What is YOUR neck preparation?

[Kelly Timoffee]

I have done a lot of reading and never do get the same or similar answers, so I am going to put this out to the GCN members who are meticulous reloaders.

What is your neck prep consist of? What doesn't work? What order do you do them? What stage of this process do you anneal?Do you turn necks?

I am just trying to decide on a consistent process I can follow for myself, nothing doesn't seem to work, just curious if somethings work better.

 

[Mystic Precision]

Fire, Clean, Anneal.. properly, lube and body size, clean, deprime/neck size with collet neck die, outside neck turn, trim

Clean primer pocket, add primer, powder and bullet.

these are my steps but I may get lasy and anneal after 2 firings... but outside neck turn every firing.

Jerry

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

Alrighty , I figured I was going through steps that I didn't need to but seems like I am not, just a different order which I will/may change.Did a F/L sizing( this time on this chambering) and then turned/trim.Also, have been de-capping then cleaning very first.

Want to have all the brass ready for the new barrel when it arrives.Process will obviously change once fire formed brass is used.

I Only have a bushing neck sizer for some chamberings , should a fellow run them through that neck sizer again?

So what I did exactly for this round of brass was:

De-prime , clean , Lube ,F/L size, clean , turn , trim.As they were factory annealed and this will only be second firing I didn't anneal.

Fire, Clean, Anneal.. properly, lube and body size, clean, deprime/neck size with collet neck die, outside neck turn, trim

Clean primer pocket, add primer, powder and bullet.

these are my steps but I may get lasy and anneal after 2 firings... but outside neck turn every firing.

Jerry

 

[vviking]

6.5x55.
Lapua brass.
No neck turn.
1/2 moa to 300yd, or under that, are my accuracy expectations from LR rifle/handloads, this, under calm air ideal shooting conditions.

Deprime.
Wash in vinegar/dish soap, rinse thoroughly, dry thoroughly.
Collet neck size to 2 thou. neck tension.
Run through body die if becoming too snug on chambering.
Check case length and trim neck as required.
Deburr inside neck with shallow angle reamer followed by a polish with 0000 steel wool.
Load.

Annealing is every third firing, for my somewhat relaxed expectations compared to them serious comp. FTR type guys ^ ...

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

I will have to do something inside the necks as I did have some galling from the turning process.

6.5x55.
Lapua brass.
No neck turn.
1/2 moa to 300yd, or under that, are my accuracy expectations from LR rifle/handloads, this, under calm air ideal shooting conditions.

Deprime.
Wash in vinegar/dish soap, rinse thoroughly, dry thoroughly.
Collet neck size to 2 thou. neck tension.
Run through body die if becoming too snug on chambering.
Check case length and trim neck as required.
Deburr inside neck with shallow angle reamer followed by a polish with 0000 steel wool.
Load.

Annealing is every third firing, for my somewhat relaxed expectations compared to them serious comp. FTR type guys ^ ...

 

[ultimate_monkey]

Mines essentially the same as Jerry's , with a few small changes .

I don't neck turn EVERY fireing , all my chambers are cut at min neck clearance and Iv found that it's just excessive for me

And I anneal every 3rd fireing

 

[vviking]

Yeah KT,
Think it's worthwhile to leave the bullet shanks smooth and unscored by seating.
That, and runout's under 1.5 thou. TIR, have proved the ticket to making consistent hits at long range for me .. 'cept'n of course those times when the wind call proves my obvious lack of any real rifleman's skills ...

 

[22to45]

I size them, run a bronze brush on a drill in them, load them, crimp them with a lee crimper, and shoot groups very acceptable to a hunter.

 

[Kevan]

Chalk up another one for Jerry's method..

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

So how much brass will actually flow into the necks?I was under the mindset that turning once was the end of it and then it was about proper tension from sizing.

 

[ultimate_monkey]

its not so much that the whole neck needs to be turned, but right down on the shoulder to neck junction can get a ring on the out side. it will depend a lot on how your chamber is cut and hardness of brass,

 

[bigedp51]

Kelly Timoffee

If you have a stock factory rifle much of what you are doing is wasted time if your full length resizing, and I full length "ALL" my cases. Too much of what bench rest shooters do to their brass is filtering down to us with bone stock factory rifles, these bench rest shooter have custom rifles with custom chamber and possibly custom made dies. The FTR shooters buy Lapua brass and do very little to their brass and "FULL LENGTH RESIZE" their cases.

When you full length resize the base of the case is supported by the bolt face and the front of the cartridge has the bullet supported by the throat of the chamber. This means the body of the cartridge and the neck never touch the chamber walls and this reduces the cases influence on aligning the bullet with the bore. Meaning the effects of neck runout and alignment of the body of the case in the chamber, the brass case is never perfectly made with the exact same wall and neck thicknesses.

Below a full length resized cartridge case in a factory made rifle is supported by the bolt face and the bullet in the throat.

Below you can neck turn your cases till the cows come home and it still will not fix poorly made brass with unequal wall thicknesses.

You can also put a STP sticker on the side of your car and it will not make it go faster. You can also neck turn all your cases and it doesn't mean your rifle will shoot any better. If your trying to shoot bug hole groups then your going to have to pay more for a custom made rifle and extreme accuracy.

I'm not trying to talk you out of neck turning, "BUT" there is a reason why competitive shooters buy Lapua brass and not use American made Remchester brass and you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear. And you will not see people winning bench rest competitions with bone stock factory rifles.

If you want to neck turn your cases you need a neck thickness gauge like the one pictured below to be able to sort through your brass for "worthy" cases worth neck turning.

You then need a good runout gauge to check your sized and loaded cases for runout.

Without these two type gauges you will not know if your brass is even worthy of neck turning, also note that the U.S. military considers .003 or less runout match grade ammunition.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

That is the one tool I do not have yet, I do check the thickness with my caliper , I know it is not perfect but it does give an idea.I did turn about half of my cases based on my findings, don't want to take of too much thickness, and yes, using Lapua brass.

I would measure around the brass and if it varied a bit I would turn it, IF there was enough to turn IMO.

I do have a run out gauge and make use of that also.

I am doing all of this as a result of having a potentially bad barrel(which I am discarding) and was eliminating potential weak links in the loading process, now that I have a barrel coming(McGowen pre-fit) I want to optimize what I have, not going to be bench rest but still like to get what I can out of my equipment and it does give me practice if I ever decide to take that step and compete one day.

Just trying to get even and consistent neck tension as best I can.

Kelly Timoffee

If you have a stock factory rifle much of what you are doing is wasted time if your full length resizing, and I full length "ALL" my cases. Too much of what bench rest shooters do to their brass is filtering down to us with bone stock factory rifles, these bench rest shooter have custom rifles with custom chamber and possibly custom made dies. The FTR shooters buy Lapua brass and do very little to their brass and "FULL LENGTH RESIZE" their cases.

When you full length resize the base of the case is supported by the bolt face and the front of the cartridge has the bullet supported by the throat of the chamber. This means the body of the cartridge and the neck never touch the chamber walls and this reduces the cases influence on aligning the bullet with the bore. Meaning the effects of neck runout and alignment of the body of the case in the chamber, the brass case is never perfectly made with the exact same wall and neck thicknesses.

Below a full length resized cartridge case in a factory made rifle is supported by the bolt face and the bullet in the throat.

Below you can neck turn your cases till the cows come home and it still will not fix poorly made brass with unequal wall thicknesses.

You can also put a STP sticker on the side of your car and it will not make it go faster. You can also neck turn all your cases and it doesn't mean your rifle will shoot any better. If your trying to shoot bug hole groups then your going to have to pay more for a custom made rifle and extreme accuracy.

I'm not trying to talk you out of neck turning, "BUT" there is a reason why competitive shooters buy Lapua brass and not use American made Remchester brass and you can't make a silk purse from a sows ear. And you will not see people winning bench rest competitions with bone stock factory rifles.

If you want to neck turn your cases you need a neck thickness gauge like the one pictured below to be able to sort through your brass for "worthy" cases worth neck turning.

You then need a good runout gauge to check your sized and loaded cases for runout.

Without these two type gauges you will not know if your brass is even worthy of neck turning, also note that the U.S. military considers .003 or less runout match grade ammunition.

 

[brts28]

Tag

 

[Mystic Precision]

So how much brass will actually flow into the necks?I was under the mindset that turning once was the end of it and then it was about proper tension from sizing.

Since you are using a bushing neck die, how much does the neck thickness need to change in order to effect the sizing of the bushing?

Best thing I did a long time back, was to leave my neck turning gear set up and touch up my necks after the next firing. I was very surprised at how much brass did flow after just 1 firing. Of course it was not consistent so you can quickly go from perfect necks to wonky.

Test it for yourself.

For those that want consistent LR performance, proper brass FIT is very important. I do not recommend only 1 way to do anything but prescribe to doing what is necessary to suit your rifle and set up.

Dies vary, chambers vary. Tolerances on the extreme of allowable limits can yield some poor results despite the "proper" steps. It is a good idea to have measuring tools to chart how your tools and steps work out but I suggest you prep your cases to suit the barrel in question.

And sometimes, you need to try different dies of the same chambering to find what is best.

A case centers in the chamber off the rear 2/3 of the case body. That case taper is there for a very good reason. Fireformed cases, properly turned ARE centered with the boreline. Why many accuracy minded shooters separate the sizing of the neck and body/shoulder area. This allows much finer control over desired dimensions and eliminating runout cased by poor die design and parts.

But all will come very clear when you start working with fireformed brass. And never assume ANY brand of component is perfect. There are no shortage of bad lots of everything including brass.

Jerry

 

[krprice84]

Fire, Clean, Anneal.. properly, lube and body size, clean, deprime/neck size with collet neck die, outside neck turn, trim

Clean primer pocket, add primer, powder and bullet.

these are my steps but I may get lasy and anneal after 2 firings... but outside neck turn every firing.

Jerry

I'm impressed...you have done a lot without using primers in your loads!

Lol

Edit: to add something useful....

Do you think it's worth doing any thing like neck turning, flash hole deburring, etc, on a bone stock, or fairly stock, rifle? Will there be benefit, up to the limits of the rifle, or will full length for first, then neck/body sizing be sufficient, for a stock rifle?

 

[TedNugent]

What is that Redding device with the dial gauge called?
Anyone know where to source that?
Is it fairly accurate?
BigEd, I bought and returned the RCBS concentricity gauge, didn't feel it was simple enough for me to use consistently.
Is there a better version of that? Have seen the Sinclair tossed around a lot in these discussions.