Neck vs full lenght sizing

Johnny Ringo · February 20, 2008, 11:09 AM

I am a new to rifle reloading. Done some pistol in the past. I want to reload for my falling block 7mm rem mag. All of my reloads will be shot out of this rifle. I am looking to purchase my first set of dies. All of my current equipment is RCBS. Should I use neck sizer dies or full length sizer dies. What are the pros and cons?

wncchester · February 20, 2008, 11:22 AM

"Should I use neck sizer dies or full length sizer dies. What are the pros and cons?"

I assume you have little or no experience with neck sizing? The pros and cons are more determined by how well your particular chamber and dies are matched than any therotical concepts. Some do well, some don't but I've never seen accuracy decrease with carefully reloaded neck sizers. (And that means more than measureing the powder charges to a micro grain.)

Suggest you get a neck sizer and test it in your rifle, nothing else will show how it will work. And know that even if it doesn't help with one die it may very well improve with a different one! Reloading can be enough to drive you crazy!

I really like the Lee Collet Neck Sizers because they tend to produce the straightest case necks. Pulling a conventional expander plug out of a sized neck will almost certainly put some degree of bend in a case neck, the Lee Collet Die avoids that.

Sevens · February 20, 2008, 11:35 AM

Neck-only sizing versus full-length sizing

Pro: saves wear and tear on the brass as only the neck is being sized. Theoretically, your brass should give you longer life. In practice, there are too many variables to say for sure that it will last longer. Given that the neck will still be opened and closed each time, you may not actually see longer life from your brass, but it's a decent bet that you should keep them from head separation longer.

Also, neck-only sizing saves you a heap of time with case prep because you don't have to lube your rifle brass and you also don't have the physical work of running your brass through the full-length sizer.

For just these two benefits, it's absolutely worth trying.

Con: You typically cannot use neck-only sized ammo in any firearm other than the one you shot it with the last time. You could have two Remington 700s in the same caliber with successive serial numbers and the neck-only sized rounds may not chamber in both. Also, you may not have success with neck-only sized rounds in semi-auto or lever action rifles. Given the rifle you plan to use, you should be in fine shape. But if you have another rifle in the same caliber, or a buddy who wants to try your ammo, neck sizing isn't for you.

Also, getting a neck-sizing die to do what you want/need isn't necessarily as easy as it sounds. Seems that some of the Lee dies ship with a slightly larger mandrel and you need to reduce the size of it in order to get proper case mouth bullet tension. Why this is so--I don't know. I bought the neck-only collet sizing die in 8x57 and I can't get it to hold a bullet securely in it's original factory-shipped form. Lee tells me they'll turn it down for $5 if I ship it to them, but I'm quite annoyed by that. Others turn it down themselves by chucking it in to a drill press and taking a bit off it. I haven't yet done either.

For the money they want for a neck-only sizing die and the rifle you plan to shoot them with, you'd be crazy not to at least give it a try. The time and effort savings at the bench will be priceless. I've not yet met a reloader who enjoys case lubing, neck lubing, cleaning off the lube and all that jazz. Neck-only sizing eliminates all that nonsense.

Johnny Ringo · February 20, 2008, 11:43 AM

Yeah this stuff can dirve you crazy. Seems like there are a lot of choices out there. Don't want to learn all the lessons the hard way.

amamnn · February 20, 2008, 10:14 PM

Buy a Lee neck sizing die--it works as well or better than more expensive ones. If used of a period of years you will get back the price in money saved on brass.

**Shane Tuttle** · February 20, 2008, 10:16 PM

The big advantage that I've seen when neck sizing only is my accuracy improved greatly. The one thing I'd highly recommend is to fireform your brass first before neck sizing only on the same brass...

stinger · February 20, 2008, 11:01 PM

I use the Lee Neck dies because I don't have to lube cases. That makes it valuable to me.

firechicken · February 21, 2008, 12:04 AM

Just get the Lee Deluxe 3-die set. It comes with a full length die, collet neck die, seater die, and shellholder. You'll use the neck die most of the time, but you'll have the full length die if the need arises. I love me Lee collet neck dies!

jhansman · February 21, 2008, 01:42 AM

Definitely try neck sizing with the Lee Collet Die. I have had excellent results with it in .223, and am a complete convert to it. In fact, I have not full-sized my brass in a long, long time.

February 20, 2008, 11:09 AM	#1
Johnny Ringo Junior Member Join Date: February 20, 2008 Posts: 2	Neck vs full lenght sizing I am a new to rifle reloading. Done some pistol in the past. I want to reload for my falling block 7mm rem mag. All of my reloads will be shot out of this rifle. I am looking to purchase my first set of dies. All of my current equipment is RCBS. Should I use neck sizer dies or full length sizer dies. What are the pros and cons?

February 20, 2008, 11:35 AM	#3
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,775	Neck-only sizing versus full-length sizing Pro: saves wear and tear on the brass as only the neck is being sized. Theoretically, your brass should give you longer life. In practice, there are too many variables to say for sure that it will last longer. Given that the neck will still be opened and closed each time, you may not actually see longer life from your brass, but it's a decent bet that you should keep them from head separation longer. Also, neck-only sizing saves you a heap of time with case prep because you don't have to lube your rifle brass and you also don't have the physical work of running your brass through the full-length sizer. For just these two benefits, it's absolutely worth trying. Con: You typically cannot use neck-only sized ammo in any firearm other than the one you shot it with the last time. You could have two Remington 700s in the same caliber with successive serial numbers and the neck-only sized rounds may not chamber in both. Also, you may not have success with neck-only sized rounds in semi-auto or lever action rifles. Given the rifle you plan to use, you should be in fine shape. But if you have another rifle in the same caliber, or a buddy who wants to try your ammo, neck sizing isn't for you. Also, getting a neck-sizing die to do what you want/need isn't necessarily as easy as it sounds. Seems that some of the Lee dies ship with a slightly larger mandrel and you need to reduce the size of it in order to get proper case mouth bullet tension. Why this is so--I don't know. I bought the neck-only collet sizing die in 8x57 and I can't get it to hold a bullet securely in it's original factory-shipped form. Lee tells me they'll turn it down for $5 if I ship it to them, but I'm quite annoyed by that. Others turn it down themselves by chucking it in to a drill press and taking a bit off it. I haven't yet done either. For the money they want for a neck-only sizing die and the rifle you plan to shoot them with, you'd be crazy not to at least give it a try. The time and effort savings at the bench will be priceless. I've not yet met a reloader who enjoys case lubing, neck lubing, cleaning off the lube and all that jazz. Neck-only sizing eliminates all that nonsense. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

February 20, 2008, 10:16 PM	#6
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,455	The big advantage that I've seen when neck sizing only is my accuracy improved greatly. The one thing I'd highly recommend is to fireform your brass first before neck sizing only on the same brass... __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

February 21, 2008, 01:42 AM	#9
jhansman Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2007 Posts: 680	Definitely try neck sizing with the Lee Collet Die. I have had excellent results with it in .223, and am a complete convert to it. In fact, I have not full-sized my brass in a long, long time. __________________ Blessed is the man who has nothing to say, and cannot be compelled to say it.

February 20, 2008, 11:22 AM	#2
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	"Should I use neck sizer dies or full length sizer dies. What are the pros and cons?" I assume you have little or no experience with neck sizing? The pros and cons are more determined by how well your particular chamber and dies are matched than any therotical concepts. Some do well, some don't but I've never seen accuracy decrease with carefully reloaded neck sizers. (And that means more than measureing the powder charges to a micro grain.) Suggest you get a neck sizer and test it in your rifle, nothing else will show how it will work. And know that even if it doesn't help with one die it may very well improve with a different one! Reloading can be enough to drive you crazy! I really like the Lee Collet Neck Sizers because they tend to produce the straightest case necks. Pulling a conventional expander plug out of a sized neck will almost certainly put some degree of bend in a case neck, the Lee Collet Die avoids that.

February 20, 2008, 11:43 AM	#4
Johnny Ringo Junior Member Join Date: February 20, 2008 Posts: 2	Yeah this stuff can dirve you crazy. Seems like there are a lot of choices out there. Don't want to learn all the lessons the hard way.

February 20, 2008, 10:14 PM	#5
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	Buy a Lee neck sizing die--it works as well or better than more expensive ones. If used of a period of years you will get back the price in money saved on brass.

February 20, 2008, 11:01 PM	#7
stinger Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2001 Location: west texas Posts: 772	I use the Lee Neck dies because I don't have to lube cases. That makes it valuable to me.

February 21, 2008, 12:04 AM	#8
firechicken Senior Member Join Date: April 17, 2006 Location: Savannah, MO Posts: 224	Just get the Lee Deluxe 3-die set. It comes with a full length die, collet neck die, seater die, and shellholder. You'll use the neck die most of the time, but you'll have the full length die if the need arises. I love me Lee collet neck dies!