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Neck sizing die

20Incher

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 28, 2010
298
0
55
Westchester
I'll be buying this http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23594/catid/1/RL_550B this week .I'll be using it to crank out 9mm and using it on my .308 .I've read neck sizing is more accurate then fl sizing and it's easier on the brass?Anyway I have to buy dies ,what is a good brand neck sizing die(can I use any brand ) or I read to use a fl and bump it back?Still trying to figure this out.Should I buy carbide?Thanks for any advice.
 
Re: Neck sizing die

Neck sizing for your 308 depends on if your shooting it in a bolt gun or ar-10. If your shooting it in a ar-10 you need to FL size it everytime, set the shoulder back around .003 or to where your gun functions well.

If your shooting it in a bolt gun, neck sizing is ok and can help accurcy. But you should, and may have to set the shoulder back around every 3 to 4 reloads per case depending on how your case is expanding. And you just need to set it back about .002 so that they will chanber smoothly.

Good brands for neck die that I like are Redding or RCBS
and I would get the Hornady LNL headspace gauges, they work very well to check how far your setting the shoulder back from a fired case.

Good luck
 
Re: Neck sizing die

I don't neck size and, I'll tell you why.

If you neck size then eventually you will have to full length resize to bump the shoulder back. When you do that then you actually have a different round then when you only neck size. For that reason, I don't neck only size. I don't want to have two different hand load specs. ... Life is difficult enough without making it more complicated.
 
Re: Neck sizing die

Neck sizing MAY increase accuracy, but not always. It certainly works the brass less, increasing brass life. I like the redding competition bushing style neck dies with the TiN (gold) coating. The busings come in .001" increments, so you can dial up the amount of neck tension you want. For a bolt gun you carefully single load, you probably want the lowest neck tension you can get. The Redding competition set comes with the bushing neck die, a body die for bumping the shoulder back and sizing the body, and a bullet seating die. They feature a spring loaded sliding sleeve that allows the case to engage into the sleeve nicely, before being pushed up into the die to undergo the sizing/seating operation. I believe this is a copy of a Forster design, and I think the Forster ones are cheaper, but just as good.

One drawback to this however, is the body die will not independently bump the shoulder back from body sizing. A bump die would be required to ONLY bump the shoulder back, and leave the rest of the body alone.

In my opinion, a modified FLS die is a good choice. Most FLS dies make the neck way too small on the upstroke of the ram, and then pull the expander ball back through on the ram downstroke to make the neck the appropriate diameter. Essentially, you are reducing neck size .008", only to expand it .005". It is better to reduce neck size .004, and then expand it .001 - or something similar. This works the brass only as much as neccessary, and produces very consistent and reliable results.

My Savage is every bit as accurate using FLS brass as it is with NS only brass.

YMMV
 
Re: Neck sizing die

I use a Lee Collet die for neck sizing. I have seen accuracy improvements in neck sizing for both my 308 and 7mm mag. Lee Collet dies are cheaper in cost and you can somewhat adjust the neck tension like in a Redding.
 
Re: Neck sizing die

Neck sizing does NOT increase accuracy, Neck sizing DOES increase brass life (something around 3X). The amount of accuracy loss is very small (but significant nonetheless). A FL sized set of rounds may shoot (say) 0.35 MoA while a NO sized set of the same components may shoot (say) 0.40 MoA.

If/when you get a Neck sizing die, you will also want to get a body die (for pushing the shoulder back, and compressing the base.) If you do get a Neck sizing die you will also need a means to measure the sholder (datum) position to choose to NO or body size the cases.

I personally never had a problem with body and neck sized rounds shooting different than NO only sized rounds. And thus, I do not have two different recipies dpending on how the brass was sized. It might mater in BR shooting, it should not mater in tactical shooting.

I use Redding NO and body dies, and even my AR15 like the NO sized rounds (as long as the shoulder is in the correct position.) Here, you HAVE to measure each case to decide whether to use the body die or not; and only if the sholder is short enough can you NO size the brass. A fully broken in and well lubed AR15 also helps.