Neck Tension & New Cases

[tim_w]

I have too much time on my hands or more correctly I just love the way reloading case prep shooting takes my mind off everything else going on in my little world. Becasue of that I tend to be stupid about prepping.

I tend to skim turn my all the necks after running them thru the die. Any slight off center for the neck is addressed with the first firing. I do that, lightly clean up the primer pocket base, bevel both sides of the flash holes. Check all cases for length and pull any extremes and then trim to shortest of the common length.

I tend to anneal after every shooting. I made a annealer out of one of the Mrs pie pans ( not happy)and an old variable electric motor I had. Added a Y hosed torch adapter run off a grill 30lb bottle.

One thing have been doing for years after a trial by mistake is use a qtip and rub a small amount of dry lub film inside the neck of each case. I noticed it made my seating more consistent and my ES dropped a bit. It seems to have the same effect carbon has from the powder after a firing if you do not clean well. See the same type results reported from those using BN coated bullets.

I do not know about most everyone else but I honestly do prep as much because I enjoy doing it as for the results. Certainly as not doing it rather than shooting though but I have more time when the sun is down so why not is how I look at it. I guess its my mediation time.

 

[CaptnC]

I have too much time on my hands.....I guess its my mediation time.

I'm balls to the wall doing something all the time. Last night the boy said "your fixing something all the time!"...

Seems I don't have enough time...but my reloading is my therapy!

The wife always comes out to check on me...bring me a water...see if I need anything and almost always ask me "you must really like doing that!" LOL

But your right...it is a great disconnect from the daily grind.

When I was young (late 70's) it was my job to load the ammo for the season. I hated it...especially if the brass needed trimming! But now I noramlly don't even check case length. I just trim the whole batch.

 

[jrock]

I also think that neck tension may not be your issue. However, every little bit helps. I like the durability of the Win brass I've had but magnum loads just don't last forever. I've spent a lot of time cleaning up the win brass to make them almost as good as Norma. I've found that high quality brass is almost worth the higher cost. I still found that the neck thicknesses can vary by 0.001" so I clean them up but don't bother to do any other fix ups. Win brass, every clean up method is required and yes, you will throw some out. For me, its hard to find Win brass so I've opted for the ease of Norma for the last few 100 cases.

I think primer and powder combos make the biggest difference in initial load development. Try something different.

 

[CaptnC]

From what I've read about in the Houston warehouse project neck tension was the final key to shooting consistent .125 groups!

I'm beginning to think that is the key to factory match ammo. If rifles are so finicky about loads, how does someone come up with match ammo that works in nearly all guns?

Neck tension has to be that key element that does it. Yes, their loads must be the same, the brass prepped correctly, quality brass, powder and all that. But I've read many times guys try to match the load and can't do it!

That tells me it has to be something the average guy doesn't do!

I've never even thought about it until recently.

 

[Full Curl]

Pretty well thought approach...most of the top choices, 4 that are on my loading bench shelf...you really don't want to hear where this would if it was mine.

OK....bare minimum dig out the bedding and do it over. My next move if that didn't help...new pipe!

Your patients is admirable because I would have went to work on the rifle side of the issue.

Trust me, a few times I wanted to get rid of this thing! BUT I've never found a stick that I can't get to shoot well eventually with hand loads. I think it must be more stubbornness and stupidity than patience but thanks

If I can't get it to where I want with just loading for it I don't think I'll mess with the bedding or pipe, I'll get rid of it at that point and get a new one to start working on. For what that would cost, I can probably play my odds and pick up a new/used one that is a better shooter. But the bore and action are good on this one according to my smith so I still have faith I can get it there... just have to find that magic I'm missing.

 

[Full Curl]

I have too much time on my hands or more correctly I just love the way reloading case prep shooting takes my mind off everything else going on in my little world.

Amen. The family wonders why I sit in the basement at my bench until the wee hours of the morning with nothing more than the radio faintly playing. Sometimes I think they worry about me

 

[Full Curl]

From what I've read about in the Houston warehouse project neck tension was the final key to shooting consistent .125 groups! I've never even thought about it until recently.

X2! I think neck tension is MUCH more important than the average Joe thinks it is. The longer I load, the more and more attention I pay to it. Same everything else in one load to the next, but neck tension may be that one big variable that is different.

 

[ChrisInKY]

X2! I think neck tension is MUCH more important than the average Joe thinks it is.

X3 - Most re-loaders never even figure it out. The guy in the basement every day ... working and thinking about what lends itself to precision ... that's the guy who eventually has the Eureka!! moment.

On that day you personally earn the title: Hand Loader.

 

[Full Curl]

On that day you personally earn the title: Hand Loader.

Or just the odd guy who sits in his basement late into the night and plays with all those instruments and writes down all those long numbers in notebooks... sometimes I think my family thinks I'm losing it