Can a standard ball expander die and not neck turning keep you inside 1 MOA from 500-1000yds. Or do you feel neck bushings, neck turning and expander mandrels are needed? Talking for hunting and just wanting to maintain at least 1 MOA.
500yds and further neck tension?
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Expander balls in a no-no in this house. Soon as I get a set of dies they go in the garbage! Imho the alternate means u mentioned above is absolutely req'd at those distances and holding moa on not a group every now and then but having a true moa capable. rifle. Neck turning to me is a variable that depends on what brass I am running and I will measure say 10% of the necks to get a good idea if they need to be cleaned up or not. If I don't need to neck turn then I will run a Forster FL die with all the guts removed and mandrel size after. If I neck turn I will run Redding type S or whidden FL die with bushing and will also mandrel size after than for insurance.
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Size, mandrel and be done with it..
Canhunter35
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Yes they can.
Not saying the other methods aren't superior, but using the expander ball and no neck turn I easily keep my loads SubMOA to transonic.
You need to neck anneal and uniform flash holes
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The only cartridges that gets neck turned by me are for my benchrest rigs. I even have no turn neck chambers on the prs/nrl rigs.
For a hunting rifle, no way would I bother turning the necks. It's more important to me that the bullets are seated straight with minimal run-out.
When shooting from field positions, I am the biggest variable, not the necks.
If you don't have a match grade chamber it would not be worth turning necks IMO.
Alignment, and annealing if you use old brass is where I'd spend time, provided you have checked your gun mechanicals first. (Bolt play & bedding).
I prefer having concentricity around the seated bullet vs the outside of the neck. That's why I like mandrels.
But then again, it's not all about being practical. I have buddies that turn everything and for them it gives them more confidence shooting game. If it does the same for you go for it but for me it adds a step I just don't need to do for hunting cartridges.
For a hunting rifle, no way would I bother turning the necks. It's more important to me that the bullets are seated straight with minimal run-out.
When shooting from field positions, I am the biggest variable, not the necks.
If you don't have a match grade chamber it would not be worth turning necks IMO.
Alignment, and annealing if you use old brass is where I'd spend time, provided you have checked your gun mechanicals first. (Bolt play & bedding).
I prefer having concentricity around the seated bullet vs the outside of the neck. That's why I like mandrels.
But then again, it's not all about being practical. I have buddies that turn everything and for them it gives them more confidence shooting game. If it does the same for you go for it but for me it adds a step I just don't need to do for hunting cartridges.
Muddyboots
Well-Known Member
All I can say is I have no trouble keeping MOA out to 500 with standard ball expander die and not neck turning. Yes I ream primer pockets, debur flash hole etc but that's about it. I have 2 pet rifles (Sendero 300WM and 700 300WSM in Magpul stock both with Timney triggers) that can do it as long as I maintain consistent load practices, consistent bullet jump, consistent setback on shoulder, good ES and SD pretty much what most folks do. Past 500 is another jump in reloading practices but really not necessary for general hunting out to 500 IMHO. I really think for general hunting inside 500 if you maintain the consistency on several key accuracy properties, it can be realistically done. I also think if you focus on heavier bullets at reasonable velocities this becomes a little bit more practical since they tend to shoot better out of most rifles that have twist to do so. Especially now with higher BC bullets available you can shoot them at non maxed out velocities and achieve really good accuracy that carries downrange extremely well with their higher BC's. For example, my 300WSM was always my 165-180 bullet gun until I shot 200 ELDX at 2820 fps. Seems slow but the BC carries it downrange to 500 with close to 2,000 ft-lbs at 500 yards. Plenty for elk and anything less. In fact, I've started to rethink my reloading goals a bit with the new high BC bullets that are coming available. Slow down and save barrel life at same time is also another nice result.
I have always been like that I don't try to push things with them good high BC bullets. Easier on your shoulders, your brass, your barrel and less powder! Win, win, win!
therifleman556
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Can a guy substitute the next size smaller expander to retain the decapper? Just to save a step and not run a separate decapping die, and then mandrel size?
Most does come with a replacement for the expander button so u can still decap.
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Never tried. Suppose it's possible. I have separate decapping dies on a turret press so it's not a hassle for me. I mean realistically if your prepping brass it takes less than a minute to switch does out. Reloading is "me" time so I'm not in a hurry when doing it...
I use a decapper strictly so I can deprime and not run dirty brass into my dies.
It's my nice quiet beer drinking, country music listening decompression time! I will be glad to add some more steps!
