new cases and tight necks

[foxpig]

hi all

just been out and bought my first batch of new brass ( lapua 243 )

ive been through the lot and chamfered the necks, measured and sorted them, none of the flash holes needed doing anyway.

ive just satrted puttin some bullet head into the cases and they are very very tight, as im usung the lee collet dies..

will they be ok to fire or do i need to do something else to them as they are so tight i cant even pull them out with plyers...help

[Andrew]

Shoot them. Next time back the die off a little bit.

I find tight necks comforting, especially in ammunition put to hard use.~Andrew

[foxpig]

Shoot them. Next time back the die off a little bit.

I find tight necks comforting, especially in ammunition put to hard use.~Andrew

 

cheers andrew, i havent put them through the neck sizer in the collet dies because they are brand new and already tight. ill just go and fire one into the bank an see if the case shows any signs of over pressure.

after there fired they will be lovely its just his first firing im worried about

[foxpig]

well it fired and there dosent seem to be any problems, just me worrying again it seems.

cheers

[gbal]

well it fired and there dosent seem to be any problems, just me worrying again it seems.

cheers

well it fired and there dosent seem to be any problems, just me worrying again it seems.

cheers

 

As ever better to ask while you have all your body parts intact!

You might begin to see why experienced reloaders like bushing dies to have some control over neck tension.

So bear that in mind when you upgrade your dies.

Invest in a kinetic bullet puller sometime too- (£20)- pliers mess up bullets,but you won't need to pull them very often.

As you found,Lapua brass is less pricey when all quality issues are considered.

 

Gbal

 

[foxpig]

cheers gbal

 

ye thought id ask, just a pain having to fire all the cases to get them fireformed, my collet die works perfectly aslong as i put the exact amount of pull down on them every time. it would be nice to not have to worry about it though.

what dies just size the necks and dont need lube , like the lee collets??

[gbal]

cheers gbal

 

ye thought id ask, just a pain having to fire all the cases to get them fireformed, my collet die works perfectly aslong as i put the exact amount of pull down on them every time. it would be nice to not have to worry about it though.

what dies just size the necks and dont need lube , like the lee collets??

 

Any Neck die(alternative is

'Full length. ")

You need a full length occasionally even if using only cases fired ithe rifle,but not often.neck sizing is so much easier,unless youlikelube on your hands and more exercise on the press.

Most die makers do neck dies,good ones are Redding - ideally the version with the neck bushings - something else to play with.

Or of course Wilson hand dies especially for tight neck chambers.

Look up Sinclair International,and get their catalog,well before Xmas.

 

Gbal

[DaveT]

As new Lapua brass invariably comes with very heavy neck tension and I like no more than .001" or .002"; I always run my new Lapua brass through an appropriate calibre K&M neck expander mandrel first and then neck size using Redding bushing dies.

 

As long as you keep an eye out for necks getting thicker through use then you get the same tension result every time....consistency is King!

[foxpig]

Will the k&m neck expander mandrel fit into my lee deulux four hole turret. If so im gettin one

[DaveT]

Will the k&m neck expander mandrel fit into my lee deulux four hole turret. If so im gettin one

Should be fine... it comes in a standard screw-in body (order both body and mandrel...sold as seperates)

[foxpig]

Cheers dave

Whats the expand mandrel window riser. And do I have to order this stuff from the states

[DaveT]

I think that the window riser is simply a means of letting you see how far up into the mandrel the case has gone ..... avoids crashing the mouth of the neck into the body.... its not crucial you just take care. So if its an on-cost to the standard unit then don't bother.

 

You can get the body and calibre-specific mandrels from Reloading Solutions and I think that Spud on this forum also stocks them .... no need to go to the States.

[foxpig]

Yep I thought of mark after typing. Checked his site and its all there ... sweet

Cheers for all your help

[DaveT]

Get some Imperial Sizing Wax to lube the mandrel..... necks deserve special care!

[foxpig]

Right you are...!

Cheers

[Christian]

As new Lapua brass invariably comes with very heavy neck tension and I like no more than .001" or .002"; I always run my new Lapua brass through an appropriate calibre K&M neck expander mandrel first and then neck size using Redding bushing dies.

 

As long as you keep an eye out for necks getting thicker through use then you get the same tension result every time....consistency is King!

 

+1

[The_Dogge]

Cheers dave

Whats the expand mandrel window riser. And do I have to order this stuff from the states

I don't think you necessarily need any extra tools, the Lee full length sizing die (if you got your collet neck die in a "deluxe" set you have this included) will expand the neck if you just run the case in until it has gone over the expander. This will need some lube.

[DaveT]

I don't think you necessarily need any extra tools, the Lee full length sizing die (if you got your collet neck die in a "deluxe" set you have this included) will expand the neck if you just run the case in until it has gone over the expander. This will need some lube.

True ...BUT.... I prefer to work the brass only as much as I decide it needs....

 

AS you probably know most FLS dies will overly crush the neck on the sizing (ram up) stroke then open it up to what it decides the neck tension needs to be.

 

I just prefer the control decisions to be mine so I use bushing dies.

[Offroad Gary]

I had same issue with new 47l brass, k&n expander followed by wilson neck die gives correct/ uniform tension on first firing.

[palo]

I also use an expander die and mandrel on new lapua brass. I have the sinclair version with different mandrels for each calibre.

[The_Dogge]

True ...BUT.... I prefer to work the brass only as much as I decide it needs....

 

AS you probably know most FLS dies will overly crush the neck on the sizing (ram up) stroke then open it up to what it decides the neck tension needs to be.

 

I just prefer the control decisions to be mine so I use bushing dies.

 

Yes, but if you are resizing a case which is actually undersize (tight neck) it contacts the expander on the way in, which it doesn't do when resizing fired brass, after it has passed over the expander you withdraw it, the case doesn't touch the die body (so it doesn't size the neck down) at all and is minimally worked, you really do just expand the neck...

[DaveT]

I see what you mean now.

 

I agree that could work if followed up with the collet die to set the neck size.....but I still think that I would use the mandrel to avoid the risk of the expander ball bending the neck out of centre on its downstroke....the mandrel is a more solid tool for this purpose.....horses for courses.

[gunner]

Will the k&m neck expander mandrel fit into my lee deulux four hole turret. If so im gettin one

spud has the K+M range ! try him !

[The_Dogge]

I see what you mean now.

 

I agree that could work if followed up with the collet die to set the neck size.....but I still think that I would use the mandrel to avoid the risk of the expander ball bending the neck out of centre on its downstroke....the mandrel is a more solid tool for this purpose.....horses for courses.

 

If you have one handy then go for it, but why spend money on a tool you don't need? Have a look at the Lee die, it has an "EasyX Expander" mandrel (not an expander "ball") which has a long tapered section for expanding necks, I don't think another mandrel can be much better than that. You shouldn't even need to collet size them afterwards, the neck will be the size it would be if you had just FL sized the case, so what more needs to be done?