Who resizes new Brass?
- Thread starter Varmit
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bclinehand
CGN frequent flyer
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- Clearwater B.C.
Yes. I neck sized a batch of brand new Lapua .308 and had a bunch that were tight closing the bolt on. I now FL size brand new brass. I haven't had it happen but some guys have loaded up new brass only to get to the range and find it doesn't chamber because it wasn't sized correctly at the factory. Its rare but it happens, and pulling 100 rds, dumping 100 hand weighed charges, decapping 100 match primers and redoing it all over again after driving to the range just to turn around and come home? I'd rather FL size first and come home with 100 pcs once fired brass.
why not just pull the decap rod off of the size die, lube the loaded rounds and run them through.......no bullet pulling.....no re-weighing charges....and not too much wasted time......imho ymmv
This, I resize all of my new brass to get any little dents out of the necks and leave them nice and uniform.
You can't resize loaded rounds in a full length die because the die would need to size the neck down smaller than the diameter of the neck with a bullet seated. What you can do, if you are feeling gutsy is to run them through a body die. I'm not recommending that, but there's enough guys doing it.
The expander mandrel is loose and can float in the Sinclair unit, also the expander mandrel expands the neck while pushing down on the case and not while being pulled through the neck. Many precision shooters will full length resize the case "without" the expander button in place and then expand the necks in a second operation with a expander mandrel.
NOTE: If the expander button/decapping stem is locked down off center in a standard resizing die you will "pull" the necks off center and create excessive neck runout. Also if there are dents or dings in the extractor groove of the case these dings/dent will cause the case to be tilted in the shell holder and induce excessive runout as they are "pulled" through the case neck.
Bottom line the "floating" Sinclair expander mandrel produces LESS neck runout just as the "floating" mandrel in the Lee collet die produces less neck runout. And both operations are done while the case is resting on its base and 90 degrees to the axis of the bore.
Hey bigedp51. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question! I have ordered one!
Try it, and let us know how that worked for you. If you can't figure out why it didn't work; we will explain it to you.
Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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Just loaded some brand spanking new 7.62x39 Lapua brass yesterday. Neck tension was all over the map straight out of the box.
Mudduck
The original purpose of expander mandrel die is to enlarge case necks to fit the turning mandrel for turning the case necks. What is important to remember is each type/brand of brass will be a different thickness and quality. As an example much of the cheaper .223/5.56 blasting ammo is made with brass with case necks that vary greatly in neck thickness. This type ammo and cartridge case is OK for shooting in a AR15 with their larger chambers but you bolt action rifles will like better quality brass to get better accuracy.
You will need a neck runout gauge and a neck thickness gauge to get the most out of your reloads and the least amount of neck runout.
Below is my RCBS case mastering gauge measuring neck runout, "BUT" in the left upper rear of the photo is a Hornady concentricity gauge and it is used to "bend" the cheap blasting ammo cases to reduce neck runout.
Below is the Redding neck thickness gauge and a great tool for checking and sorting brass.
I was given three five gallon buckets of once fired .223/5.56 brass fired by our local police, I was amazed at the poor quality of the Remington brass, meaning wide variations in case wall and neck thickness.
Bottom line if you want quality brass then buy Lapua or Nosler custom brass and it will save you a great deal of work and time sorting through lower quality brass.
Preparing Cases for Long-Range Accuracy
http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/reloading/complete-precision-case-prep/
bclinehand
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Clearwater B.C.
I guess it is going to depend on the size die you have.......and if you can't figure out why that is I'll explain it to you.......http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=950454
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Any die that sizes the neck during the sizing operation CANNOT be used with a loaded round.............However I have bumped my shoulder back a touch when I screwed up some 300 WM using a shortened 8mm RM sizer die and it worked. ( I shortened the die prior for another reason).
Have you figured out the difference between a FL die and a body die yet?
Obviously he hasn't. Below is what he posted previously:
A body die doesn't have a decapping rod.
RCBS used to, don't know if they still do or not, make a trimming die where you put it in your press, push the case full in the die, then file off any part of the neck that protrudes, to end up at the proper length for that calibre.
I have one in 243 and have used it many times to ease back the shoulder of a loaded round that would not go in the rifle chamber.
The die was designed to hold the enlarged necks of fired cases, so they won't vibrate while filing the surplus off. Thus, the neck of the loaded cartridge is a good fit in the die, but will go in without forcing. I first tried the loaded rounds from the top. That is, push them bullet first reverse in the die. They would go in and out of the die just finger snug.
Any cartridge that goes in and out of that die will go in any standard size chamber. I often ran my loaded cartridges through the die, just to insure they all would later go into the chamber without difficulty.
I have one in 243 and have used it many times to ease back the shoulder of a loaded round that would not go in the rifle chamber.
The die was designed to hold the enlarged necks of fired cases, so they won't vibrate while filing the surplus off. Thus, the neck of the loaded cartridge is a good fit in the die, but will go in without forcing. I first tried the loaded rounds from the top. That is, push them bullet first reverse in the die. They would go in and out of the die just finger snug.
Any cartridge that goes in and out of that die will go in any standard size chamber. I often ran my loaded cartridges through the die, just to insure they all would later go into the chamber without difficulty.
