Crooked necks

[pmang]

I am getting frustrated with resizing. I have been trying to neck size with my full length sizer dies to minimize headspace and it seems that the necks come out slightly crooked on alot of the cases. I know it will cause some bullet run out. What am I doing wrong? It is happening on both my .243 and .270 cases. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[LaOtto222]

There are different factors that can cause neck run out. I am going to assume you squeeze down the necks and then pull the sizing button back through the neck. If that is what you are doing, make sure you are lubing the inside of the neck so when the sizing button comes through it applies even pressure all the way around the inside of the neck. Another factor maybe you necks are not even all the way around. In other words the wall thickness of the neck may not be even. When you have this condition, the thick side will not yield as easily as the thin side and pull your necks off center. You need to measure this and outside turn necks to even them out if that is the case. Make sure the stem on the sizing die is centered, I generally leave it a little loose so that when the sizing button comes through it is perfectly centered and will not pull the neck to one side or the other. Have you used a run out gauge to check how much run out you are getting? It is very difficult to eliminate all run out. If you are getting .006" or more run out, then the methods I described above should help. If you are trying to get consistently down to under .003" of run out, then you should get your self a precision sizing die that takes sizing collars. Buy a collar that squeezes down the neck without needing a sizing button. You will need to turn your necks down to a consistent thickness so not only are they same around the necks, all the necks are the same from one case to the next. Loading up ammo is easy - getting ammo to have zero or very little run out is not. Good Luck and Good Shooting 

[gypsyman]

LaOtto222 is right. Outside neck turning could help. Also, depending on your dies, get a carbide size button, as it goes in and out easier, less wear and tear on the neck. I know that Redding makes them, and they fit other makers of dies. gypsyman

[wncchester]

I fully agree with LaOtto about the causes of case neck run-out.  

Neck turning will help, some, usually, but it's limited in its effect.  Not only does varitations in neck thickness cause R.O. but it appears soft spots do too.  Anyway, I can turn necks fully uniform and still get a slight bend in the original direction!  Any kind of die with a typical expander button will do it but those with long clyindrical expander profiles (Lee) seem to work better, on average, than short balls.

Best "solution' I've found is Lee's collet neck dies.  Used properly, they always do a good job even on unturned necks.  But, they have a moving part, it's not just a simple "puxh the case in, pull it out" thing so there is a learning curve.  Anyone unwilling to teke the time and make the effort to learn to use them correctly would do well to stick to more conventional neck sizers.

Efforts to reduce neck R.O. by centering the expander rod (unless it's massively out of center) have done nothing at all for me.

Carbide expander balls certainly work more smoothly.  But, since the "bent" necks and R.O. seem to be mostly caused by tiny 'defects' in the necks themselves, I had no luck in obtaining better necks with the expensive carbide expandeer balls. 

Use of bushing sizers seem to work for some, not for others.  The one I tried worked less well than my Lee collets so I sold it, with  proper caution about too high expectations.  

[pmang]

I will start by lubricating the necks. What is the best way to do that or what do you recommend?

Thanks.

[Steve P]

Some good information in the posts above.   Just a couple of points to add:

 "Expander button" - name says it all.  If you have a dent in the case mouth from a semi-auto, good to expand.  If you are using a bolt action and firing single shot, why expand if there is no dent?  Case mouth opens up and you are trying to size it down.  Most of my expander buttons are .002-.003" inch undersize.  I don't want them stretching the necks.  The .001" clearance in diameter during extraction is enough to confirm your button is coming out stress free. 

Decapping pin, where is it sitting in your die?  If you pull the die out of your press and look at the decapping pin, is it centered?  The decapping stems usually have a fine thread (1/4 - 28?) but threads are still sloppy enough so that upon tightening your lock nut, the pin is pulled off center.  Confirm your decapping stems are centered in your dies.

I lube my cases with Dillon Spray Lube.  Dillon lube is alcohol and Lanolin.  Spray it on and the alcohol evaporates leaving a fine coating of the lanolin.  I also use imperial sizing die wax on my index finger.  I run my press with my right hand and handle the brass with my left.  As I pick up a lubricated brass, I run my index finger across the case mouth.  This leaves a small deposit inside the neck to lube the expanding button on the decapping stem.  After you get started, you only have to lube every 2nd or 3rd case neck in this manner.  Much easier than some of the mica's or graphites, no mess, and brass cleans up in the polisher in just a few minutes.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

Steve