FL sizing without bumping the shoulder??

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g-manz35

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I'm giving a buddy a hand reloading his 7mm RM. I found a cheap set of Lee RGB dies and picked them up. His gun seems to have a very generous chamber and in the hopes of getting his brass to last longer I've backed the FL sizer about an quarter turn back from hitting the shell holder. The rounds seem to chamber well and I can't find any issues, but I'm just not sure I'm doing it right. I don't want to bump the shoulder back unless I have to.

I would also like to know if his brass will last as many loading doing this as they would if he only neck sized them?

Also how many reloads on average can I expect before having to toss the brass? Not hot loads and Remington brass.

Any comments please feel free to let me know.

I usually neck size all my cases and full length every five times or so (when they need it)

Thanks George
 
I might be doing it wrong, but I back the die out one full turn. Then size and measure, then adjust and size and measure, until I get the shoulder setback I am looking for.
 
It's called partial re-sizing. I use the method on all my cases. A quarter turn may be a bit slim. I use the thickness of a dime to set the gap between the RCBS shell holder and die.

After 4-6 loads/case, Chambering can get a bit tight so I FL resize the batch of brass then go back to partial resizing.
 
The thread I believe is 14 tpi. That would mean backing it off 1/4 turn would pull it back .018 thousands of an inch. That shouldn't touch the shoulder unless Norinco cut the chamber for it. Probably best though to simply turn it back 1/2 or full turn and see how those case chamber. If they chamber fine, you are golden.
 
OK. Seing as I don't want to touch the shoulder I may as well turn it out a full turn and size the body of the case a little less also.

When I'm in need of a bump on the shoulder I will try and turn the die in incriments until they chamber without resistance.(as per Cleftwynd)

Thanks
 
Mauser98 said:
It's called partial re-sizing. I use the method on all my cases. A quarter turn may be a bit slim. I use the thickness of a dime to set the gap between the RCBS shell holder and die.

After 4-6 loads/case, Chambering can get a bit tight so I FL resize the batch of brass then go back to partial resizing.
Click to expand...

What caliber's are you loading and what kind of case life are you getting. I've only been reloading a little over a year and the only brass I've had to toss out is because of a neck seperation (after two reloads).

Why do you use this method over neck sizing?

Thanks. George
 
Best method, as has been stated, is to just barely kiss the shoulder, every time.
It will take a bit of time to figure where to set your die, but once you get it, you lock the die so it won't move and you will never have to set the die again.
This will give you good case life, but bare in mind that every time you size the neck, you are contracting, then expanding the neck, thus working the brass and this is what wears it out. The usual way for brass cases to wear out is by getting a length wise crack(s) in the neck. To greatly increase case life, the neck and shoulder area should be annealed, something like every five loadings.
 
you might get 4 firings before you have to full length size (bolt will be tight with a neck sized brass-no bullet)

then full length size/ trim brass and then you might get a couple more firing before primer pockets enlarge or you get split necks

how many you get depends on so many factors ---> pick a number between 1-30 ---- but when the necks start to split ?????
 
I think the proper way is to find out where your die is gonna be set then raise the shell holder and determine how many thou is between the die and your shell holder then you can buy a shell holder with that amout built in so the shell holder and die make contact keeping the cartreges square while siseing !
 
remember, when FL sizing, the shoulder moves forward as the body is squeezed down, and only near the end of the stroke does the shoulder get moved back.

I think H4831's advice is sound, for long case life, and ease of die changes.
 
The problem for many of us is that we might be loading for several rifles in the same caliber. I don't have a single die with the locked ring secured.
 
Grizzlypeg said:
What kind of life can you expect from a typical bottleneck rifle cartridge in a properly chambered bolt action rifle?
Click to expand...

It is hard for me to tell you exactly, because I don't keep that close a track of the loadings. But an educated guess would put some of my old 30-06 Norma and CIL cases around the 30 mark of reloads. And some of these old cases are still around and still look good.
I seldom lose a case because of primer pockets loosening. However, I do load them up to what they are designed for. If the velocity, found with a chronograph, is not over what the rifle and case was designed for, and this velocity was reached with a powder charge that filled, or very nearly filled, the case, then primer pockets shouldn't enlarge, beyond what is normal.
I probably get at least 20, maybe up to near thirty loadings, with a 243, also.
 
I have heard it said that if you are loading at a maximum for your gun, where you are losing cases after only a few loads, dropping even 1% of powder will make your cases last 4 times or more longer. (assuming proper sizing)

I too never load to max, as I can't afford to be buying consumables, when they don't have to be!
 
g-manz35 said:
What caliber's are you loading and what kind of case life are you getting. I've only been reloading a little over a year and the only brass I've had to toss out is because of a neck seperation (after two reloads).

Why do you use this method over neck sizing?

Thanks. George
Click to expand...

Most of my loading now is for the 270 Win, the 9.3x62 and the .375 Ruger. While I don't keep detailed records, I can safely say that so far, I'm up to 8-10 loads/case with the .375R with no case loss. Similar results with the 9.3.

Mind you, I don't load stupid hot. No flat primers or stiff bolts. One of the biggest enemies of case life is hot loads.

I don't neck resize because I don't see the point of owning the dies. My FL dies serve my purposes.
 
Thanks for all the comments, but just one thing I want to clear up in my head. If I turn my die out one full turn and don't bump the shoulder back at all I'm I then going to pushing the shoulder forward when I am sizing the body? I will therefore end up with a case that has less headspace (possibly hard to chamber) than it did before I sized it.

I did google search this and find a couple good articles, but nothing that answers my question above. Not clearly anyway.

Sometimes the best way to learn is to experiment with it yourself. I will get buddy over here with his rifle and brass and we will try a few different things.

Thanks for all the help.

George
 
g-manz35 said:
Thanks for all the comments, but just one thing I want to clear up in my head. If I turn my die out one full turn and don't bump the shoulder back at all I'm I then going to pushing the shoulder forward when I am sizing the body? I will therefore end up with a case that has less headspace (possibly hard to chamber) than it did before I sized it.

I did google search this and find a couple good articles, but nothing that answers my question above. Not clearly anyway.

Sometimes the best way to learn is to experiment with it yourself. I will get buddy over here with his rifle and brass and we will try a few different things.

Thanks for all the help.

George
Click to expand...

Each rifle chamber and reloading die will be slightly different, I have washers that I place under the lock ring called headspace control shims. I also have Redding custom shell holders that are progressively larger in height in .002 increments with the tallest being .010 taller than a standard shell holder. My bottom line here is on most cartridge cases the shoulder will not move forward until the last .002 to .004 of ram upward movement. (I was going to say just use a 5 cent piece or nickle as a spacer BUT I'm American and not sure how thick your coins are)

To adjust your die height just get a set of feeler gauges and set the resizing die .125 above the shell holder and partially full length resize your cases. The .125 thousandths thickness is what is recommended by many die manufactures but for years I used a .080 washer I got from a hardware store.

Partial Sizing of Bottlenecked Rifle Brass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUyXZdQ00s0
 
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