about straight cartridges vs straightened cartridges. When reloading rifle cartridges, I try to get the most concentricity I can with what I have in the way of equipment. When re-sizing, I make sure my die is squared up with the shell holder. I remove the decamper/expander stem from the die then replace it loosely after re-sizing and expand the neck on a downstroke so as to not disturb the neck alignment. I measure neck thickness on each piece of brass for uniformity. When seating the bullet, I am careful to keep it as straight as possible. My goal is to keep concentricity within .0002 or less on each cartridge, yet on about one out of four that I run thru my concentricity gauge exceeds that amount up to .006/.008. I use the Tru-tool or the Hornady gauge itself to straighten those that are out of spec. My question is this: Do straightened cartridges shoot as accurately as those that need no straightening? Should I cull out the “straightened” cartridges for plinking use? My shooting ability (or that of the rifle) can’t discern a concistent answer. Sometimes “yes” and sometimes “no”. What say you?
I think what you need to do is examine how you are setting up your die. I am confused, or perhaps fail to understand why 1 out of every 4 seems to be excessive. If the die is set up correctly, and everything is tight, then all the cartridges should be fine, unless you have a bad die. But heck, even If the die was the problem, then run out would be excessive for most if not all of them. Don't mess with the decapper. Install it tightly, the way the manufacturer describes. Wobbly parts introduce inconsistencies.
I would start from scratch and set up the die according to the manufacturer's recommendation. Don't overthink the method.
The last thing, "My shooting ability (or that of the rifle) can’t discern a concistent answer." suggests to me that you must start back at the beginning. Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are trying to do too much. Don't attempt to load cartridges using any method other than what is in the manufacturer's instructions. The KISS principle is the way to go here. Ignore anything that you've read WRT die set up and stick with the basics.
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