Well, for long range precision what would you suggest?
FL resize with bushings
or
Neck size with bushings and sometimes body size?
FL resize with bushings
or
Neck size with bushings and sometimes body size?
FL sizer vs neck + body sizer - both with bushings?
- Thread starter Fred @ Bison Tactical
- Start date
With my military rifles i neck size only .The presures are low compared to a hot load in a modern rifle .If you can close the bolt on your fired cases with out forcing it closed then you could get away with just neck sizing .Other wise you will have to set your shoulder back but not really full length sizing .Arnie
A custom set of dies made to YOUR chamber will yield the MOST accuracy.
The problem with neck sizing and then body sizing every 3rd or 4th shot is... once you FL size, you change everything. Why not just FL size EVERY time? Weather you go with a set of custom dies or, off the shelf FL dies, set them up properly for 0.001 - 0.0015" of shoulder bump so you don't over work your brass. I'm not a big fan of the Redding bushing dies either. They can only size a max of 3/4 of the neck. My custom dies have bushings that size the ENTIRE neck.
It's all about consistency and neck sizing and then FL sizing is anything but consistent.
+2 on what going hot says.
I used to run bushing dies....I have come to prefer normal FL dies with a custom neck sizer
Forster makes custom full length body size dies for about 30 bucks or so. Doing this also allows you to rid yourself of the decapper/button for much truer brass.
As an added bonus a set of three of these costs less than the Redding bushing die set.
I used to run bushing dies....I have come to prefer normal FL dies with a custom neck sizer
Forster makes custom full length body size dies for about 30 bucks or so. Doing this also allows you to rid yourself of the decapper/button for much truer brass.
As an added bonus a set of three of these costs less than the Redding bushing die set.
I used to neck and FL every 3rd load. Now I will only FL size.
I had some issues when I neck sized some once fired FGMM brass - they wouldn't chamber properly. The loaded rounds were so un-concentric it wasn't funny. They wouldn't even chamber...I honestly don't know what happened. I had to pull everything, FL size and then reseat. Chambered fine after that.
+1 for what Goin'Hot said too - I personally thought the same way about neck sizing for 3 loads, then full length sizing....how is that consistent? Then I wanted to do a range experiment - I went to the ranged and chronied 10 rounds of neck sized and 10 rounds of full length sized.
Results: I get better accuracy with FL sized, but, I get better velocity with neck sized loads.
There wasn't much change in accuracy...not like it was the difference from a 1MOA group and a 2MOA group, but, it was noticeable to me.
The velocity was different by about 25FPS...again, nothing crazy, but noticeable to me.
Dies were Redding non-bushing .308 dies.
I had some issues when I neck sized some once fired FGMM brass - they wouldn't chamber properly. The loaded rounds were so un-concentric it wasn't funny. They wouldn't even chamber...I honestly don't know what happened. I had to pull everything, FL size and then reseat. Chambered fine after that.
+1 for what Goin'Hot said too - I personally thought the same way about neck sizing for 3 loads, then full length sizing....how is that consistent? Then I wanted to do a range experiment - I went to the ranged and chronied 10 rounds of neck sized and 10 rounds of full length sized.
Results: I get better accuracy with FL sized, but, I get better velocity with neck sized loads.
There wasn't much change in accuracy...not like it was the difference from a 1MOA group and a 2MOA group, but, it was noticeable to me.
The velocity was different by about 25FPS...again, nothing crazy, but noticeable to me.
Dies were Redding non-bushing .308 dies.
Get yourself a Hornady or Sinclair comparator to measure headspace and a Redding FL die with the neck bushing you need for the right neck tension. Adjust the FL die such that it bumps the shoulder back only 0.001"-0.002" while shaping the neck to the diameter you need. That will give you the most consistent results and you'll avoid feeding issues that you encounter after neck sizing only.
