Brass case neck trimmer...

[Mark Watson]

I searched and didn't see that many posts, so I am looking for opinions.

1. Should I do it
2. Which one is recommended

I see they are $150 - $500+.
Like everything else, I know you usually get what you pay for, so I'm not worried about the cost too much, but also don't want to buy more than I need.

Thanks in advance for any information on the subject.

 

[RTH1800]

Going to be determined by your brass and your chamber. If you get your chamber cut to fit your loads outside neck diameter it’s not needed. If your brass is too thick in the neck it needs trimmed.
Most are not doing that today unless your shooting BR or possibly F Class or possibly ELR. I’m not sure what they are doing today.
Much of the cost of the turning unit is related to speed/quanity of the work not precision.
Long to short, I would re cut a chamber before turning hundreds of cases.

 

[Dogtown]

Are you specifically talking about trimming brass overall length or turning case necks?

Everyone needs to trim brass overall length, usually after a couple firings. If it's too long it may not chamber or can crimp the bullet during firing, causing a dangerous pressure spike. That or maybe you just want consistent brass?

Neck turning is a whole other story. A lot of people don't bother with it for good reason, and yet other do because they're anal about uniformity and removing variables, and/or they have a very tight custom chamber that requires it.

 

[RTH1800]

I missed that. Trimming is another issue.

 

[Dogtown]

If you want to go the neck turning route, you'll need some things:

1. expander to push the neck out to caliber spec (to fit the turner).
2. neck turner to cut shave down the neck thickness.
3. bushing sizer die (for controlling the neck)
4. caliber-specific mandrel (for resetting neck tension)

I like the expander mandrel and neck turner from K&M (https://kmshooting.com/product-category/neck-tools/standard-caliber/)
and the caliber-specific expander mandrels from 21CS (http://www.xxicsi.com/caliber-specific-expander-mandrels.html)

Like I said, this is for folks who're really trying to squeeze more uniformity and consistency with their handloads. Neck turning and using bushings & mandrels will allow you to set a very specific neck tension and uniformity, which can really bring your SDs down.

 

[Mark Watson]

Trimming neck thickness

 

[Dthomas3523]

When talking about neck turning, you need to be able to answer the question:

Why? Why do you want to neck turn?

Also, how meticulous and involved is the rest of your brass prep process?

 

[Mark Watson]

Coax press
Autotrickler
AMP annealer (soon)

 

[Dthomas3523]

Coax press
Autotrickler
AMP annealer (soon)

Doesn’t sound like you’re very involved yet. I’d start without neck turning and see if you’re happy with the performance of your ammo before adding any other steps.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Trimming neck thickness

Terminology really matters here.

Trimming is cutting brass from the end of the mouth to control overall length of the brass.
Keeps it from being too long.

What you're talking about is case neck turning.
This process controls the overall neck wall thickness and concentricity (AKA uniformity).

Having a rifle chambered with a tight neck reamer requires neck turning.

If you don't have a custom tight neck diameter for your chamber, you're really better off just spending your money on Lapua brass and shooting more.

 

[Mark Watson]

Terminology really matters here.

Trimming is cutting brass from the end of the mouth to control overall length of the brass.
Keeps it from being too long.

What you're talking about is case neck turning.
This process controls the overall neck wall thickness and concentricity (AKA uniformity).

Having a rifle chambered with a tight neck reamer requires neck turning.

If you don't have a custom tight neck diameter for your chamber, you're really better off just spending your money on Lapua brass and shooting more.

So, are you saying you don't turn the necks on your brass?
I've watched several videos where the Lapua brass was not uniform also.

 

[Dthomas3523]

So, are you saying you don't turn the necks on your brass?
I've watched several videos where the Lapua brass was not uniform also.

Using a mandrel to set your neck tension will alleviate most neck issues.

Neck turning will only help you if you’re pushing the absolute most out of your ammo. And sometimes even then it won’t help but so much.

Most people don’t neck turn. They also don’t put enough effort into their loading to begin to even add turning in their routine.

 

[Rocketmandb]

Using a mandrel to set your neck tension will alleviate most neck issues.

I tried neck turning and then switched to just using a mandrel. Virtually no difference between the two, and neck turning is a royal pain.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I tried neck turning and then switched to just using a mandrel. Virtually no difference between the two, and neck turning is a royal pain.

I can squeak out a bit more on the sd/es. But we are talking 20es to 15 and 6sd to 3sd. I also have a 21st century lathe and an IDOD. So turning is easy for me.

I turn on reamers that have less than .004 neck clearance. I like to stay between .004 and .006. Not sure why so many “no neck turn“ reamers are .003 or so. I’m assuming it’s to allow chambering without turning, but also if you want to turn you aren’t ending up with .010 or so clearance.

 

[mmlook]

I can squeak out a bit more on the sd/es. But we are talking 20es to 15 and 6sd to 3sd. I also have a 21st century lathe and an IDOD. So turning is easy for me.

I turn on reamers that have less than .004 neck clearance. I like to stay between .004 and .006. Not sure why so many “no neck turn“ reamers are .003 or so. I’m assuming it’s to allow chambering without turning, but also if you want to turn you aren’t ending up with .010 or so clearance.

All the guys I shoot with, neck turn by need only.

basically if you have a lot of brass with crazy high spots(over 0.002")
or if you are getting donuts at the neck to shoulder junction

 

[Dthomas3523]

There’s also a general misunderstanding that people turn *because* they have a tight neck reamer. If this happens then they chose their reamer poorly.

If done right, turning was planned and the reamer is spec’d tighter for brass life and such.

The only real negative to what would be considered excessive neck clearance is split necks earlier than normal.

You should never be turning because the neck is too tight.

 

[Mike Casselton]

^^^Agree on the tight neck reamer terminology^^^

I turn Lapua brass for three rifles, a 6 PPC with a .264 neck and two 6BRs with .262 necks. All three are for older Benchrest chambers.

 

[lightman]

I turn for a couple of rifles with tight neck chambers but I have seen little to no improvement when turning for factory rifles with factory chambers. If you turn without needing to you will be working your case necks more upon firing and get split necks sooner.

If you still want to try it there are 2 places that I have seen that can explain it better than I can. Google "Varmint Al" and look at the Accurate Shooter Forum. Both have good info about neck turning.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I turn for a couple of rifles with tight neck chambers but I have seen little to no improvement when turning for factory rifles with factory chambers. If you turn without needing to you will be working your case necks more upon firing and get split necks sooner.

If you still want to try it there are 2 places that I have seen that can explain it better than I can. Google "Varmint Al" and look at the Accurate Shooter Forum. Both have good info about neck turning.

Varmint Al says he sees less split necks when turning with factory chambers with .010

 

[Threadcutter308]

Varmint Al says he sees less split necks when turning with factory chambers with .010

I neck turn for all my Bolt Action rifles. I only use Lapua brass. Out of thousands of rounds, the only split neck I have ever experienced is a brand new, fresh out of the box, round of 6.5 x 47L. Very odd, but OK.......One round out of a thousand (over years of consumption) isn't something I'm going to worry about. One of my .308W's has brass with 20 reloads on it. That particular brass had never been annealed.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I neck turn for all my Bolt Action rifles. I only use Lapua brass. Out of thousands of rounds, the only split neck I have ever experienced is a brand new, fresh out of the box, round of 6.5 x 47L. Very odd, but OK.......One round out of a thousand (over years of consumption) isn't something I'm going to worry about. One of my .308W's has brass with 20 reloads on it. That particular brass had never been annealed.

Agreed. I’ve never experienced any excessive brass wear. Though to be honest, I usually lose brass at matches over time before I’d every notice anything.