New to reloading, have been reading and watching stuff and haven't done it myself.
My question is, I have a Full Length sizing die and a seating die, do I also need a neck sizing die? This question came up while discussing the jump/jam.
Further search shows that people use the neck only sizing die to extend the brass usage. But also, there are videos from some known people who says "never neck only size, always full length".
How do I decide if I need to FL or neck only size? Try both and see which seems a better result? Or, is there a rule of hand when sizing? When saying neck sizing, I mean the one with a bushing where you can adjust the neck size.
Purpose is bench rest and I would like to adjust the jump/jam amount but I think I can do that with using just the seating die?
Thank you
I've been doing both for a long time as I collect my loading and shooting data. Neck sizing only works just fine, but keep in mind that it doesn't take long until those shoulders need to be bumped back. When I neck size, I always follow up with another die the bumps the shoulder back. When comparing results on target, I find real difference in performance between the neck sized and the FL sized cases.
The main reason those who preach "never neck only size" is because there can be an issued when the shoulders are not bumped resulting in feeding problems. When you FL size properly, you'll never have that issue. Neck sizing instead of FL sizing does provide a little longer life for the cases, but that depends on how you're chamber and/or sizing die is set up. For competitive bench rest shooting, FL sizing is better to avoid chambering issues.
If you want your brass to last a long time, do the things the work hardens the brass the least . . . like, having a FL sizing die reamed where the neck is sized minimally before it's expanded to your desired neck tension. Or better yet, you can properly anneal your brass after every firing, which tends to give you good results, particularly when reloading for a factory rifle.
Best thing for you, IMHO, who is new to reloading, is to simply keep FL sizing your brass until you really understand what's going on when you fire reloaded brass.
