easy that tool was to set up and use. PMA also offers cutters for the Weatherby radius, which I also have. Like I said earlier, this was the 1st batch that I've ever done and it was surprisingly easy using the PMA tool.

 

[QuietTexan]

Oh I see it now. The light made it look curved.

 

[Philward]

Oh I see it now. The light made it look curved.

I thought it was a Weatherby too, at first look, then read his next post.

 

[baggy270]

I just kiss the shoulder on mine. Only should have to do it once.

Dave

 

[nksmfamjp]

Don't want to hijack this post, but on the question of neck turning do you neck turn virgin brass or once fired? Also, do you just trim once for initial case prep or again after several loadings (for consistency)?

I certainly don't represent too much knowledge on the subject or experience, but I'll tell you what I do.

In a no neck turn chamber....aka, my 300 WSM, I turn to clean up 90% of the neck. The thickness kind of depends on the brass. My old Win brass "cleaned up" at 0.014"....my new cleans up at 0.0128", so I re-turned the old to match The new for consistent neck tension. I use the K&M turning tool, k&m expanders, and the igaging neck mic. Generally, I only turn once.

I have a 6PPC in the works. It has a 0.269" chamber...I'm targeting 0.002" neck clearance and 0.002" neck tension. Planning 0.002" neck clearance. I hear I can run 0.001", but that is tight!

 

[JC in Calif]

Pretty much a waste of time! Unless you are bored and need something to do!

Or unless you have a tight neck chamber, as most Bench-rest guns have. You then have to turn them to fit your loaded round.

 

[Mikecr]

I don't know that most BR shooters go tight neck lately, but I'm sure they want same thickness of necks, for more consistent tension.
Their new brass necks can be measured with culling to match them, but then different lots of brass change as they go.
This, leading back to turning to ensure same thickness in the long run, without tossing so many away.

I'm not a BR person, but I run tight necks and one fitted chamber.
I measure new necks, cull for thickness & thickness variance, and then turn to get a specific clearance.
With that & minimal sizing I take 'the long run' to whole new levels, as I don't have to replace brass anymore.

 

[JC in Calif]

If you have to then you have to! The majority is just a waste, produces no results except for exercise.

Tight necks are cut on purpose. Allowing a close fit and keeping the bullet alingined with the bore. This is part of squeezing all the accuracy out of the gun. Not a waste or exercise LOL

 

[SDPlinker]

Tight necks are cut on purpose. Allowing a close fit and keeping the bullet alingined with the bore. This is part of squeezing all the accuracy out of the gun. Not a waste or exercise LOL

 

[nksmfamjp]

I don't know that most BR shooters go tight neck lately, but I'm sure they want same thickness of necks, for more consistent tension.

What is tight neck to you in a 6PPC? Seems like 0.262 - 0.264" are common. The std reamer is 0.270 or 0.271....I forget. Out of the box, Lapua 220 Russian expanded to 6mm is about 0.268.

With that & minimal sizing...

How do you achieve minimal sizing?

 

[Mikecr]

Allowing a close fit and keeping the bullet alingined with the bore. This is part of squeezing all the accuracy out of the gun.

This is an old fashion notion that full seating testing outright debunks.
If your freebore is normal, it's 1/2thou to 1thou over cal, regardless of neck clearance.
Bullets themselves are restrained within this clearance, and there is nothing you can do with a free chambered round to change this.
That is, you can neither help nor hurt this attribute, even when shooting bananas with extreme runout.
And believe it or not, you cannot prove otherwise.

What does happen with bananas having runout exceeding clearances, is conditions of chambered pressure points.
Only then are shots provably thrown -from runout.
I remember probably 40yrs ago, a HOF BR shooter would simply toss any brass used with a thrown shot. A simple solution for THIS problem, which was more common then, as chambers were tighter while heavy FL sizing was employed due to extreme pressure loads. Little has changed, except BR shooters have opened clearances more & more over the decades.
Common clearances are high enough today that relatively awful runout still affects nothing.
This applies to hunting chambers just the same.

The bore alignment you really seek is a dynamic interfacing with the throat, as dialed into best through full seating testing.

 

[Mikecr]

What is tight neck to you in a 6PPC? Seems like 0.262 - 0.264" are common. The std reamer is 0.270 or 0.271....I forget. Out of the box, Lapua 220 Russian expanded to 6mm is about 0.268.
How do you achieve minimal sizing?

I don't shoot 6PPC, and I might be wrong but I doubt point blank BR is in majority anymore.
I watch their forum inputs though, and while they turn necks to known successful thickness, they're no longer turning for tight clearances.
Looks to me like most want ~2-3thou(normal) neck clearance now.
I assume current conditions for them reward this.

Minimal sizing is achieved with modern cartridges and tighter chambers supporting it, combined with custom dies.
You don't get to do it with something like a 30-06, in a sloppy chamber, and off the shelf RCBS FL dies.
PB BR shooters don't get to do it either, while running competitive pressure loads in looser chambers.

 

[JC in Calif]

This is an old fashion notion that full seating testing outright debunks.
If your freebore is normal, it's 1/2thou to 1thou over cal, regardless of neck clearance.
Bullets themselves are restrained within this clearance, and there is nothing you can do with a free chambered round to change this.
That is, you can neither help nor hurt this attribute, even when shooting bananas with extreme runout.
And believe it or not, you cannot prove otherwise.

What does happen with bananas having runout exceeding clearances, is conditions of chambered pressure points.
Only then are shots provably thrown -from runout.
I remember probably 40yrs ago, a HOF BR shooter would simply toss any brass used with a thrown shot. A simple solution for THIS problem, which was more common then, as chambers were tighter while heavy FL sizing was employed due to extreme pressure loads. Little has changed, except BR shooters have opened clearances more & more over the decades.
Common clearances are high enough today that relatively awful runout still affects nothing.
This applies to hunting chambers just the same.

The bore alignment you really seek is a dynamic interfacing with the throat, as dialed into best through full seating testing.

Perhaps it is "old fashion", none the less it's still very common. I'm not intrested in "proving" anything on this subject. I know what works for me. Extreme runout is another subject, involving other steps. Best of luck with your shooting!