Noobie Questions

[kastles]

Hey everybody, i just sarted reloading for my savage 30-06 and have a couple of questions. do i have to resize the cases if using them in the same rifle? or can i just resize the neck? my thinking is that the case has expanded to chamber size so it would fit tighter than if i were to resize. Next. I see a bit of burn around the outside of the neck. should i let the case grow a bit or keep it at the maximum lenght of case? thanks

kastles

 

[CyaN1de]

"A bit of burn" around the neck is normal. You should not exceed the Max Case Length given for that case. You should however trim your brass to the "Trim To Length" given in various reloading manuals.

If you are shooting this in a hunting gun I would FL resize the brass, the last thing you need/want while out in the field is a case that won't chamber and/or get's stuck in the chamber.

If this is for paper punching only then I would neck size.

 

[Mystic Precision]

Another way is to use a Redding Body die and just bump the shoulder enough to chamber. In general, the bottom/web area of the case shouldn't grow. What happens is the shoulder moves forward and as the brass work hardens, doesn't shrink like it used to. The result is ever increasing stiffness in chambering.

By using the body die, you just move the shoulder enough for easy chambering but not so much that subsequent firings stretch the web area too much causing case separation.

I neck size using the Lee collet die, then bump the shoulder as needed. With normal 30-06 loads, you will likely have easy chambering for the first 3 to 4 firings. Then a bump and you are good for a couple more. By then, you might want to consider new brass.

After a few firings, I do not like to use a FL sizing die as the work hardened brass will likely split on the next firing - brass has lost its elasticity.

Jerry