Neck Tension

[IdahoJoe]

How much neck needs to be grabbing the bullet in a reload?.

Particularly a 6.5-284. I have bushing dies so I can adjust the tension easily.

 

[J E Custom]

How much neck needs to be grabbing the bullet in a reload?.

Particularly a 6.5-284. I have bushing dies so I can adjust the tension easily.

Measure the outside of the neck of a loaded round and size .003 to .004 thousandths smaller.

As far as bullet to neck engagement the recomended is normally 1 caliber deep. This is not a
must but a good place to start.

J E CUSTOM

 

[boomtube]

For the most possible meaningful neck "tension" for any cartridge, first load a dummy round and mic the case neck, then pull the bullet and mic it again. The difference will tell you what the smallest neck diameter needs to be but adjust for spring back by going one thou smaller. Any neck diameter smaller than that simply makes it harder to seat the bullets because the bullet has to expand and stretch the brass; the extra seating force often increases runout.

You may find the 6.5-.284 neck less than one caliper long; there are a lot of cartridges with necks shorter than one caliber.

 

[Reloader222]

How much neck needs to be grabbing the bullet in a reload?.

Particularly a 6.5-284. I have bushing dies so I can adjust the tension easily.

If you are using hot loads in the upper 50% of the load table, it is advisable to rather size the full length of the neck. Recoil in the magazine could push bullets into the case should the grip not be sufficient and the recoil being accessive. This could result in increase in pressure. I heard that some guys use this method to improve accuracy further. However, I belief there is other ways to improof accuracy through neckturning etc. I personally belief that it is better to switch to neck sizing.