The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading Neck Tention and Expander MandrelsGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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I have loaded some .270Win 150gr Nosler BT with Norma Brass and had two blown primers from a load which is 2gr from maximum. I did not want to damage the bullets from another ten that was left and had used the RCBS Bullet Puller Hammer to pull the bullets. From the ten only 2 were pulled after about 10 hits with the hammer. The balance was extremely hard to bull and I had to put in maximum effort and about 20 hits on a wooden block to pull them. The Foster FL Sizer Die's expander ball is 0.276". Somehow the neck tension is too much and I want to know if a tool like the Wilson or K&M Expander Dies would be able to uniform the neck tension? Are these tools good to use or would it bedevil the run-out of the loaded round? Is it possible to use these tools only to uniform neck tension without neck turning? I do not want to go the route of neck turning since I am mostly reloading for hunting purposes. | ||
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I'm familiar only with the Sinclair mandrels. For the 6.5mm caliber they are available in .262 and .263 sizes. First deprime with a decapping die and then you can FL or neck size with no expander ball and expand using the mandrel. Mandrels are available in steel or carbide versions. You might seat the bullets a smidgen deeper in order to break any seal which may have formed between the bullet and case neck. Give me a home where the buffalo roam and I'll show you a house full of buffalo shit. | |||
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One of Us |
Your problem is using a wood block; that acts as a cushion. I hit them on my Rock Chucker frame; solid iron. Or yes, seating them a bit more can break any lock they have, but stop using the wood block. A .276 expander plug on a .277 bullet should not be a problem. | |||
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| One of Us |
You need only buy the mandrel and die to hold it. Nothing else. Give me a home where the buffalo roam and I'll show you a house full of buffalo shit. | |||
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And do not assume that neck tension is what caused your high pressure; there are many factors in that equation. A .001 fit is not likely to be a problem. | |||
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Thank you for your advise. Yes I think the neck tension is a side issue to the primer blow. Will back off another 1.5gr. The velocity is also 100 fps faster in this 28" barrel when compared to normal 24" barrels. However, I want to even out neck tension and will try to get the K&M Tool. | |||
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One of Us |
A hardwood block should be fine for your bullet pulling hammer, but to check if neck tension is the issue shove a cartridge in your press without a die in place and raise it up so the bullet protrudes through the top, Crimp and hold the bullet with side cutter pliers and pull down on the press handle. See how much effort is required to pull the bullet. If excessive effort is required, try annealing your case necks to soften the brass a bit, resize and then reload. I haven't used Norma brass for years but never had any issues with it when i was using it. Maybe the later Norma brass is springy in the neck area, allowing normal seating of bullets but then gripping like hell? | |||
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| one of us |
There are a lot of bullet pullers out there besides a damn plastic hammer...I have two sets, both have dies and screw in to the reloading press and you pull bullets like you seat bullets..The plastic hammer is for pulling a bullet now and then and don't use the spring gadget, put the case in a shell holder then into the hammer and hit a iron or heavy steel plate. I know off or heard of two incidents wherein a case exploded in the plastic hammer, nobody wa hurt it seems but bet it got their attention..and it was heresay, but I believe it to be true.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I want all the bullet hold I can get. I can not get the hang of neck tension, I have a tension gage but it is marked of in pounds. I go straight for 45 pounds of bullet hold. I put more bullet hold on some cases and had all kind of trouble pulling. I needed the cases, so I rendered the bullet scrap. F. Guffey | |||
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Will a bullet slip into a fired case? If not, your necks might be too thick. | |||
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Thanks for your question AnotherAZWriter! PROBLEM SOLVED!! Your question had me thinking and I have tested the fired cases. Some case necks were extremely tight when you insert a bullet in the fired case while others would go in with less resistance. Yes it seems that the barrel's throat is tight and that is why the brass does not stretch far enough. This is also the reason for the blown primer. I will now have to invest in a expander die and also some neck turning tools. Locally I can get the K&M or Sudami. Any advise on that perhaps? Thank you very much for all the advice. | |||
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"The throat is tight and that is why the brass does not stretch far enough" That is definitely NOT what the issue is; in fact, the throat has zero to do with the brass. And don't you already have an expander die in your die set? This is the problem with diagnosing illness on the internet. Headaches and brain tumors exhibit the same symptoms. I made that part up. | |||
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Make a chamber cast and measure the diameter of the neck portion. Next measure the neck diameter of a loaded round. Make sure that you have the proper neck clearance. Third, measure the diameter of your bullets to make sure that they are the right ones. Give me a home where the buffalo roam and I'll show you a house full of buffalo shit. | |||
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Just to show that I could do it I took a 6.5-06AI case and sized it in a .25-06 die with no expander. I then seated a .264 caliber bullet with no apparent damage to the case as seen from the picture. As I recall the bullet pulled out with little effort. OTOH I recently had a case neck collapse when expanding it with a .263 mandrel so I could neck turn it.  Give me a home where the buffalo roam and I'll show you a house full of buffalo shit. | |||
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| one of us |
I just had a custom rifle rebarreled to 28 Nosler with a tight neck. If I don't turn the cases I have really pull hard to get the expander ball into the case; likewise the downstroke is extremely hard. Mandrel dies would "fix" the expander ball issue but not really address the problem, but since they address other issues I am using them. | |||
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| One of Us |
Even with a tight neck there should be sufficient clearance so that a loaded [factory or handloaded] round should chamber with clearance unless you got a lot of brass with unusually thick neck walls. Mike a loaded round and compare that with the neck diameter stamped on the barrel. If you're using fired cases the expander ball should enter with little or no effort. Lubing your case necks with a smidgen of sizing wax will make using an expander ball or mandrel that much easier. I actually had case shoulders collapse when expanding 6.5-06AI necks with a mandrel. Give me a home where the buffalo roam and I'll show you a house full of buffalo shit. | |||
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you can buy an expander ball for your die for about $3.00 last I bought one..Brownells has them or did...but the factory sure has them. Its not that big a problem. if you want a tight neck chuck up the expander ball in your drill press and wack of a couple of thousands..if you need to loosen the neck buy a larger expander ball, they come in all sizes.. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Guns, Politics, Gunsmithing & Reloading Reloading Neck Tention and Expander Mandrels
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