Neck sizing

[Wayne123]

I have a Ruger 1 that I have begun to neck size for with a Lee collet die.  I have noticed that some of the cases are difficult to chamber after neck sizing.

All of the cases have only been shot in this rifle.  I am on the third firing, of which only the last was neck sized.  Is it normal for some of the cases to fit tight after neck sizing?

[Dave in WV]

What cartridge are you reloading? Some cartridges need trimmed more often than others.

[LaOtto222]

Dave in WV is correct about trimming. Also look at how hot you are loading your cases. While the Ruger #1 is a strong action, it does not have as strong a camming action as a bolt rifle. Sooo...it will not crush a slightly over sized case down to fit the chamber. When firing a case; it expands and then shrinks back down. If it is a hot load, it may not shrink down as much as a mid type load and ends up bigger (longer) than a sized case. Most of your expansion (that cause your type of problem) is along the length of the case, not the diameter. Use your full length sizing dies to bump your shoulder back just enough to easily chamber your cases. You are still going to lengthen the life of your cases and the case will still fit the chamber well enough. The case will not to stretch too much between loading - just bump the shoulder back again in the next reloading session. Good Luck and Good Shooting

[Wayne123]

The gun is a .30-06 and I'm using 57 gr of h4350 pushing a 165 gr accubond.  They have all been trimmed after each sizing to the proper length.

[cwlongshot]

The gun is a .30-06 and I'm using 57 gr of h4350 pushing a 165 gr accubond.  They have all been trimmed after each sizing to the proper length.

 In a nut shell, YES, it is normal. Dave gave it to you straight.

IMHO, neck sizing is best served in a bolt action.

CW

[DannoBoone]

After screwing the die down to your shellholder, back it out a quarter turn
and see how a neck-sized case fits. I had a similar problem with an
Encore barrel. Turned out that the chamber was actually a bit too long
and the Lee collet die was pushing the shoulder enough to cause the
case diameter to expand where it meets the shoulder. (I ended up
having to back it out a couple more times, for a total of 3/4 turn.)

[Darrell Davis]

Well here I go again, the Ol'Coot jumping in with both feet.

Years ago with my first #1, - and by the way I love those rifles the looks, feel, and shooting, - I found that if I wanted any kind of brass life I did not follow the directions packed with my RCBS full length dies.

Now, this was NOT a #1 issue, as it could have just as quickly been with any number of other rifles or brands. It just happened that it was my experience of short brass life because of over sizing.

If I did follow the directions, brass life was the pits, a situation which would depend on the size of both the rifles chamber and the size of the dies.

However, for years now, I always set my "full length" dies so the die does not touch the shoulder of the fired and sized die, at least not at the time of first setting up the die.

After firing and resizing I feel a bit of resistance when chambering the loaded case, I know I need to "tweak" the die down a small amount the next time I size cases. This situation may come after one time fired or 3 or ? times fired.

The point is to turn the die down, "fine tuning" over time until you have matched your press and die to your rifles chamber.

In this way, you will have cases which relyably chamber plus while sizing them to the minimum amount needed, will in turn will give the maximum number of firings possible from each case.

In the situation with Wayne123, it sounds like he needs to change sizing dies, going to a "full length" type, and then working as I have outlined to find the minimum amount of sizing with that die which will allow for easy, but just barely, chambering.

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[Dave in WV]

 Some times the base of the case above the web swells some.  A small base die squeezes down the case more at the base so the ammo chambers easier in non-bolt action rifles. I have a modified .45ACP carbide resizing die I use for my ammo. I had the top of the die bored through so I can run 30-06 length cases through it. My .243 and 7-08 brass ran through my .45acp die ok without the mod..  You can use a .38/.357 carbide die for .223 brass. It will only resize the case just above the web. You don't have to lube the brass. This may sound far fetched but it can help.

Another thing, Chamber all of your ammo once before actually shooting it. I had a Remington 760 pump I had to run all of my reloads through one time before using it for hunting. It would chamber fine but once chambered the bolt didn't want to open without a litte bit of effort. Once run through it was fine. My son uses a small base die for that rifle now with no problem. I used a standard full length die. IMHO if you can chamber the ammo once and it corrects the problem the problem is a minor one a little tweeking will fix.