Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

[Rmitch223]

Just recently fire formed my .243 Lapua brass. Most cases measure right at the trim to length of 2.035" Some are shorter by two or three thousandths and one is short by 6 thousandths.

Is the brass shorter than the trim to length okay to load and shoot?

I'm neck sizing them only this time around with a Lee collet neck sizing die.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[mgoodrich]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Yes, it is ok to shoot.

It is the bigger concern if it gets too long and the bullet is then crimped in when the bolt is closed causing higher pressure than normal.

Sinclair sells a part that can be used to see what your actual chamber is cut for.

I have a 243 AI that the trim lenth can be 10 mil beyond what is recomended.

 

[Rmitch223]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Another quick question: After neck sizing the brass is slightly harder to chamber. Is this normal? Its not real hard to close the bolt just slightly more pressure when doing so.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Nothing to worry about.

As to hard to chamber after neck sizing its common. I have never seen guys at competitions who neck size their brass that did not eventually have major problems, myself included. There is a simple quick fix for this, and it produces ammunition that is just as accurate and 100% reliable. Full length size them with a minimal shoulder bump, all problems are now solved.

 

[jfseaman]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rmitch223</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just recently fire formed my .243 Lapua brass. Most cases measure right at the trim to length of 2.035" Some are shorter by two or three thousandths and one is short by 6 thousandths.

...</div></div>
My Lapua .243 brass was short the same amount as yours. It got necked up to .260 and works very well.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: armorpl8chikn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nothing to worry about.

As to hard to chamber after neck sizing its common. I have never seen guys at competitions who neck size their brass that did not eventually have major problems, myself included. There is a simple quick fix for this, and it produces ammunition that is just as accurate and 100% reliable. Full length size them with a minimal shoulder bump, all problems are now solved. </div></div>What he said

 

[Sportin Wood]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Just shoot them. They will eventually grow past the trim point so keep your trimmer at the ready.

 

[plunker20]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

I ran into that with my .308 Winchester brass too

 

[Rmitch223]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Ok, so from the responses I have received here and from Nosler Reloading it seems to be normal that the neck sized brass is slightly harder to chamber. Will I still have adequate headspace to keep pressure down?

 

[ksthomas]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Well, yes, if you regard "slightly harder to chamber" as normal. Personally, I'd suggest you take the advice that's been given about simply F/L sizing and neatly avoid all these problems from the start. As has already been pointed out, what's slightly harder to chamber now, will at some point become impossible to chamber. This will happen at the worst possible moment, according to Mr. Murphy, in whom I whole-heartedly believe. And quite possibly impossible to extract, if you work at it hard enough (Forward Assists on ARs are really great for this; turn a SNAFU into a FUBAR with one, good punch). Full Length sizing just keeps you from ever having to deal with this crap, shoots just as (if not more) accurately than Neck Sizing, and isn't any harder on your brass so long as you're not going hog wild on pushing the shoulder back.

 

[Rmitch223]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Ok, I already have my FL die setup to bump the should back .002.

I would like to try these neck sized cases to see if it is any more accurate and because my step dad bought me this die for Christmas and I feel I should at least give it a shot.

Would I be okay loading these neck sized cases, shooting them and FL sizing them after this next firing?

 

[mgoodrich]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Yes you should be fine.

For myself on my bolt guns I neck size only, and since I do not shoot in contests I just check every round to make sure that they will chamber ok. Mostly just hunt so it doesn't take that much more time for my needs.

I started to neck size when I lost a bunch of brass to FL sizing to much on 220 swift (I have 5 different swifts). Now I seperate out the brass for each gun and only neck size.

For my AR's that I load for, I only full length size.

As far as accuracy goes you may find that the neck sizing is better, but then again it may not make any difference. I have a few guns that it doesn't matter, and a few it does.

I do the neck sizing mostly to get the most reloads out of the brass I can

 

[Rmitch223]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mgoodrich</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yes you should be fine.

For myself on my bolt guns I neck size only, and since I do not shoot in contests I just check every round to make sure that they will chamber ok. Mostly just hunt so it doesn't take that much more time for my needs.

I started to neck size when I lost a bunch of brass to FL sizing to much on 220 swift (I have 5 different swifts). Now I seperate out the brass for each gun and only neck size.

For my AR's that I load for, I only full length size.

As far as accuracy goes you may find that the neck sizing is better, but then again it may not make any difference. I have a few guns that it doesn't matter, and a few it does.

I do the neck sizing mostly to get the most reloads out of the brass I can </div></div>

Do you find that you have slightly more tension closing the bolt on neck sized only brass?

 

[Rmitch223]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

I went threw all the 45 pcs of brass I had necked sized yesterday and some had slight resistance in closing the bolt and some had substantial resistance. So I went ahead and FL resized every case.
Kinda disappointed in that I'm not gonna get to try some neck sized cases to compare accuracy, but when I FL sized them I set my die up to bump the shoulder back .003 from 1.625 to 1.622.

I'm thinking that my chamber dimensions might be tight because I compared the headspace of a few factory rounds I had laying around and they were all at 1.622 as well as some never fired Lupua brass that I have. Is this normal to have fire formed brass FL resized back to that "factory" head space dimension?

 

[Niles Coyote]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Brass from the factory it is normal to see some with different OAL, no worries. Neck sizing and having the bolt require more force to close is also normal. Redding makes a body bump die just for this reason because after 2 or 3 firings, typically, the case has grown enough to make it necessary. When I started loading for precision I too used a lee collet die after a year or so I tried a redding full length bushing die resizing die and tools to measure the shoulder. I set the die to bump the shoulder back .0015-.002 from my fired brass and no more bolt resistance issues. I took the expander ball off the decapping stem and control neck tension on the bullet with the size of bushing I use. Using this type of die I get the same accuracy as I did neck sizing only. Something else to keep in mind… I anneal my brass in the 243 now every other firing.

Factory brass/ammo is always a little short on most all measurements past the rim and case head. It’s just part of the manufacturing process. In my experience it takes a couple firings for the brass to fully expand and conform to the measurements of your chamber and that is typically when the bolt gets hard to close. Now, fully length sizing vs. neck only you will see your necks grow a little faster so you will trim a little more often… expect that.

My advice, shoot your brass and next time you size it try to keep from pushing the shoulder back .003”. Somewhere between .001-.002 is all you will need to keep you bolt closing with very little resistance.

 

[mgoodrich]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

Yes, it is normal that the bolt requires a bit more force to close when neck sizing.

I general can tell as well after the shot if I need to FL size my brass on opening it up as well, it takes a bit more force there also.

 

[Coloradocop]

Re: Fire formed Brass is shorter than trim to length??

I've been using the Lee die to neck size some of my .308 brass for about the last 300-400 rounds (I'd have to check my book to figure out an exact number). Anyway, I've had no problems with these loads, and it seems like working the brass less by neck sizing might increase its useful life. After about 4-5 firings I full-length sized the brass again, since it was starting to get a little tight in the gun. After full-length sizing the problem was solved.

I'm not claiming to be the foremost expert on reloading, but I haven't had a problem with neck sizing thus far. I should add that I only use neck-sized brass in the rifle that the case was originally fired in, and I only do so for my bolt action rifles.