Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Partial Full Length Resizing ??

I'm looking for a better method. I now color the neck and shoulder with a black marker and the resize. I seem to be having a harder time seeing the sizing mark when trying to bump the shoulder. To many birthdays I guess. Is the Hornady Lock-N-Load Headspace Gage or the Wilson gauge worth a damn? Do you have a better method?

Thanks.. BP...

Redding body die, and a neck sizing die.

After reading this, I am on the side of avoiding the practice. I know what you are going for but I would either go with the above advice or just go with a full length resize and call it good.

Link

When I want to bump the shoulder back, I use an RCBS precision mic. There are other, and some think better, devices, but it's what I have and am used to using. I would think the Hornady comparators would be great.

I measure a fired case and simply adjust the die down until I get about .002" setback.

When I don't want to set the shoulder back, I use a .050" shim, placing it on the shellholder and raising the ram. I then screw the die down until contact, lower the ram and turn the die in slightly, raise the ram fully, pressing the shim against the shellholder, then tighten the die. This is to square the die with the ram.

I avoid partial full length sizing. It has always caused more problems for me than it has solved.

I use the Hornady gauge set and bump the shoulder back a couple of thousands.

Like what? How many is 'more'?...

I use neck dies when I want to partial resize and for a gague I just use the rifle when needing to bump.

Sooting the neck and shoulder with a candle works better for me than a marker. It is much more positive that I am getting the shoulder bumped. Also, I do this in conjunction with a Hornady compirator. The soot just lets me know when to slow down the turns.

I use the Wilson gages for every thing. The degree of annealing in the cases varies, resulting in a few case sized shorter or longer than the rest. Other systems for measuring this are awkward to use for checking 100% of the cases.

Smoke the neck...you'll see the marks of the die when you size down far enough to make several marks around the radius of the neck. Once you see the marks you can stop. powdr

Put a witness mark on the size die. Size a piece of brass incrementally until the bolt closes on a case the way you want it to. Now note the position of the die in the press.

Be sure to use the same shell holder in later sizing sessions.

You will NOT regret buying the $35 hornady hs bushing kit....one of the BEST bangs for the $ on my bench!

I wonder what every one did before neck sizing dies were available. Oh I know, we didn't screw the FL die all the way down and watched the neck of the case while adjusting the die. Then if the shoulder really needed bumped back which usually it doesn't ,we screwed the die in enough so the empty brass would chamber like we wanted it to.

Agree.

Dies are cheap. Buy a neck sizer and be done with it.

Buy a Lee Collet Die and be done with it. Fixed it for you.

Might be over simplistic but I put a 1/32 thick washer under the lock ring of my FL die to partial full length resize. It's consistent and works as good or better than anything else I've tried for that. Still got to lube the case though.

Vince, none of us know because we weren't alive back then.

What was it like when you guys had to use Cordite?

Thanks all but I think I misrepresented myself by not using the correct terminology. I have a Redding neck sizer but I'm loading for several Savage 99's and just want to "bump" the shoulder back without a full resize. Just looking for a shortcut. Sorry for the confusion.

BP...

The Redding body die is the best bet that I've used. That in conjunction with the Hornady headspace gauge (mine is a Stoney Point from before Hornady bought them) will give you the exact "bump" measurements.

Smoking the shoulder, marking it, feeling the bolt closing - I've used them all and they all work but the Hornady gauge or similar device from RCBS or Wilson will give you an absolute quantitative measurement if that is important to you. I'm a die hard anal retentive handloader and like knowing that the shoulders are moving exactly .002" but won't claim that it is absolutely necessary.

And since I'm being AR, the body die actually does resize the case body the same as a FL die, squeezing the expansion ring as well as the length and circumference of the shoulder, it just has several thousandth's clearance around the neck so that isn't touched. One neat unintended benefit of this is that you can resize loaded ammo if for some reason you have a need to. BTDT and it works like a charm.