Can of worms. Full or Neck size for the AR.

olegs69

olegs69

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Sorry to do this.
Wich is better, full lenght or neck sizing for the AR-15? Specifically for the Norinco M4 wanabee.

My reasoning for neck sizing only is that I would save on the cost of brass.
I'm not very worried about reliability or accuracy, keeping in mind the loose military chamber of the 'rinco.

Do I have to iron out the little "ding" the ejector/extractor makes on the brass when it ejects it?

Hungry says you don't need to full size for the M14, does this apply to the
M4?

Am I out to lunch? Will my gun/face blow up?

Yes I have read the ABCs of reloading and the Lyman 49th. Yet I am not so sure about the dogma that surrounds the argument. Some people on the internet say that neck sizing is ok (yet some also claim to be Mid-East Ninjas..).
Sigh.
 
I just started loading for my SL8 and was wondering the same thing. 'cept I didn't ask, I just dove right in. What's the worst that can happen?

My reasoning is that, as long as the cartridge was shot from your rifle, you can neck size only as the dimensions of the body should conform to your chamber.

Haven't fired'em yet but I did chamber'em and they went in just fine.

Those dings don't need no ironing.

Don't you love it when someone as clueless as you answers your question?
 
You might need to full length re size to ensure proper feeding / chambering. In some cases you might even need a "small base die" to re size the base of your brass so that they will properly chamber in your gun.
 
If you set up your FL dies properly, then FL sized brass will last a good long time.

If you want to NS your ammo, you might find that after a certain number of loadings they won't freely chamber. A semiauto has much less ability (compared to a bolt action) to squeeze in a tight round, so an overly-snug round could fail to fully chamber, or it might even get stuck in a partly-chambered state. If you do decide to try NS'ing your ammo, you can keep ahead of this by trying to chamber a number of your pieces of fired brass - if they go in without problems, then go ahead and neck-size them. If they are difficult to chamber, then FL size them.
 
In a semi you may even need to get small based dies though not always is this the case..............Harold
 
You can get away with neck sizing your bolt actions but you need to full size any semi auto (according to every precision reloading book I have ever read). I would rather spend money on new brass then constantly clear stoppages from incorrectly sized rounds. Just my $.02
 
Generally, you should FL resize brass for semiautos that have in-spec headspace.

My understanding is that Hungry recommends neck sizing for M14s that have excessive headspace (.010" or more over minimum) in order to keep from work hardening the brass, given the amount the shoulder would have to be pushed back otherwise.
 
Many service rifles have (intentionally) long headspace. For example, my AR-15 is .006" longer than minimum .223. And for 7.62NATO-chambered M14s, they are typically .007"-.010" longer than .308Win min headspace.

You can FL size such brass, but avoid overworking the brass, by using a case headspace gauge (RCBS makes one, so does Mo's). For example, when FL sizing brass for my AR-15, I set up my FL sizing die so that the brass reads about +5 (fired brass reads +6), with no brass exceeding +6. If I were to screw in the FL die until it touches, it would size the brass to about -4. In this way, I can use FL sized brass in my AR15 that chambers without any resistance, and yet I avoid about 9 thou of case stretching with each firing.
 
Perhaps the question is best answered by you. If you neck size and the rifle doesn't fully chamber the round, nothing will happen, it just won't fire. To the best of my knowledge an AR will not fire out of battery. But why not make up a few neck sized dummy rounds, then if they don't cycle properly, pull the bullets, and full length resize or partially full length resize and try again. If they work full length resized, all is good, if not you may have to get small based dies, although there would be other things I would try first, like thinning the height of the shell holder. If full-length sizing works, beware of gremlins that may sneak into your loading room. These guys have been known to slightly loosen the lock-ring of a full-length sizing die allowing it to back out slightly and now your rounds don't cycle. Avoid the loading room gremlins and tighten your lock ring with a lock ring wrench or a good fitting box end wrench .
 
Boomer said:
Perhaps the question is best answered by you. If you neck size and the rifle doesn't fully chamber the round, nothing will happen, it just won't fire. To the best of my knowledge an AR will not fire out of battery. But why not make up a few neck sized dummy rounds, then if they don't cycle properly, pull the bullets, and full length resize or partially full length resize and try again. If they work full length resized, all is good, if not you may have to get small based dies, although there would be other things I would try first, like thinning the height of the shell holder. If full-length sizing works, beware of gremlins that may sneak into your loading room. These guys have been known to slightly loosen the lock-ring of a full-length sizing die allowing it to back out slightly and now your rounds don't cycle. Avoid the loading room gremlins and tighten your lock ring with a lock ring wrench or a good fitting box end wrench .
Click to expand...

+1 with Boomer.
When I first started reloading .223 for my Remington R-15. I've done some researches on the internet a lot. So I tried with some neck sized dummy rounds and found out they didn't cycle smoothly. Now I know my R-15 chamber is a bit tied so I have to go with full-length sizing only. My rifle functions very well and I've never experienced any FTF nor FTE.
 
"...Wich(SIC) is better..." You don't get a choice. Semi-autos require FL resizing every time. Neck sizing is for bolt actions only.
 
sunray said:
"...Wich(SIC) is better..." You don't get a choice. Semi-autos require FL resizing every time. Neck sizing is for bolt actions only.
Click to expand...


+1 neck sizing for a semi IMO is a bad idea. May get away with it, but potentially more problems than it's worth...
 
Sizing?

Had a couple AR's one needed sb sizing and the other full to function reliably. Now have an Sl-8 and only need to full. The neck size route should provide better accuracy but you will eventually get brass that is tooo tight to function in the semi.

The previous statement to try a few is right on. If you are varmint hunting and need sub inch then you get the drift.

Have a good one boys!
 
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