Neck sizing and case getting harder to pull out?

[ronedog]

I'm noticing the cases are getting a bit harder to pull out. I really have to pull up hard on the bolt to eject the case, but I didn't have to do this in the past. I'm using the same amount of powder I've always used and the same brass.

I have been reloading a 300 WSM for a couple years (I'm a novice though), winchester Brass, Fireformed to my chamber, I've only neck sized. IMR 4350 poweder at 57.5gn, 185g berger hunting bullet.

I shoot the same batch of brass, about 12 cases, I've shot this batch about 7-8 times, neck sized afterwards...after the 8th time shooting the brass I decided to anneal the neck and shoulder of the brass.

Has the neck gotten too weak that it expands too much in the chamber, thus making it difficult to extract?

Is it time to full length size the brass, or am I fine sticking with the neck sizing only? Do I need to do something different to be able to eject the case easier?

I read some other reviews about the pressures getting too high, but I don't think this is the case as I've been shooting 57.5 gn of powder out of this same setup for 2 years and have only recently started having extraction problems...is it possible that this brass needs to be thrown out now?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Deputy819]

Sounds like it might be time to full-length size your brass. How does the bolt "feel" when you chamber a round? Any resistance present? I'm curious as to why you're using only 12 cases, though.....

 

[ronedog]

Sounds like it might be time to full-length size your brass. How does the bolt "feel" when you chamber a round? Any resistance present? I'm curious as to why you're using only 12 cases, though.....

There is a snug resistance when chambering. I should say i have about 12 cases that have been shot 8 times...i have another batch ive shot 6 times...im just keeping the batches separate...but both are hard to extract.

 

[Deviant]

Im not a fan of neck sizing but as long as your primer pockets are tight and necks aren't splitting your brass is probably fine. Try FL sizing and see if it helps. Are you seeing any signs of high pressure on you fired cases such as ejector marks or flattened primers?

Al

 

[WildRose]

I'm noticing the cases are getting a bit harder to pull out. I really have to pull up hard on the bolt to eject the case, but I didn't have to do this in the past. I'm using the same amount of powder I've always used and the same brass.

I have been reloading a 300 WSM for a couple years (I'm a novice though), winchester Brass, Fireformed to my chamber, I've only neck sized. IMR 4350 poweder at 57.5gn, 185g berger hunting bullet.

I shoot the same batch of brass, about 12 cases, I've shot this batch about 7-8 times, neck sized afterwards...after the 8th time shooting the brass I decided to anneal the neck and shoulder of the brass.

Has the neck gotten too weak that it expands too much in the chamber, thus making it difficult to extract?

Is it time to full length size the brass, or am I fine sticking with the neck sizing only? Do I need to do something different to be able to eject the case easier?

I read some other reviews about the pressures getting too high, but I don't think this is the case as I've been shooting 57.5 gn of powder out of this same setup for 2 years and have only recently started having extraction problems...is it possible that this brass needs to be thrown out now?

Thanks for the help.

Most people who neck size would tell you that dependin on the cartridge you probably at least need to bump the shoulder back a few thousandths every 3-5 loads. Many will full size every 4-5 or when you figure out how many times through before you start seeing resistance do one less.

By neck sizing only the tolerances get tighter with each shot.

 

[WildRose]

There is a snug resistance when chambering. I should say i have about 12 cases that have been shot 8 times...i have another batch ive shot 6 times...im just keeping the batches separate...but both are hard to extract.

If you are getting resistence when chambering you seriously need to either go ahead and full length resize or at least bump the shoulder back a few thousandths.

If you feel resistance when chambering you are right on the edge of possibly having a serious headspace issue which means it's time to back off before something bad happens.

 

[jjmp]

listen to the Wisdom here , your neck sizing to much,FL-length resize your brass, and anneal itevery 2nd or 3 time. Brass can last a long time, but only When you Follow the proper steps in reloading Don't cut corners !!! refer to beginning of my Post!

 

[Rich Coyle]

It's time to full length size. I used to be able to fire six neck sized loads before I had to size the cases.

 

[Wedgy]

When people say to full length size they do not mean run a full length die to the shell holder until it bottoms out as this will resize your brass too much. What you want to do is run the full length die down until it resizes the case just enough so it will chamber. The generally accepted amount is to bump the shoulder back about 0.002" If you only neck size you will eventually be in the situation you are now in and have to FL size which will change to case capacity and thus affect velocity. This is part of the neck size vs FL size debate.
There are plenty of videos on this, here's a good one from Broz at LRO

 

[WildRose]

When people say to full length size they do not mean run a full length die to the shell holder until it bottoms out as this will resize your brass too much. What you want to do is run the full length die down until it resizes the case just enough so it will chamber. The generally accepted amount is to bump the shoulder back about 0.002" If you only neck size you will eventually be in the situation you are now in and have to FL size which will change to case capacity and thus affect velocity. This is part of the neck size vs FL size debate.
There are plenty of videos on this, here's a good one from Broz at LRO

Unfortunately there's no real standard.

For most people FLR would indeed be running it all the way down so you return it to factrory spec original condition.

If you are doing less than that you're either partial resizing or just bumping the shoulder back.

That's how the loading mauals would state it anyhow.

 

[ronedog]

Thank you for the help and replies.
I'm not seeing any pressure issues, primers are not flattened, necks are not cracked, shell casings don't show anything at the moment.

Sounds like I've missed a step I didn't realize was necessary, bumping the shoulder back. I watched a few videos (thanks for the one posted here!) on doing this and now understand the wisdom in doing this if I'm going to neck size.

Will bumping the shoulders back, or FL sizing require me to make any changes to the sights on my gun? Right now its zero at 200 yds, I got a turrett for the load, I would assume all would be fine and I shouldn't have to change anything, but want to check with you guys who know a lot more than me.

I will head down to the store and get a head case guage and try bumping the shoulder back...sounds like I'm right on that harry edge of a potential problem and asking the question now to get some help was a good thing. Thank you for the help!

 

[J E Custom]

I neck size only as long as the cartridge will chamber and extract with little effort. Then I size just enough to bump the shoulder and reduce the case diameter slightly.

This process has extended case life for me and maintained accuracy without adjusting the loads.

All brass cases will have spring back and once they expand perfectly to the chamber spring back will become an issue if it is not dealt with.

Set up your bump or fl sizing die just enough to chamber well and this problem will be solved and repeat the process when sticky extraction starts.

J E CUSTOM

 

[WildRose]

Thank you for the help and replies.
I'm not seeing any pressure issues, primers are not flattened, necks are not cracked, shell casings don't show anything at the moment.

Sounds like I've missed a step I didn't realize was necessary, bumping the shoulder back. I watched a few videos (thanks for the one posted here!) on doing this and now understand the wisdom in doing this if I'm going to neck size.

Will bumping the shoulders back, or FL sizing require me to make any changes to the sights on my gun? Right now its zero at 200 yds, I got a turrett for the load, I would assume all would be fine and I shouldn't have to change anything, but want to check with you guys who know a lot more than me.

I will head down to the store and get a head case guage and try bumping the shoulder back...sounds like I'm right on that harry edge of a potential problem and asking the question now to get some help was a good thing. Thank you for the help!

You're lucky you haven't seen any pressure signs and you're right on the edge of something bad happening. When it goes to overpressure it'll happen in one shot.

Don't worry about anything changing, it shouldn't.

What I'd do is take some of those tight rounds and while the neck/shoulder area is still dirty set up your FL die and slowly work it down right to the point you can see the wear getting right to the neck, shoulder junction and then test it in your chamber.

From there working about 1/8 of a turn or less at a time repeat until you're as close to zero bolt pressure chambering as possible.

You don't want to overdo it either .

If you'll check there are some brownell's and midway video's on resizing and specifically on bumping the shoulder back and they can be pretty helpful.

 

[jasent]

I stopped neck sizing and just use a fl die set to just bump the shoulder back .002". I don't like having something different every few firings. I also anneal every firing. It adds a min or 2 to my loading time but I don't have to keep track of the last time I annealed or bumped shoulders. Jme