Neck Sizing with a FL Die

[General RE LEE]

I am going to pull some bullets this evening and want to resize the necks so I have good neck tension. After pulling the decapping pin, can I just insert the case into the die partially or does it need to go entirely into the die to properly neck size? I was hoping I can neck size without having to run the entire case through the die since I have the shoulders bumped at the spec I want.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I am going to pull some bullets this evening and want to resize the necks so I have good neck tension. After pulling the decapping pin, can I just insert the case into the die partially or does it need to go entirely into the die to properly neck size? I was hoping I can neck size without having to run the entire case through the die since I have the shoulders bumped at the spec I want.

I really don't see how you are going to size the neck without running the case all the way into the die. If you say "I am going to pull some bullets this evening and want to resize the necks so I have good neck tension" If your brass has a variation in wall thickness how will you accomplish this with a FL Die with the same neck diameter?
If you wanted to get the best accurate results you should get a Case Neck Turner, turn the necks to a set size and get a set of dies where you can full size and use neck bushings to match your neck thickness.

 

[nealm66]

Just dump the powder and pull the deprimer pin off. Lightly lube just the outside of the brass and wipe it off really good after you resize. It will be fine

 

[nealm66]

Go full stroke as the part near the top is what shrinks the throat

 

[nealm66]

Make sure you wipe the inside of the die clean before hand

 

[ButterBean]

Just dump the powder and pull the deprimer pin off. Lightly lube just the outside of the brass and wipe it off really good after you resize. It will be fine

Go full stroke as the part near the top is what shrinks the throat

Make sure you wipe the inside of the die clean before hand

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[243winxb]

Standard dies need the expander. Bushing dies dont.

Necks sizing with a fl die only works if there is a lot of taper to the case.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

It depends on your cartridge and what dies you have lying around... If all you have in the ballpark is the dies for said cartridge, then by all means, shove her all the way in again with light lube...
However, some cartridges can actually be neck sized with dies for another cartridge, but you need to be careful not to actually case form... A buddy was having a fit getting any accuracy from his 300roy, and I had zero intention of asking him to invest in dies unless we could push it down from the 3moa (at best) that factory ammo was producing. I simply neck sized his spent brass with my 300rum fl die and went to work on test loads. We got a load, he bought dies, and he's fat, dumb, and happy with a decent shooting rifle.

 

[Mikecr]

You won't need to resize the necks at all.
Think about it, you sized necks inward, then you expanded necks with bullet seating.
What's gripping seated bullets is springback force X area of bullet bearing that force is applying to (providing pounds per sq inch PSI).
That's what neck 'tension' is.

Puling bullets is not sizing. It's not causing yielding of necks, nor affecting their spring back force. So it's not affecting tension.
So you can re-seat bullets right back into the same interference you had after prior seating, with same tension.
There will be less seating force with this because you're no longer upsizing with bullet re-seating. That extra work is done, and means nothing here. It was just extra work.

 

[nealm66]

Interesting, so you're saying there's no difference from brass that's had a bullet pulled from a sized brass? Always feels like less resistance when I've toyed with it. Maybe it's because I'm using more tension when sizing?

 

[johngibbs222]

To neck size you'll need the decap rod in there as a sizing mandrel, I kept one that the decap pin had broken off and I polished it in a hand drill to take 0.001" off the diameter for about 200 once fired remington 223 brass which were absolute rubbish with the bullet falling into the case sometimes, an issue that didn't occur with locally made cases. That sorted the issue. You may find it pays to slightly bellmouth the case to get the bullet started like you practise on pistol rounds with cast bullet reloading.
I got to say that as I use those r-p cases they get thrown and I use PPU brass for 223 which has no problems

 

[Mikecr]

Don't confuse interference with tension. I know that everyone does,, but don't. It's wrong.
When you oversize a neck to 3thou under cal, then you'll be using a bullet to re-expand the neck to cal..
Yeah, that takes more force, using a bullet for expansion, but other than overworking necks and bullet jackets the results are the same as if you had used an actual expander button or mandrel.
And what's holding bullets either way then is purely neck spring back force (tension, hoop tension).

So when you seat into a neck that has already gone through expansion, you're seating into only the same spring back force that holds bullets anyway. It's less work, and it's the same tension.

 

[nealm66]

Don't confuse interference with tension. I know that everyone does,, but don't. It's wrong.
When you oversize a neck to 3thou under cal, then you'll be using a bullet to re-expand the neck to cal..
Yeah, that takes more force, using a bullet for expansion, but other than overworking necks and bullet jackets the results are the same as if you had used an actual expander button or mandrel.
And what's holding bullets either way then is purely neck spring back force (tension, hoop tension).

So when you seat into a neck that has already gone through expansion, you're seating into only the same spring back force that holds bullets anyway. It's less work, and it's the same tension.

It's been a while since ive messed with it but it seems like I could also feel a difference when pulling bullets back out of ones I tried to just re seat. Also seems like it had a noticeable effect on the weatherby caliber I was reloading in the accuracy department. So if I understand you, even though I can feel the difference, it shouldn't make a difference in performance. Maybe I'll revisit, doing a velocity ladder on some hammers this weekend so should have some to pull

 

[ButterBean]