Hornady 338 lapua brass neck thickness.

[rosseickhoff]

I bought some once fired hornady 338 lapua brass. Cleaned and primed the cases without a problem but as I started to seat bullets the neck tension was way too loose. I checked my die and it was correct. It looks like the brass has too thin of necks to correctly be sized. Has anybody ran into an issue like this before? Am I missing something?

 

[rosseickhoff]

Neck thickness is .012-.013
Neck diameter is .368 after sizing
.340 inside
My smk 338 is not making much neck tension.
The die was used as well, do I need a new die or new brass.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

What is the diameter of the neck with a bullet in it?

If you size a case and the OD is .368 and the ID is .340 would mean that you have a wall thickness of 0.14 (.368 - .340=0.028/2=.014).

Your ID of the brass after sizing to .340 should not be. Should be at least .336 to get 0.002 neck tension when loading a .338 bullet

How are you measuring the wall thickness on the brass? Should be using a "Ball Micrometer"

What brand dies are you using?

How did you determine the neck tension using .338 SMK bullets?

You may need to get Sizing Die with Bushings if you have thin wall brass.

We use all Match Dies with Bushings to adjust to the wall thickness of the brass and tension.

 

[rosseickhoff]

Some of the cases wouldn't hold a bullets tight after they were sized and then started seating bullets. The ones that did I could pull them out by hand.
All I have right now is a digital micrometer to measure with. The brass seems that it is in spec so now I believe that my Redding sizing die has an issue.
The bushing wasn't making contact with the necks as I pulled it out. The die set was used and I'm not sure what is going on with it. I ordered a new sizing die to see if this was the problem. I suspected initially it was the brass but they seem to be in spec so I'm thinking the sizing die is either worn out, I don't actually know if they wear out, or was modified for some reason before I got them.
It's a Redding benchrest set with the micrometer seater.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

Some of the cases wouldn't hold a bullets tight after they were sized and then started seating bullets. The ones that did I could pull them out by hand.
All I have right now is a digital micrometer to measure with. The brass seems that it is in spec so now I believe that my Redding sizing die has an issue.
The bushing wasn't making contact with the necks as I pulled it out. The die set was used and I'm not sure what is going on with it. I ordered a new sizing die to see if this was the problem. I suspected initially it was the brass but they seem to be in spec so I'm thinking the sizing die is either worn out, I don't actually know if they wear out, or was modified for some reason before I got them.
It's a Redding benchrest set with the micrometer seater.

The dies really don't wear out to the degree that you are having. I suspect that the dies were bought USED? If the seating die has a micrometer does the sizing die have "BUSHINGS"? If so are you not using the correct bushing.

 

[rosseickhoff]

It has a bushing, it can be swapped out but what I don't understand is I can remove the bushing. Seat the case all the way to bump the shoulder and it's not sizing the neck down to where the bushing is doing anything when it comes out.

 

[WeiserBucks]

You removed the bushing and it's not sizing the neck? If so, that is 100% the problem.

 

[rosseickhoff]

The bushing is the right size but the neck isn't taking it down small enough. I don't know why the hell the neck would be oversized but it seems that way. Can't get anything in to measure it but with the bushing removed and the case all the way in it's as tight as it'll go without closing the neck tight enough for the bushing to do anything to the case.
Almost like somebody reamed it out, I guess could have got a case stuck and reamed it out messing up the neck in the process. Idk I'll try a new die and hopefully it fixes it.

 

[QuietTexan]

The bushing is the right size

Is it a .361"? If it's a .368 it's not the right size.

 

[rosseickhoff]

I had to put a new battery in my caliper so I'll measure the bushing tomorrow but if it was too big the die should have made the neck tighter when I took the bushing out.

 

[QuietTexan]

if it was too big the die should have made the neck tighter when I took the bushing out

No, that's not at all how a bushing die works.

If you remove the bushing the die will not size the neck at all. If the die sized the neck smaller without a bushing in it there would be no point to having a bushing in the die, it would act like a normal FL die at that point.

The bushing will have its size stamped on it if you remove it.

Neck Bushings | RCBS

Self-centering, changeable neck bushings let reloaders precisely set the amount of tension on the bullet when using RCBS Gold Medal Match Series reloading dies.

www.rcbs.com

Are you 100% sure you have a bushing die? If you removed what you think is the bushing and you can look in and see the die touching the case neck, you have an FL die and you removed the decapping unit.

 

[rosseickhoff]

I think I removed the decapping unit and the bushing was either removed, but I think it's a fl sizing die. It definitely didn't have a bushing. I'll look at it again when I get time again tomorrow.
I think it's a fl die that's not working correctly. I could just see the top of the case neck when fully seated.

 

[rosseickhoff]

I honestly don't know as much about the dies as I thought I did. Never had this kind of problem before.

 

[rosseickhoff]

Thanks for the responses and the help.