I have gotten into using brass that is fired in my chamber and then neck sized only with the Lee Collet neck size die. I am in the process of some load development with the 180 grain accubond in my .300 Winchester Magnum and I have a small amount (less than 50) once fired brass that I like to have on hand for my hunting loads. I also have about the same amount of brass that has two, three and four firings on them, but have been treated the same way...neck sized only after the initial fire form.

My question is this. For load development will the brass that has been fired more than once be significantly different from the once fired brass as far as accuracy, pressure, etc. are concerned. In my mind, I don't see that it should be, but there are a lot more experienced loaders on this forum than myself so there is probably something I am missing or not thinking about.

Accuracy is for hunting purposes (like to keep them m.o.a.).

Thanks for your input.

The biggest difference will be neck tension as the more times a piece of brass has been fired the harder the it will become. You probably won't notice any differece between 1x and 2x or even 3x fired cases but at 4x it's probably time to think about annealing the necks.

My experience would lead me to second DB Bill, but I generally don't anneal until about 5 or 6 loadings. Even then I don't notice any accuracy affects; I do it to prolong case life, but certainly it is factual that each working hardens the brass and thereby, technically at least, effects tension, hence accuracy.

For a hunting rifle where extreme accuracy is not required, it shouldn't make a bit of difference. The difference between once fired and several times fired, is next to nill. The other two posters are correct regarding annealing. If you can easily chamber and extract the brass with neck sizing only, then why overwork the brass by full length sizing? Sooner or later you'll have to F/L size them, but when you do, make sure you adjust the die to fit your cahmber, not what the directions tell you with the die.

After years of doing it both ways, I just full length resize everything these days, then I can shoot it in any rifle that shows up around here, I see no difference in practical hunting accuracy and I consider feeding and extraction primary especially on a DGR, and would not consider neck sized rounds for hunting..I have sure seen a lot of failures from that practice...but few will admit to such incidences...

Brass isn't particularly expensive these days and how long it last is not my concern within reason, when its old I toss it and buy another bulk sack of it..if I want to save money I will quit eating out or something...

I have no problem with anyone that wants to do all the things to make a gun shoot tiny groups or use brass umpteen million times, its just not my thang!

Ray.....if I were your age I wouldn't want to waste any time annealing either.