Strange neck tension issue... need opinions!

TurboTapin

TurboTapin

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Saint-Joseph du lac, QC
I was reloading 50x 308's this morning before heading to the range and oddly enough; had 9 cases that had zero neck tension as in the bullet was loose as a goose after seating. I'm setup for 2 thou. I've changed nothing about the way I reload, nor any of my equipment.

What happened? Never had this oddity happen before.

Applicable components:
195gr ELD-M
Lapua 308 Brass (3rd reload)

Applicable Steps:
Anneal
Full length resize (Type s with no expander ball)
Expander Mandrel (Sinclair die)
Seater die (Forester)

Edit: Being in a rush to get to work prior, I didn't get a chance to break them down and take any measurements. If it happens again, I will. They're all down range now... lol.
 
TurboTapin said:
I was reloading 50x 308's this morning before heading to the range and oddly enough; had 9 cases that had zero neck tension as in the bullet was loose as a goose after seating. I'm setup for 2 thou. I've changed nothing about the way I reload, nor any of my equipment.

What happened? Never had this oddity happen before.

Applicable components:
195gr ELD-M
Lapua 308 Brass (3rd reload)

Applicable Steps:
Anneal
Full length resize (Type s with no expander ball)
Expander Mandrel (Sinclair die)
Seater die (Forester)
Click to expand...

First thing that comes to mind is neck wall thickness is thinner than the rest. I don't see neck turning as part of that list.
 
Do you anneal every firing? Are you new to annealing? You can cause lots of problems with improper annealing, enough that I don't even bother with it yet.

How hot are your loads? A 195gr pill sounds kinda heavy for a 308, but that wouldn't make a difference in neck tension...
 
1-trident-1 said:
9 out of 50, 3rd reload, could be time to anneal.
Click to expand...

Heddok said:
Possibility is over annealed and now dead soft. Hate to say it but I managed to do this one time
Click to expand...

Suther said:
Do you anneal every firing? Are you new to annealing? You can cause lots of problems with improper annealing, enough that I don't even bother with it yet.

How hot are your loads? A 195gr pill sounds kinda heavy for a 308, but that wouldn't make a difference in neck tension...
Click to expand...

I anneal every firing. Not all that new to annealing, but I was playing with my flame placement this time though.... Hmm also a possibility. Color always looks good, and my SD is generally around 5-7. I push my 195gr pills with 43.0 grains of CFE223. No pressure signs, and velocity is within spec (2550)
 
Measure the OD of the necks, if they are the same size as a freshly fired case, you simply missed sizing them. I've done it before, got distracted and forgot to size an entire row of cases on the loading block.
 
Any reason to anneal at each firing? I’m not sure 308 would be that hot to cause problem.

Could be the brass got thinner and your bushing is borderline.

What bushing you use?
 
Icefire said:
Any reason to anneal at each firing? I’m not sure 308 would be that hot to cause problem.

Could be the brass got thinner and your bushing is borderline.

What bushing you use?
Click to expand...

Consistency is the reason I anneal every firing. I use a .336 bushing to give me .002 neck tension. When I get a chance, I'm going to go resize the ones I had issues with and take some measurements.
 
Alpheus said:
Measure the OD of the necks, if they are the same size as a freshly fired case, you simply missed sizing them. I've done it before, got distracted and forgot to size an entire row of cases on the loading block.
Click to expand...

I'm not going to lie to you... I can see myself easily pulling that off. I watch a lot of Joe Rogan while I reload, and I had a couple beers; which doesn't help.
 
TurboTapin said:
I use a .336 bushing to give me .002 neck tension.
Click to expand...

336 - 308 / 2 = 0.014 neck thickness including your tension. I think you have less than 0.001 neck tension as Lapua have .014 neck thickness if I remember.

I use .333 bushing with Hornady brass and 300 win mag (208gr ELD-X)
 
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Icefire said:
336 - 308 / 2 = 0.014 neck thickness including your tension. I think you have less than 0.001 neck tension as Lapua have .014 neck thickness if I remember.

I use .332/.333 bushing with Hornady brass and 300 win mag (208gr ELD-X)
Click to expand...

I've loaded these 4x with good neck tension, I'm sure this isn't the problem. One of my loaded rounds is .338. This is something I'll remeasure incase my neck thickness has gone wonky though.

Thanks for the help.
 
What do you mesure with? I had 2 Mastercraft caliper that was junk and I have another make that look good.

They mesured 308 bullet at 306
 
The brass doesn't get thinner all of a sudden. I loaded thousands of Lapua 308 cases for fullbore competition and the necks are remarkably consistent. Neck turning didn't give me any advantages and I gave it up.

I used a .336 bushing same as you. Take a real hard look at over annealing as a cause. It doesn't take much to go over the critical temp. It also explains why only some of your cases are affected.

Resize one of the problem cases and seat a bullet with no powder, check it a day later with your fingertips tugging on the bullet.
 
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