Do you guys do full length resizing or just resize the necks when reloading? I have read through a couple of manuals and they both touch the subject but don't really say yay or nay either way. I have the means to do both. I'm shooting a bolt action rifle andthe cases have only been fired in my rifle and will only be fired in my rifle. Just wanted to see what you guys do and why? Thanks...

I'm a full length sizer but I have 3 30-06s , 4 12ga's , 2 308s , 2 357s , none of them seem to cooperate if I don't . My 8 mm mauser only gets the neck sized though . The 8mm is 1 of 1 and a mil chamber of war diress . The idea in neck sizing is that you don't work the whole case and with annealing you can extend the case life . If you have an "odd" chamber (i emaximum size) each time the case is fired it has to fill up the chamber too . In the "odd" chamber neck sizing can improve your groups . Full length is a nessecity if you shoot an auto or more than one gun or chamber in the same cartrige . In the end try it both ways if accuracy improves from necking you win and your cases may shoot 3 more cycles . If you have trouble chambering your rounds go to full length .

Since you state that the casings will only be fired in your rifle alone, I recommend that you set your resize die to size the neck and only very lightly touch the shoulder of the casing. The method I use is to back your resize die way off, use a candle or other flame source and coat the neck and shoulder of the casing with soot from the flame. When cool, run the casing into the resize die and by lowering it until it just barely takes the soot off the shoulder, you have set that die for that chamber of that gun. Naturally, this must be done with a casing previously fired in that particular gun.

I do something similar to the above quote for the M1 garand. I use a stoneypoint cartridge headspace guage to make sure that I'm setting the shoulder back minimally, but it still needs to be set back.

For enfields which have sloppy chamber tolerances, I use a neck sizing die but only so that I can get more than 2 or 3 firings per piece of brass.

Everything else gets full length sized.

ineck size only and mark the boxes 700 Remington and Encore respectively.

I test all once-fired cases in the chamber of the rifle they will be used in next before I do anything to them. This test tells me how much resizing, if any, is going to be required for each one. IF they all chamber and let me close the bolt with relative ease, I just resize the necks enough to hold the new bullet (one bullet diameter down the neck). Some, on the other hand, will need an FL resizing. Mostly, this applies to cases fired in a different rifle, but sometimes an older case needs to be shaped up some as well.

The LESS you work your brass, the longer it will last!

for me it all depends on the gun. my bolt guns work good with just neck sizing but the encores insist on FL as well my auto loaders

I neck size my 375hnh because it seems to shoot better that way. I just use a feeler guage and back the sizing die off .060" Everything else I shoot I FL size.

PaWildman said it right. Why would you want to resize the whole case the extra effort will shorten the case life and make it "unfire"-formed to your chamber.

For auto loaders, some pump guns and for dangerous game hunting I'd say go full lenght otherwise it is not necessary and counter productive to accuracy. Just neck size & run the empties thru you gun .. if they chamber w/out binding your done.

dr

I neck size everything I can. Good luck.