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Necks too loose. Why?

bward

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
May 22, 2010
1,503
4
Oklahoma City, OK
I recently bought a 338 AI. The gun was used and it came with A neck die and a seating die made for the gun by Wilson. He also gave me about 200 brass that had been fired. I neck sized some of the cases with the neck die and when I wend to seat the bullet it wasn't tight at all and could easily be pulled out of the neck by hand. What did I do wrong? Thanks for the help.
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

I'm new to this but I'm assuming the bushing is the problem. What size would you suggest?
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

Measure a loaded round and subtract .002, that should give you a a starting point.
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

Ok. So that is putting me at 361-362. Next question, what can I do to fix the brass that I already neck sized and is too loose?
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

Loose necks are also a sign of work hardened brass. do you know how many times it has been fired?
May not have been annealed every 5-10th firing.

If the above advice of sizing down .002 from a loaded round doesn't make it tight it can be springback, and you can TRY annealing the necks and see if it helps, if it is significantly work hardened, then annealing won't help. 200 Rounds of 338 brass is painful to throw out, but I don;t know anything else to do with severely work hardened brass.

madd0c
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bward</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Ok. So that is putting me at 361-362. Next question, what can I do to fix the brass that I already neck sized and is too loose? </div></div>


What cartridge, 338LM AI?

What brand of brass?

It would be odd if he used a .365 Redding bushing, which is what I use for Lapua and Norma brand 338LM brass and that wouldn't be enough to grip the bullets.

You might have some thinning of the necks, but I doubt that the thinning would be that much, without having necks splits.

All you have to do is get a new TiNi bushing from Redding and use that. It is what it is at this point, so no sense throwing good brass out when a $22 bushing will work. Buy a .361" or .362" and maybe a .363", just to cover all of my bases.

If he was getting those cases to work with a .365" bushing, said bushing not now working, something is up. Maybe he sold the rifle, because he could never load up any freakin' ammo to shoot, lol!

Chris
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

Lol I thought of that, but he told me he thought the brass was getting too many reloads on it but then stated he thought 4 was too many so I don't think it would have too many reloads. Also, it all appears to be in good shape. He basically threw the brass in for free.
 
Re: Necks too loose. Why?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bward</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lol I thought of that, but he told me he thought the brass was getting too many reloads on it but then stated he thought 4 was too many so I don't think it would have too many reloads. Also, it all appears to be in good shape. He basically threw the brass in for free. </div></div>

Go to Home Depot, get a BenzOmatic torch and a bottle, find something that you can chuck in an upright drill, which will hold your cases (think end of a cigar tube with a bolt through the bottom) and anneal your necks, it'll help.

The smaller bushings will work on your brass, the stuff you sized and the stuff you have left.

Chris