How often to full length size rifle brass?

[lakota]

I am shooting a .204 Ruger. I have about 300 rounds of brass and have been neck sizing only with a Redding neck sizer. All of my brass has been fired 3-4 times. They are always fired in the same bolt action  rifle. There are no signs of cracks anywhere on the necks.

I have a Redding body die to full length size with but I havent used it yet. I think that I need to start annealing the necks on some of my cases, but I can find no reccomendations anywhere about how frequently to full length size.

To further add to the confusion one source says to neck size another says neck sizing is over rated full length size only.

How often if ever do you full length size cases that are always fired in the same rifle?

[MrJames680]

I have the same question except for .243Win, and is annealing worth it?

[Graybeard]

If and ONLY IF you begin to have problems with them not wanting to chamber will full length sizing but required. Many say it is mandatory for TC Contenders but I've neck sized 7-30 waters cases for years in them with no need to FL size.

On the other hand I'm not sure how much if any it really helps in accuracy but it should at least help some in case life.

As to the follow on question on annealing if not case forming I don't do it at all.

[George Foster]

For my rifles I have found the best way to resize is to "Partial Full Length" resize so the case fits the chamber of your rifle.  I have found neck sizing only without neck turning can take away a little accuracy as the neck can get cocked.  I have had up to 20 loadings out of cases using the partial full length resizing method and I have never annealed any of my cases.

[Grumulkin]

If a cartridge is to be used in a single rifle or handgun, I generally only neck size even for Encores and Contenders.

As for annealing; I've never done it.  By the time a case needs to be annealed, it will probably be discarded for some reason other than it being brittle.

[wncchester]

I FL size only when one in a batch gets hard to chamber easily.

I anneal necks after 5-6 reloads.  My most used rifle brass -22-250, 243, 30-06 - is usually good for 12-20 full power reloads.   "Worth it" or not is your decision.  ??

[MrJames680]

What exactly is partial full length sizing as opposed to regular full length sizing.
I am a new reloader and some of this stuff is not clear to me.

[Ladobe]

There are a huge number of variables that dictate what does and does not need to be done when reloading for your firearms.   Each chamber will have it's own requirements.

All my reloaded ammo is dedicated to a particular chamber.   Makes it all much easier to keep track of and has the added benny of better precision from your reloads. 

I neck size or partial neck size only for all my firearms unless one dictates it needs the shoulder bumped (including the TC's).

Annealing is also dictated by the chamber (not counting the required annealing to first form some of the wildcats).

Overworking brass either with hot loads or when reloading it is just a waste of brass life IMO.   

[wncchester]

James, basically, typical FL sizing jams a case as far into a sizer as it can go.  That insures the loaded round will easily chamber in any other standard (SAMMI) chamber and the ammo can be swapped around.  Thing is, it's your ammo so that's almost always more sizing than any idividual chamber needs for ideal fit.  The cases get stretched more than they should with each firing/reloading.   All it really does for most chambers is create a "head space" problem where none should exist.  That's why many "experts" say to only load a case maybe five times and toss it to avoid possible head seperations.  So, it's a poor but safe sizing method for a few reloads but not many!

It's much better for good reloaders who don't swap ammo around to size just enough to allow the ammo to chamber with just a touch of bolt resistance.  If YOUR case headspace is almost max length for YOUR rifle, that's all it needs to be and YOUR cases will last much longer!  That's often called "partial full length" resizing, mostly for lack of a better term.   

I get 15-20 full power reloads from most of my rifle cases by sizing that way and they fail by safe neck splits rather than dangerous head seperations.  (I usually anneal after about each 5-6 reloads to help extend neck/shoulder life.)   

[Lloyd Smale]

Ive got to many guns to fart around with neck sizing. If i grab a gun i want to be able to grab a box of ammo of the shelf and know it will work. That means more to me then getting 5 more firings out of a piece of brass. Sorry to all the dedicated accuracy buffs but years ago i did a bunch of testing and found that neck sizing didnt do a darned thing for my accuracy. Only time i neck size anymore is for contenders so that my head spacing is proper and they go off every time. I even go a step futher. Any .223 or 308 ammo i load is loaded with a small based die. that way it not only fits my bolts but it fits the black guns too.

[SHOOTALL]

I only FL size if the round could be used in more than one gun . If new brass will chamber and hold the bullet i Don't FL size . Working the brass is what hardens it.

[skarke]

Hot loads in a break open should usually be resized after each firing (bottlenecks).  The frames on these rifles flex, and chambering will get less consistent, and eventually hard or impossible.

[Darrell Davis]

Even with "brake action" firearms, Only size to the minimum which allows for relayable chambering.

I am of course, talking about the use of the brass in ONE firearm, not interchanging between a number of chambers.

I once owned a Contender in 35Rem.. Bought the barrel used, and with it came one box of brass.

I do not know how many times the brass had been fired at that point, but I do know it had been fired 17, YES 17 more, times when I sold the barrel.

I always make it a practice to size the minimum amount needed, and if after firing a number of times the brass seems hard to chamber, I "tweak" the die down just enough to again allow relyable chambering.

Has worked for me for a goodly number of years.

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[skb2706]

Yep for my 'tenders I never full length size and never had to.

I only anneal wildcat brass, once to form it and then again to get the absolute longest life I can out of it somewhere after about the 10th time I load it up I will anneal it.

[MZ5]

Full-length size only if necessary to make the round(s) chamber properly/smoothly/easily.  FL sizing more often than this works the brass unnecessarily, which will make it necessary to anneal or discard the brass much sooner than if you only neck-size.

I have annealed 30-06 brass after only a couple/few reloads.  Had to do it because I only had a FL sizer (over-working the brass), and I couldn't get any neck tension any more (brass too springy = needs to be annealed).  Annealing went fine, and now neck tension is smooth as silk and perfectly even between pieces.  I also have a neck sizer now. 

Another reason to only neck size is time and money.  No need for case lube, at least on the collet-type neck sizers (don't know about bushing types).

Personally, I won't FL size anything unless or until I have to.  I have to FL size every time for my lever gun and my Garand (for perfect reliability).  Used to have to for my ARs as well, if I wanted high reliability re: chambering.

[skarke]

A little follow up, fwiw.  I set my contender dies so that my cartridges that are prone to stretch (i.e. 3030, or when I had a 22 hornet) are bumped where the cartridge base chambers between 1 and 2 thousands off of the breech face.  Failure to do that with hotter loads (hunting, varmint) will stretch the brass inconsistently, and effect accuracy.  These cartridges will also become hard to chamber, which is a REAL problem.  Pop gun loads don't really matter.

The most accurate TC reloading technique for me has been with this minor shoulder bump.  I have tried only neck sizing , but accuracy invariably falls off after just a few shots.  I also use bushing dies for 223, which is my plug and crank accuracy weapon.  This also minimizes work hardening.  Last, custom chambers with minimum SAAMI specs are the absolute best for minimizing work hardening, because good brass probably wont need neck sizing at all (custom shops), and any shoulder bump or case wall sizing will be in the 10 thousandths, hardly enough to worry about.

Also, FWIW, many BR (Speedy, for instance) shooters have abandoned neck sizing or no sizing for Full Length resizing in their BR guns, given again that the case manipulation is so very small, and the work product is cartridges with EXACTLY the same external case dimensions.