I'll be re-loading the following calibers: .22-250, 6mm Remington, .270 Win., and 7mm Rem. Mag. I have the RCBS 2 die sets for each caliber. Are neck sizers really necessary?
I have bought a few neck sizers and they are ok. But sometimes they crook the necks and you get bullet runout. So I dont' buy the RCBS necksizer anymore but usually buy the collet die from Lee. Redding competition also makes some very nice neck sizers that support the brass to make sure your necks are not crooked but very expensive.
Only down side of the lee, is I have usually polish the collet to get correct neck tension and smoothness.
No, neck sizing is not totally necessary or even advisable for some hunting situations, butbecause now I don'twant to spend as much timedoing this (reloading)as I used to, that's usually all I do to my brass any more. The Lee collet neck die makesthis simple because there's no case lube involved and very little to adjust. You might need to polish the mandrel as bc said to get a little better neck tension, but that's a one time operation. Then again you can buy an undersized mandrel directly from Lee. Another couple of things I like about the collet die is that it generally makes very straight ammo, which helps with accuracy, and it works the brass a minimum amount, which makes it last longer.
Another nice thing about lee collet dies is that it speeds up reloading time. No cleaning of the cases or lubrication is needed. If you are shooting a rifle with generous chamber dimensions such as a SMLE, using a collet sizer greatly increases case life.
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You can neck size with the FL sizer dies if you want to .
That is a misleading statement.
You can NOT size the NECK completely without also sizeing the body of the case with a fl. size die. In fact, most times you will size quite a bit of the body if you size much of the neck at all!
What you CAN do with a fl. size die is,to set it toNOT push the shoulder "back" and only "partial size" the body of the case by ajusting the fl. die so it "doesn't" size the full length of the neck.
To only size the neck, your better off with a seperate die of your chooseing.
You can NOT size the NECK completely without also sizeing the body of the case with a fl. size die. In fact, most times you will size quite a bit of the body if you size much of the neck at all!
What you CAN do with a fl. size die is,to set it toNOT push the shoulder "back" and only "partial size" the body of the case by ajusting the fl. die so it "doesn't" size the full length of the neck.
Another problem too with using a FL sizer to neck size, is if the case is squeazed at all below the neck by the sizing die without being set to bump the shoulder back at least slightly, you could end up lengthening your case enough that it won't chamber, not to mention the possibility of moving the neck out of alignment with the case body.
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Obamanfreude - 1. taking pleasure from the misfortunes of an Obama supporter as he or she is adversely affected by the policies of their Dear Leader.
So, is neck sizing worth the expense of an extra die?
It was suggested to me last week (not here) that I could neck size with me FL dies and not have to trim every time. I was about to try that this weekend, but now I may not. I've always FL resizedand trimmed every time.
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Neck Sizers
