I plan on buying a Lee Collet Neck-Sizing Die.
I am only using fire-formed brass in my rifle so I am wondering if it is still necessary to bump the shoulder for headspace??

I understand that I must still check case length, but will headspace change?

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I am only using fire-formed brass in my rifle so I am wondering if it is still necessary to bump the shoulder for headspace??

My quick answer is it depends. Assuming your chamber is not out of round the brass will continue to grow and will become a crush fit even in the chamber it was fired. Your headspace stays the same the brass shoulder will simply keep moving forward and springback less and less. The number of firings before that happens depends on taper, shoulder angle, powder charge etc.

Most people prefer a hunting round to chamber freely. So maybe you use brass the first couple of loadings for hunting then as it gets tighter switch it to practice and/or bench work.

The neck sizing collet die is meant to neck size only cases that were fired in your rifle to be used in your rifle again. If you fire forming had enough pressure to fully form the case they should be okay. Just try one and see how easy it chambers.

Eventually after a number of neck sizings a case will become tight and need to be full length sized to bring it back to normal specs.

Don't over force those collet dies. If you need more bullet tension you can polish the collect spindle down some. It's all in the instructions.
If you cam it over hard it will pop the aluminum top cap out of the die stripping the threads on it. You can feel when the collet has squeezed down the case neck.

With just the Lee collet die you won't need to bump the shoulder for several loadings

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Don't over force those collet dies. If you need more bullet tension you can polish the collect spindle down some. It's all in the instructions.
If you cam it over hard it will pop the aluminum top cap out of the die stripping the threads on it. You can feel when the collet has squeezed down the case neck.

The Lee Collet Die instructions say to turn the die in one extra turn from the first setup, if you are using the collet die in a press that cams over. i.e. RCBS, Redding, Lyman. This is to prevent damage to the collet die.

Use the Lee Collet for neck sizing and the Redding Body Die if you need to push the shoulder back

http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...ie-30-06-springfield

Great combo

How many firings you can go with neck sizing-only depends, in large part, on how much pressure your loads are generating. The number will vary from one to infinity. The lower the pressure, the less growth in the length of the "datum point", or the length between the base of the cartridge and the shoulder.

I use Lee Collet dies for almost all of my bolt action rifles and rarely do cases need additional sizing, even with high intensity loads. But that certainly can vary with the individual rifle if there are anomalies in the chamber or bolt locking surfaces.

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Originally posted by Stonecreek:
How many firings you can go with neck sizing-only depends, in large part, on how much pressure your loads are generating. The number will vary from one to infinity. The lower the pressure, the less growth in the length of the "datum point", or the length between the base of the cartridge and the shoulder.

I use Lee Collet dies for almost all of my bolt action rifles and rarely do cases need additional sizing, even with high intensity loads. But that certainly can vary with the individual rifle if there are anomalies in the chamber or bolt locking surfaces.

+1.
I do have a couple rifles that I eventually have to run through a full-length die and squash the case body back down a tad but for the most of them not too often.

I would strongly recommend using a Hornady gauge like this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-UrMTyJ1_E. After 15 years of reloading I got one and my ammo is more consistant. You can also get the shorter bushes for the OAL measurement of the ammo - to the Ogive.

I typically need to FL resize after 1 or 2 neck sizings. I tend to run things at "hunting strength" - i.e. I like to be within 100 fps of book max velocities.