I am just getting started reloading used brass, and I have hundreds of cases of once fired factory brass sitting in the original factory packaging. I have several questions, so here goes: 1. I read somewhere that once fired factory brass is fire formed to my chamber, so there is no need for full length resizing, is this true? 2. If this is true, shouldn't I just be able to resize the case neck? 3.Shouldn't I also just be able to trim the case to length if necessary? 4. My present set up is a RCBS rockchucker single stage press. I have a die that does full length resizing and depriming in one operation. Is it possible to procure tooling that only resizes the case neck, and a separate tool to deprime the case? Also, would you tumble the cases to clean them up before, or after the resizing and depriming?

It depends on your firearm. If it is a semi-auto you should full length re-size or even Small Base if it is a tight chamber.
In a bolt gun you may be able to shoot the reloaded brass a couple of times before you will need to fully re-size the brass. This depends on you loads. A Cast bullet load my never need to be full length re-sized. A full house load will after a number of firings as all brass "grows" when fired to a point.
Trim when necessary,I check all my brass every time before reloading.
Clean brass will save wear in your dies. Brass does not have to shine like a new penny as long as there is no dirt or grime on it.
There are "Collet" dies that only size the neck.Lee makes a Universal De-Capping Die that deprimes any Boxer primer.

It is a bolt gun, in this case, a 30/06. I am planning on doing 7mag and 7mm/08, also bolt guns using spitzer type, jacketed bullets.

1. Yes, as a general rule, if you shoot the reloaded brass in the SAME chamber, and given that load is not too hot, you can get away with neck sizing. However the bolt may be hard to close on some of the loads. If hunting is in order, I would just full length. Target shooting, neck size the first and maybe second reloading.
2. Yes, given the preconditions above are met.
3. Yes, again if the load is not too hot, you may not have to trim for several reloading. This is to some degree cartridge dependent. I.E., my .280 Ackley does not stretch brass like my rather warm loads for my .35 Whelen.
4. Yes, but that is not needed. Why do you want to do this step in two separate stages? You can get a neck sizer that decaps in one stage.

Good luck!!!! and be careful!

Do you have any reloading manual.
lyman has an excellent introductory in there manuals.
it explains a great deal about the process.
I always inspect my brass for any defects.
I full length resize all my hunting ammo and check for fit and function.
I also trim my brass after each firing the mouth of the case can get ragged with full max loads.
Dave

For decades I reloaded nothing but used brass a lot of range pick ups. Today I still pickup brass and use it.

You can use a "neck size only" die to deprime and size the necks but in 30/06Spgfld I have never seen the need for that. I would advise to tumble clean the brass and then FL size/ deprime, and then measure case length to see if they need to be trimmed. I never trim under SAAMI max case length, which is 2.494" for the 06, unless I need to shorten them to make them all uniform length. If you use Hornady One Shot case lube no other case cleaning is necessary before reloading them. The only rifle I had to neck size the cases was a custom barreled 264WM, as the chamber was so generous that FL sizing was over-working the brass drastically. This sometimes occurs with belted cases but not the norm, as the belted magnums headspace on the belt rather than the shoulder of the case. I have never seen any accuracy gain from neck sizing only but have only tried it in two calibers, one being the 30/06. Good luck.

I like to use a FL sizer die for all hunting loads but you only need to do a slight shoulder-bump rather than pushing it back farther than needed every time.

Target shooting: neck size
Hunting: FL size with a slight shoulder-bump for ease of chambering hunting rounds under pressure. Do this and your brass will still last as long as neck sizing.

Zeke

thanks for all the useful information. I'll probably stick to factory ammo for hunting, and use the reloads for practice. What I have turned out so far has functioned without issue, now I have to come up with a load that stays within 1.5 or so.

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I'll probably stick to factory ammo for hunting,

Reloading is habit forming I have hardly ever used factory ammo for hunting.

I'll be the odd man out here and say you will be fine with a Lee collett neck sizing die, or something similar. I see no need to FL resize every time if used in the same rifle. I've been doing just that in my Mcwhorter 7-08 for a couple of years now with excellent results. Brass lasts longer, doesn't stretch as much, and accuracy improved over FL resizing due to decreased runout by neck sizing only. Good luck.

Use the full length sizer and smoke the neck of the case after lubing. Start with your sizing die backed out too far and adjust it down a little bit at a time until the neck is completely sized and the die is just touching the shoulder.

After a couple of reloads you may need to turn it down just a touch more but remember at 14 threads per inch, one complete revolution of the die is about .071" and you want to adjust it just .001 - .002" at a time

Neck sizing brass should improve brass longevity but I don't think there is much if any accuracy advantage. Also, if you just neck size and then want to use the cartridges in another firearm, you may have problems. I full length size.

I did use Lee Collet Dies in the past. The advantage to them is that you can resize without messy lube. They in general worked OK until I used them for some 7mm/08 cartridges and wondered why accuracy wasn't as good as before. Accuracy went back to usual when I started full length sizing again.

I don't think cleaning brass before resizing (other than removing obvious clumps of dirt) makes dies wear out faster. I would rather clean after resizing to remove lube. Since I like shiny cases, I clean with stainless steel media which I'll admit contributes only to bling.

What is "Factory ammo"?

A lot of guys neck size only, so it does work. Ive never seen the need, and dislike the idea of getting a load that wont chamber at the wrong time.

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Originally posted by Gracedog:
1. I read somewhere that once fired factory brass is fire formed to my chamber, so there is no need for full length resizing, is this true?

No . . . it’s fire-formed for the chamber it was fired in. It may or may not fit your chamber.

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2. If this is true, shouldn't I just be able to resize the case neck?

If “this” were true, yes. But since it was fired in someone elses chamber, it may or may not fit in your own chamber without FL resizing. If it does fit I myself would simply neck size the brass . . . BUT . . . do you really want to run each piece through your action to see if you can get away with only a neck size, or would it be better to simply FL resize all of your cases to save time and energy?.

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3.Shouldn't I also just be able to trim the case to length if necessary?

If both of the above are true, yes.

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4. My present set up is a RCBS rockchucker single stage press. I have a die that does full length resizing and depriming in one operation. Is it possible to procure tooling that only resizes the case neck, and a separate tool to deprime the case?

Yes. But what would be the advantage of turning a 1-step process into a 2-step process?

The most accurate loads are those where the case was "sized" using dies such as the LE Wilson. Rather than squashing the neck to a smaller diameter than needed, then sizing it to the proper size by pulling a button through it as is done with standard dies, these dies have a bushing of a specific size that squashes the neck from the outside to the specific size on the inside. It is necessary to measure the thickness of your necks so that the inside diameter will be the correct size for the caliber. In these dies, removing the primer is a separate step. the results are increased consistency of case size and reduced wear on cases due to minimal sizing.

B L O'Connor, My once fired factory brass HAS all been fired in my rifle. Guess I should have mentioned that. Also, I am taking this reloading hobby as a way to relax a bit, seeing as I have a stressful job. I am in no rush to crank out 300-400 rounds in a short period of time.

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Originally posted by Gracedog:
B L O'Connor, My once fired factory brass HAS all been fired in my rifle. Guess I should have mentioned that. Also, I am taking this reloading hobby as a way to relax a bit, seeing as I have a stressful job. I am in no rush to crank out 300-400 rounds in a short period of time.

Got it on the once fired brass . . . I didn't understand that.

WRT neck sizing and depriming. Neck sizing dies generally have depriming pins in them. They work just the way a FL sizing die works except they only size the neck.

Thank you, sir. This is a great site for specific information. So many people with direct experience to draw on. All of your replies are much appreciated. Think I'll stick with my full length resizer/deprimer die.

Gracedog: I asked many of the same questions and more when I first started reloading. That was way back in 1971 and like you I started loading for the 30-06.

My advice to you to start is to read every published manual you can get your hands on. Lyman is a great place to start and is still my go-to manual when I need to look something up and even after being at this for over 40 years I still do on occasion.

I would recommend you start with the basics. Full length size, tumble or clean, trim, prime and reload.

I would also recommend you start with one of the known accuracy loads for the 06, and there are many. Powders such as 4895, 4064, 4350 and 4831 should give you very good accuracy with bullets in the 150 to 190 grain range. In a bolt gun, you should not need to crimp


This will get you comfortable and confident with what your doing. Then you can start experimenting to see what works for you.

You can partial full length resize with your existing dies by backing off the die so there is about a nickle space between the die and shellholder. Or you can start experimenting with seating depths, bullet styles, brands, etc., ad infinitum

It can be relaxing, definitely gratifying, but sometimes very frustrating... Like when you load up a batch, and you have a 4 shot one hole group going, and you last shot ends up being a flier 2" out. You will spend DAYS trying to figure out why!

Once you get comfortable with this, and it won't take long, you won't even think about using factory ammo ever again.. except if its really cheap, and you need more brass!

Good luck, have fun and be safe!

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Originally posted by Pa.Frank:
Gracedog: I asked many of the same questions and more when I first started reloading. That was way back in 1971 and like you I started loading for the 30-06.

My advice to you [...] Good luck, have fun and be safe!

Good post, good advice. Well said.

Only thing I can add to the good advise already posted is keep a reloading log. For each rifle you reload for.
I'm sure many of the reloaders nowadays use some sort of computer program but my logs are simple, loose-leaf binders. I keep my target down to page size so they can be added to the binder. On each target, I list the load components and also the weather and wind.

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Originally posted by wasbeeman:
Only thing I can add to the good advise already posted is keep a reloading log. For each rifle you reload for.
I'm sure many of the reloaders nowadays use some sort of computer program but my logs are simple, loose-leaf binders. I keep my target down to page size so they can be added to the binder. On each target, I list the load components and also the weather and wind.

More good advice. I do use a computer program (FileMaker Pro) to store and search for info. I also scan my targets and import the image to FMP for each load (the image is visible with all the data for the load that shot it.

BUT . . . I keep the original targets, with scribbled notes of load data, in a separate notebook. Just because . . .

I've been neck sizing for my 460 Weatherby. I've noticed after the third firing I'll neck size it and then feel some resistance when chambering it the fourth time. Not real bad but they are getting a bit tougher to shove them in. I have around 400 cases so I'm working through them. I'll be looking for a FL sizer next month at the gun show.

Also, the loads are about 150 fps slower than factory ammo, but I wouldn't call them reduced loads.

Same rifle...neck sizing AND SETTING THE SHOULDER BACK ABOUT 0.002"...unless you have a perfect chamber and a perfectly fitted bolt(not likely), AND, depending on the pressure, you will get brass flow in ALL directions, meaning the case will stretch slightly longitudinally and radially, and in time it will get hard to chamber.

Some rifles are worse at case stretching than others...a Rem 788 with the rear lugs caused me no end of grief when I first started playing this game(too long ago)...I HAD to FL after two shots from the same case, plus the fact I was using LEE "Hammer" hand dies...an old timer was good enough to "learn me up" on the whole shebang relating to producing VERY accurate ammo for normally not-so-accurate rifles....and showed me how to fit my newly acquired RCBS FL sizer die set fitted to the chamber so my brass doesn't get killed by the sizer die. I do the "tuning process" to all my rifle, and pistols to a certain extent, and some of the smaller, lower pressure bangers have individual brass pieces that have 40-50 reloads each...I know...most don't believe this.

Just take a look at all the pieces and parts in a bolt, especially a Savage bolt...you can see all the places where it will compress at firing...PLUS...the clearances between bolt nose and barrel and bolt face and case butt.

Joe, find a neck sizer that "bumps" the shoulder back and also sizes the base slightly...BOTH can cause hard closing, and factory Weatherby ammo is loaded to near brass killing pressures so you must have a NK sizer that almost fits your rifle chamber...you need about 0.0005" "squish" on the base diameter and 0.001-0.002" setback on the shoulder to feed easily.

For hunting toothy, I'm-gonna-eat-your-face-off things...I ONLY USE ONE TIME FIRED FL SIZED OR NEW BRASS...AND TRY EACH ROUND before GETTING IN THE "SH**"...anything else is just plain dumb as I think my hide is worth a lot more than a few bucks saved reloading several times fired brass.


Depending on the brand of the NK sizer and if it actually DOES set the shoulder back, you can accomplish the same thing by facing off your shell holder about 0.003" or have a machine shop to it(the cheap way) or grind off the same amount off your sizer(the expensive way), which id OK as long as you keep the shell holder and dies with the individual rifle. Remember there are tolerances in ALL machining processes, i.e., cutting chambers cutting dies, cutting reamers and EVERY die maker's dies and brass makers brass, rifle maker's rifles etc., have to fall within SAMMI specs witch have a tolerance range...NOTHING is perfect in this sport.

Just saying.

Luck

Understood. With a machining background in my long ago, checkered past, I learned about tolerances and a bit of metallurgy. It comes in handy when looking at blueprints on cartridge specifications. I am reloading for model 70's, and there are less compressible parts on the bolt than most other makes, also, having those two front locking lugs has to help limit compression. Additionally, unless I get back to Africa in the next few years, the most aggressive animal I am likely to encounter while taking my rifle(s) hunting is a rutting whitetail, and occasional feral hog. That being said, I am relatively safe unless I encounter an armed, undocumented immigrant on one of my Texas trips.

Do as Fjold stated in his post above..that gives you a hand fitted case to your specific rifle...I would add try as you go to be sure the case will close easily on in the chamber.

I belong to the "rat turd in the violin case club."