I posted this as a reply to another posting then thought it deserved a thread of its own. After reloading for several decades, and after learning and knowing something for just as long but never having experienced it first hand, I can truly say I learned something I knew by first hand experience.

Here�s what happened to me the last few days with neck sizing.

I am working up a load for a new 270 WSM. The thing is being persnickety. I fired a 100 new casings with various powder and bullet combinations. I run new casings through a neck size die to take out the crooks and bends and uniform up neck tension. Thirty some years ago when I started reloading, I read an article condemning neck sizing for hunting rifles since neck size casings are a tight chamber fit and may stick in the chamber after firing, something that would be a problem in the field, but not in competition.

Two nights ago I needed to resize those hundred rounds to continue the Nirvana search for that perfect load. I still had my neck die set up, so I neck sized for the second firing something I have never done with once fired casings. (I have 2 loading tools, 1 for sizing 1 for seating.) The next day when I went to testing powder and bullet combinations, the bolt lifted hard on every round I fired. I mean really hard, even at minimum powder charge. I did some thinking, then dug out 3 new unfired casings, loaded them with the same load that was sticking and the hard lift problem went away. No problem with the new casings. Neck sizing can cause sticking problems in a hunting rifle. It does in my 270 WSM, even with a spit shinned chamber.

Two Notes: I clean down to bare metal after every 15 rounds, and it�s exactly five steps from my loading bench in my garage to my shooting bench out the back door of the garage. Instant gratification on any load combination I choose.

I neck size for 11 different calibers and haven't experienced this problem yet although I've heard of it. With some rifles it's occasionally necessary to full length size the cases again. What we used to do is run about every fifth cartridge or so through the action to make sure it's a good fit. It should be done carefully though so your reloads remain concentric. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I haven`t had any problem with hard chambering either when neck sizing, but I full size out of habit for hunting loads anyway, and run neck sized cases through the FL die just because I can, every 3-4 loads.
I`ve wondered a few times when seeing this discussed if case shape has any bearing with this. Maybe a case like the `06 with a more gentle taper to the neck and body is not as prone to sticking as a sharper shouldered, straighter bodied 308??

That's a strange phenomena you are experiencing. I too neck size only and FL size setting the shoulder back .001" at the fourth or fifth reload. At that point chambering isn't quite as easy but extraction is ALWAYS easier than chambering. Something other than the norm must be occurring in your case and I can't even begin to guess. I shoot a couple of "short fats", 338 WSM and 338 Jamison, and they don't react any differently than any other cartridges for which I reload.

Weird... I shoot a Ruger #1 in .25-06, which performs only at near max loads. I NEVER FL size those case, and a falling block has rather weak primary extraction - much less than a bolt action. I never had any extraction problems whatsoever. Those cases already have about 7 to 10 reloads each, and absolutely no problems yet.

Just an after thought. Could your expander ball be pulling the shoulder out a bit? A oversize ball or a die that`s tight in the neck might be the cause. Try a case sized without the expander and see if it chambers OK.

I'd always thought of the neck sizing and chambering problem as being one of the case getting tough to chamber and close the bolt on, rather than one of difficult extraction after firing.

Something is not striking me as being right here.
My problem is I can't quite put my finger on it. neck sizing, as has already been mentioned, can cause hard chambering, but in almost 50 yeras of handloading, I've never had neck sized brass be hard to extract. That usually comes with way too high pressures.
I'm wondering if the problem doesn't lie with the brass itself? Could this batch of brass be too soft? Too hard? No? If it was too soft, it would have been hard chambering, not in extraction.
Does the brass show any pressure signs? Maybe a shiny spot from the ejector slot?
It's a bit difficult to diagnose a problem without being on the spot to look.
I'm going to go with some kind of a pressure problem, possibly borderline S.E.E. Have you tried increasing the loads closer towards maximum?
I know of an example where the starting load of one of the 4350's caused a pressure excusion in a .243. The guy thought the load was too hot and decreased the load and got a full blown S.E.E. which, fortunately did not cause him any physical damage.
That's about all I can think of offhand.
Paul B.

The problem started with the second firing. It's Norma brass. It was virgin to start. I neck sized to get the kinks out before I fired it the first time. Had no problem with the first firing. No other pressure signs. No gas leak around the primer. No flat primers. No unreasonable case head expansion.

If this is a pressure problem, it should have showed up at minimum load the first time through. It showed up firing minumum loads the second firing.

I fired MagPro, Retumbo, AA3100, RL19, RL22, RL25, H4831, IMR4350 in the virgin brass. I used the same powder in the neck sized brass backing off to minimum charge. The bolt lifted hard with even the minimum load as it did with 100% of the neck sized loads I fired. Again, when I swicthed to virgin brass, no problem. Easy bolt lift and easy extraction.

I checked the scale. No problem there.

I didn't mention that the neck sized rounds chambered as easy as the virgin brass.

Roger K
Maybe I missed something but did you mention what happens when you full length resize those cases that caused the hard lifting bolt handle? Did the same condition persist or did it get cured? anoyhr roger

Guess I have to jump in here...

I only neck-size bottle-necked cases, and have been doing that since the early 1960's.

I have never had a neck-sized case cause any extraction problems AFTER it has been fired. I have had a couple (generally those near the end of their servicable life) decide to be a little difficult on chambering.

I do not think that your problem is caused by neck-sizing, but by improper loading technique. Your conclusion is not valid...

check case length.

In terms of FL vs neck sizing. It really depends. For my semi-auto HP match rifles I always FL resize. This reduces my case life to 4 firings in a .308 and I'm sure it costs me 1/4 MOA in terms of mechanical accuracy. None of that bothers me though. Reliable feeding trumps those two minor issues. Nothing will screw up your match more than saving a round or two because your rifle malfunctioned due to close tolerances. Such malfunctions squash any added confidence you get from the minimal accuracy advantage and mentally ruin any sense of rythum you have in your shooting game.
I FL my big game hunting ammo for EXACTLY the same reasons...YMMV.

I checked case length before the first firing and after and did random checks while sizing. the casings measured speck before and after the first firing and sizing. That initially excited me since it would cut back on trimming. It wasn't case lenght.

Is the bolt hard to open on the intial lifting or is it hard to open when the extraction cam starts to work?

How does the bolt feel when closing on a loaded neck sized round?

Tell us more about the rifle, groups and fired and unfired cartridge and case dimensions.

I full length sized for the third firing then repeated some of the loads I used with neck sizing only, loads that caused the bold to turn really hard. I got easy extraction with these loads and full length sizing. I took several of the loads 3 to 4 grains above where I left off, right up to the max listed in the manuals and got signs of pressure with just one powder and that was RL22 pushing Accubonds. Before I full length sized for the third firing I checked the casings for signs of pressure. Not one sign. No flat primers. No gass leaks around the primer. Case head expansion wasn't excessive. No case stretching. They compared favorably with a new casings. Stretch was limited to .002 average.

Conclusion: For this particular rifle firing this particular calibur, neck sizing only is not the way to go.