missourideere
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- Jun 1, 2015
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- 24
I'm getting ready to start reloading for my long range gun do you guys revoked turning the necks of my new brass?
turning necks
- Thread starter missourideere
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Jaxdialation
Well-Known Member
There are so many other things that affect accuracy besides uniform neck thickness, I've never turned. I have the equipment, but have not used it.
Do you know the dimensions your chamber's neck? If there is more than lets say .007" per side then neck turning would not be a good idea. Turning is most useful with tighter neck clearances and sizing with a bushing.
Thinning the necks will cause them to expand more to conform to the chamber neck during firing. If a FL die with expander ball is used the neck will be over sized in the top of the die then pulled over the expansion ball for proper neck tension. Combine these two processes together and the necks will split prematurely. (I know I turned necks with a SAMMI chamber and a RCBS FL die and split virgin brass in two firings.)
As for using unturned brass and a bushing die, the brass wall thickness should be very consistent or you will end up varying the neck tension. There is a method that would work if you do use a bushing die, with inconsistent thickness, unturned necks. Use a bushing that is slightly tighter than you want and use a expander ball. There is less working of the brass this way when compared to a standard FL die.
Hope this makes sense.
Thinning the necks will cause them to expand more to conform to the chamber neck during firing. If a FL die with expander ball is used the neck will be over sized in the top of the die then pulled over the expansion ball for proper neck tension. Combine these two processes together and the necks will split prematurely. (I know I turned necks with a SAMMI chamber and a RCBS FL die and split virgin brass in two firings.)
As for using unturned brass and a bushing die, the brass wall thickness should be very consistent or you will end up varying the neck tension. There is a method that would work if you do use a bushing die, with inconsistent thickness, unturned necks. Use a bushing that is slightly tighter than you want and use a expander ball. There is less working of the brass this way when compared to a standard FL die.
Hope this makes sense.
Team Roper
Well-Known Member
I turn all of my brass necks so obviously I believe it is worth the trouble. Uniform neck tension is just as valuable. One goes hand in hand with the other. When you start turning brass you will see how un uniform some of it is. I also ream all of my necks.
dok7mm
Well-Known Member
Excellent overview of pros & cons of neck turning. I turn for all my rifles and enjoy very consistent neck tension and less than .001" runout, but they are tight necked chambers. It will not make a poor shooting rifle into a shooter, but can help an accurate rifle shoot tighter groups. JMO
missourideere
Member
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- Jun 1, 2015
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I'm not sure of the chamber diameter but I am using s bushing die
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
My preference is to turn the necks before they are fired the first time because if the wall thickness is not uniform, the chamber will offset the case neck by the difference in the wall thickness. After firing, it is very hard to get the neck true.
I use the Sinclair pre sizing pilot first and then using the best fitting turning pilot I will turn all the necks to the same diameter and wall thickness (Only enough to clean all the brass up).
This method works better than reaming and after firing the necks are very uniform/consistent if the chamber is.
Just the way I like to turn the necks.
J E CUSTOM
dok7mm
Well-Known Member
Just measure the diameter of a freshly fired neck from your chamber and add .001", it will be close. The problem comes in when there is more than .005" difference between this measurement and and the bushing size you are using (usually .001-.002" less than your loaded neck measurement). If you are reducing your neck diameter (say .007-.010" , common with factory chambers) you can end up with quite inconsistent neck tension, if reduction is made with one bushing size. You can remedy this by stepping down the neck with two bushings, one that takes down neck 1/2 way and another for your final target neck dia. If there is a great difference between your loaded neck and chamber neck, it may NOT be worth it to neck turn your brass OR you could just do a skim turn to just knock down the thicker portion of your brass. Regardless, you need a ball micrometer to check your neck wall thickness, IF you decide to turn necks. Good Luck to you.
