Just wondering if the neck die sets are worth the $$ when its for a normal hunting gun not a Target/Varmint gun.

cheers pc

NO -especially if reloads are on the hot side.

Where you need feed reliability, FL size.

No advantage and several disadvantages including that it won't feed as easily and may not feed at all in another rifle of identical calibre. So if you ever change guns...you will have ammunition that you could use in it...but that won't fit!

I have a custom barreled 264WinMag rifle that I neck size for because F/L sizing over works the brass something awful. I tried just partial neck sizing with the F/L sizer die but it still set the shoulder back too far. I don't think neck sizing is necessary for rifle cartridges that headspace on the shoulder, but for belted magnums which headspace on the belt this is sometimes very beneficial for proper fit.

I have found it advisable to full Length resize all hunting loads..The gain in accuracy is seldom applicable in a hunting situation and reliability is more consistant with FL resizing.

I only neck size varmint rounds and I do that less and less as I grow older...found out its not life threatening to miss a varmint!

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I have found it advisable to full Length resize all hunting loads..The gain in accuracy is seldom applicable in a hunting situation and reliability is more consistant with FL resizing.

I only neck size varmint rounds and I do that less and less as I grow older...found out its not life threatening to miss a varmint!

Right on Ray.......and if you're like me, you can count the number of rounds fired at big game annually on your fingers.....

Brass life don't mean much in that game!

Stop and think about it: Don't you guys sound a bit silly when you rely on FL sizing to assure proper chambering? There are plenty of other things that can go wrong, and simply "full length sizing" (which can vary tremendously with the dimensions of the die and how it is set in relation to the chamber) may not cure them all.

Regardless of the resizing method, I run EVERY single loaded cartridge through the chamber of a serious hunting rifle to assure that it feeds and no unexpected quirks exist. The method of resizing is therefore irrelavant once the loads are proven to chamber reliably.

I would much rather have neck-sized cases that have been proven to chamber than FL-sized cases which are ASSUMED to chamber. I would also much rather avoid the disabling (and hazardous) chance of a head separation which immodist FL-sizing can precipitate.

Whatever method of sizing you use (conventional FL, conventional paritial, collet, "S" die, etc.) you should seek to work the brass as little as possible and still produce positive feeding and chambering. With a front-locking bolt action and loads within sustainable pressures, neck sizing-only is not a problem.

All that said, many "neck sized" loads exhibit poorer accuracy than carefully "full length" sized loads, particularly if one is attempting to neck size with a conventional FL die that matches your chamber poorly.

The real issue is reliable feeding and chambering -- sizing method by itself is not a reliable indicator of how the rounds will perform in this regard.

I agree with Stonecreek. I use both neck-sized-only and Partial Full Length resized cases. For the first couple if not 3 or 4 firings of a case they can be neck sized without any chambering problems. When the cases have grown to a crush fit I Partial Full Length Resize for chambering ease and working the brass the least.

In any case I keep track of the case measurements and know they will chamber when needed.

I agree completely with Stonecreek and Luckyducker

Not feeding in another rifle of the same caliber is irrelevant

I keep ammo for each individual rifle strictly segregated
from all other ammo for other rifles of the same caliber.
Even to the extent of storing that ammo in boxes
of a different color, as well as labeling ammo boxes on the top and both ends with the caliber and which rifle it's for.
Don't you?

People always seem to mention feeding problems, but
the easy way around that is to cycle ALL ammunition that will be carried on a hunt through the action to assure it chambers.
NO OTHER METHOD OF ASSURING CHAMBERING IS RELIABLE

I've had factory ammo that wouldn't fit in some rifles, so full length sizing is no guarantee.

But as far as seeing others having problems the only time I've seen ammo refuse to fit in the rifle was when someone literally brought the wrong ammo.

They brought 270Win ammo and a 25-06 rifle, because they
thought having only one color of plastic ammo box was a good idea.... LOL.... No!

In the continuing quest for accuracy ammunition "fitted"
to an individual chamber via firing and neck sizing is one of the easier methods to ensure consistancy.

Besides I simply cannot get my favorite 30-06 bolt rifle load inside of a full length sized case, it BARELY fits in a neck-sized case, RL22 is bulky.


AD

I kinda agree but not to the chicken little extent that Stonecreek takes it. I seldom do a full "hard cam over" full length resize on my brass that I'm taking hunting but I do a kinda half-assed full length resize and I do cycle all of the ammo thru the rifle before leaving.
In all my years of hunting, I can only recall one head seperation. And that occurred at the range. Most of the ammo that I take hunting when I travel is made from once fired brass.
Any belted cartridges that I have owned was set up to head space on the shoulders.

A few years ago I started to “uniform†neck thickness… I really just evened out the Neck Thickness.
I did not see any real difference.
All the other things I did to prep my brass did yield a (at least a perceived) a smaller group.
While Neck Uniforming failed to make any difference in my group size… it was the last thing I tried so
1) I could just reach the limit of what my rifle would do
2) I reached the limit of what I could do
3) Neck Uniforming just did not make a difference.
Option 1 & 2 are almost a sure thing…