When do you neck turn?

Boomer454

Boomer454

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I'm ordering my first neck turning tool this week. I've never done this before and have some questions.

First off, at what point in the process is it best to turn the necks? Before or after sizing?

Should they be fireformed in my gun before turning?

Also, I've always trimmed after sizing, but should I trim before or after trimming?

I'm using a Lee collet neck sizer on brass I've fired.

What routine works best for you?
 
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It depends on a few things...

For myself personally I start with FL sizing, trim to length, chamfer off the burr and clean inside the neck well with a bore brush on a power drill, then lube inside the case neck well with imperial wax and start turning...

K&M has a special die for use with there neck turning tools

Pay attention to how far down the neck you cut to avoid the dreaded "doughnut" formed by not cutting far enough.
 
I would get a simple neck thickness gauge like I use below to see if neck turning would be worth your trouble. Below is Remington .223 brass used with their cheaper blasting ammo and this was the average variation in neck thickness. (.004)

IMG_2136_zps079ece9b.jpg


IMG_2137_zps66bcfc13.jpg


Some of these cases had as much as .009 variation in neck thickness and are not worth neck turning and I just load them as is for my AR15 carbine.

Below you can not make bad brass better by neck turning and a case like this will always be off center with the bore because the entire case is thicker on one side. Meaning forget neck sizing or neck turning and just use these cases for blasting ammo.

neckcenter_zps94286f86.jpg


Bottom line, I use the Redding neck thickness gauge above to inspect and sort my cases before neck turning. And if you buy good quality brass like Lapua and other brands you may not need to turn your necks at all. And with a standard off the shelf factory rifle you may not even see an improvement in accuracy after neck turning, especially when full length resizing for a standard chamber. "AND" when you neck turn your cases you will get donuts as the thicker part of the case flows upward into the neck from sizing and firing. And this is where buying good quality brass comes in that does not require neck turning and getting donuts.

I would neck turn after the first firing to position the shoulder neck junction and trim all the cases to the same length. The length of the case (trimming) governs how far down the neck the case is turned. Also you only need to turn and clean up the necks 75% to 80% and not make the necks too thin.

I neck turn 50% of my cases hoping for improvement but I drink too muck coffee and at 64 years of age with chronologically gifted eyesight I wonder if it actually helps my group sizes.
 
Unless you are turning to fit a tight-neck throated chamber, only remove just enough material to true up the neck.

If you cut too much off the necks, and you subsequently size them, they neck will not hold a bullet securely.

As bigedp51 said, if the case neck thickness varies too much, it is a waste of time to turn them.

I never neck turn until I have fired the case once in the rifle I intend to use it. Then size, measure and turn necks, if practical.

I do not turn necks for my hunting ammo, but discard any cases with too much neck thickness variation.

Regards, Dave.
 
You really only turn the necks of cases you've necked down to a smaller calibre. A .243 made from a .308 for example. Isn't necessary otherwise. Resizing doesn't change the thickness of the neck.
 
Not meaning to derail, but what is acceptable neck variation? I don't have a ball mike so I measure with my dial caliper, I am getting .0015 difference from the thinnest to the thickest. Using what is admittedly a crude technique, is this OK?
 
silver 55 said:
Not meaning to derail, but what is acceptable neck variation? I don't have a ball mike so I measure with my dial caliper, I am getting .0015 difference from the thinnest to the thickest. Using what is admittedly a crude technique, is this OK?
Click to expand...

In my posting above I give the case a quick 360 degree turn in my neck thickness gauge "FIRST". This tells me a great deal about the case and what I will do to it during this neck sorting. Your .0015 difference is great, BUT with a off the shelf factory rifle neck turning may not show any difference in group size.

Much of what benchrest shooters do filters down to us, BUT 99% of us do not have custom rifles with snug tight neck chambers and with factory rifles all this case prep can be over kill and not needed.

Many of the FTR shooters at AccurateShooter.com just buy Lapua brass and do nothing but posibly weight sort these cases.

So again if you buy good quality brass like Lapua and are not a benchrest shooter trying to shoot bughole groups then nothing needs done to the brass. On the flip side of this if you buy Winchester brass to save money then more sorting and case prep needs to be done.

So do yourself a big favor and buy a cheaper neck gauge like I have above and forget ball mikes or using your vernier calipers. One twist of the case with this gauge will tell you a great deal about the brass you are reloading. This same neck gauge and a runout gauge helps when setting up your resizing dies for the least amount of neck runout. It doesn't do you any good to neck turn brass when the necks have excessive runout.

Redding Case Neck Gage w/ Indicator
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/measuring-tools/case-gauges-headspace-tools/redding-case-neck-gage-w-indicator-prod39927.aspx

SINCLAIR CASE NECK SORTING TOOL
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/measuring-tools/case-gauges-headspace-tools/sinclair-case-neck-sorting-tool-prod36959.aspx
 
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bigedp51 said:
In my posting above I give the case a quick 360 degree turn in my neck thickness gauge "FIRST". This tells me a great deal about the case and what I will do to it during this neck sorting. Your .0015 difference is great, BUT with a off the shelf factory rifle neck turning may not show any difference in group size.

Much of what benchrest shooters do filters down to us, BUT 99% of us do not have custom rifles with snug tight neck chambers and with factory rifles all this case prep can be over kill and not needed.

Many of the FTR shooters at AccurateShooter.com just buy Lapua brass and do nothing but posibly weight sort these cases.

So again if you buy good quality brass like Lapua and are not a benchrest shooter trying to shoot bughole groups then nothing needs done to the brass. On the flip side of this if you buy Winchester brass to save money then more sorting and case prep needs to be done.

So do yourself a big favor and buy a cheaper neck gauge like I have above and forget ball mikes or using your vernier calipers. One twist of the case with this gauge will tell you a great deal about the brass you are reloading. This same neck gauge and a runout gauge helps when setting up your resizing dies for the least amount of neck runout. It doesn't do you any good to neck turn brass when the necks have excessive runout.

Redding Case Neck Gage w/ Indicator
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/measuring-tools/case-gauges-headspace-tools/redding-case-neck-gage-w-indicator-prod39927.aspx

SINCLAIR CASE NECK SORTING TOOL
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/measuring-tools/case-gauges-headspace-tools/sinclair-case-neck-sorting-tool-prod36959.aspx
Click to expand...

Excellent, thanks Ed. Bought an rcbs turning tool but have yet to grab a thickness gauge.
 
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