cjohnson3006

Is there much of an advantage of neck sizing versus full-length sizing? I have been reloading for a little over 4 years and full-length sizing everytime. I have heard neck sizing gives a little more accuracy. All my guns I load for are bolt action. What are the pros and cons of neck sizing only?

handloader1

Longer case life, and very very close in shape and size in reguards of chamber size and case to chamber fit. When one neck sizes the case, itcan only be fired in the chamber it was fireformed in. Good luck.

bronko22000

It is true that neck sizing does increase case life and in most cases improves accuracy. But I always FL resize. And when I plan to go on a hunt, I check every round to be sure I have no chambering issues. Also, because I have several rifles of the same chambering, I want to be sure the brass fits each rifle.

gunnermhr

I like neck sizing. It improves accuracy a lot. Does it really matter on a hunting rifle? Probably not but it's nice to shoot tiny groups and it also adds to you confidence. I don't resize the whole neck though, only about a 1/4" of it. That helps keep the case centered up in the chamber. Bronko has a very good point.By neck sizing only you will notice after a few firings the bolt will start to close tight, thats the last thing you want when you are a good hunt is to have a bolt close so tightly you have to darn near have to hit it with a hammer. The solution to that is by a bump die. It will only bump the shoulder back and not touch the neck. It might size the body a little bit but it will be very very little. After you run you're cases through the bump die then neck size them.That will fix the tight bolt when chambering around.

bigcountry

You can usually see a big difference when neck sizing at long range like 600 yards. Your velocities spreads will tighten up considerabley with neck sizing.

driftrider

I only neck size my cases until they start to chamber hard. Then I use a FL die, but I adjust it so that it only minimally resizes the case. I do this by turning the die down until it bumps the shell holder at full up stroke, then turn it back about 1/4 turn. This causes the die to just barely bump back the shoulder. I test the resized brass to see if it will chamber easily and then proceed to resize all the cases in the lot. I usually get about 4 or 5 firings out of my brass before this is necessary.

One note: If you're loading for a pump or semi-auto rifle, I's a good idea to FL resize the cases every time because these actions don't have the strong camming leverage that bolt actions have. Even a slightly snug fit can cause the rifle to fail to go into battery or extract.

Mike

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I neck size only on my 223,s and 308, all are Savage bolt actions. I also use only the Lee collet neck sizing die on themthis way I save the mess of using a lube. Accuracy is superb with these dies also.
I plan to add them to my other bolt action calibers soon.
My 270 and 30/06 are still being sized with RCBS dies but I have them backed off slightly so that they only get a partial sizing, this keeps them fitting a little tighter in the chamber without being difficult to close the bolt.

bigbulls

How do you guys neck size if there isn't a neck sizing die made for a particular cartridge?

I assume you use a FL die and adjust until it just barely touches the shoulder?

stubblejumper

I only neck size for target loads,and find that the difference in accuracy is very small in most of my rifles.

driftrider

While I haven't run into this problem because I only handload fairly popular cartridges, that's precisely what I'd do.

Mike