To neck turn or not to neck turn?

[fireroad]

That's my question. Most of my rifle brass is nearing the end of it's life and will soon be replaced with new or once fired RP or Win brass. I've read quite a bit on neck turning with some folks saying it's "absolutley essential with RP and Win brass (new or once fired)" to "it's a thing of the past, only reserved for match shooters with tight chambers". Before I invest in equipment I may not need,l what's the consensus here on turning necks for factory chambered rifles?

 

[boomtube]

"Before I invest in equipment I may not need,l what's the consensus here on turning necks for factory chambered rifles?"

Consensus..? NOT likely! Lots of firmly held opinions with no clear proof either way.

FACT is, it doesn't do a lot for already loose factory chambers. But, done properly, it DOES do something to uniform the necks.

Second question, how much does it affect accuracy? There are no firm "facts" here. It helps, a little, for some, not at all for others. It's highly unlikely to make a vast difference even if it helps. Only way for YOU to know what it will do is to try it.

 

[Boss Hoss]

Pretty much a waste of time in a factory gun plus if you do not anneal every 4 or 5 loadings you are again wasting your time IMHO.

 

[fireroad]

Yeah, "consensus" was a poor choice of words....let's just say we all get along on here beter than most forums .

I don't anneal (yet), need to make myself a setup that turns the case form me.

Money on the neck turning would probably be better served on more practice ammo, eh?

 

[trueblue]

fireroad,
Most of the rifles I reload for I turn the necks on the brass. It doesn't take me that long, and it only seems logical to do what I can to get consistant neck release on the bullet. Some of my chambers are tight necked, some are factory, but I neck turn for all of my longrange rifles. Do I know it makes a difference in accuracy,no, but again it seems logical to do what you can to put the odds in your favor. At some point in the future I may grow tied of it, but for now it seems worth the effort. I have also gone to annealing after every firing. Again, it does not take much time, and follows the previously mentioned philosophy.

 

[BountyHunter]

I go for a waste of time on factory chambers and requires annealing to maintain uniform tension anyway.

Plus you need bushing dies after neck turning.

Better off buying better brass to begin with RWS, Lapua, Federal GM, Norma in that order.

BH

 

[KDB]

For me, it's about eliminating/ minimizing variables. Same philosophy as deburing/uniforming flash holes, uniforming primer pockets, wieghing charges and the like.

So, when a round goes off target I know it was my error and not my ammo.

 

[Capt Kurt]

Many opinions on this subject as you know. I believe neck turing is necessary and will improve your bullet groupings. The way i determine to turn or not starts with sizing. I use rcbs competion dies for 308 and 223. After sizing the casing it goes right to my rcbs case master. There, i check case neck run-out and case neck thickest. If neck run-out is more than .002 and case thickest is not uniform then this casing needs turning. These casings i put to the side to see how many i come up with as only cases that are turned should be grouped together. If all casings came from the same lot then all should be turned so neck pressure will be the same. If the casing did not come from the same lot but have the same headstamp then group these. Always turn before trimming to length. That way your case neck will be true to your cutting head. Hope this helps. Capt kurt