Just getting back (busy week...), yes, I've noticed the same thing.
Thinking about it, the consequence is one or several cases with a tighter than ideal bolt closure drag. I could reset the die and resize the cases again, but I don't. I don't believe in working the brass any more than is absolutely necessary, so I will adjust the die, but leave the cases alone until the next loading, living with the drag for this loading cycle. Accuracy issues would also likely be less than one might imagine, since the firing cycle pressures will expand both the case and the chamber appreciably; effectively equalizing the pressure/expansion effects of resizing for all of the cases in that reloading cycle.
Folks will (rightly) repeat the longtime mantra that case size constitutes true chamber size. But it is the expanded case size that defines that volume.
I'm gonna get into case resizing now, and some of this is not going to conform with popular handloading dogma. As might be expected with the likes of me, I don't do things simply because they agree with common wisdom.
I (sorta) neck resize (mostly), but I still use the standard Full Length Resizing Die to accomplish the task. I use an old and currently disused practice that dates back to the days when Benchrest shooters only had F/L dies to work with. I call it partial length neck resizing, because that's pretty much what it is.
I set up the die with it backed off most of the length of the case neck, allowing only about 1/16"-1/8" of the very end of that case neck to actually enter the die, and yes, I also use the expander ball. This leaves the lower portion of the neck (and the lower portion of the case wall as well...) unresized. Obviously, this does not allow the case shoulder to be contacted (I have another trick for dealing with that process).
Why do this? Well it works the brass less, especially in the lower case wall area, where such working can contribute the case head separations. It only works the mouth area of the neck, too.
These expanded portions of the case wall and case neck do something that other case neck resizing techniques can't. By leaving these areas still expanded, they permit the case to more precisely center itself into the chamber when the bolt gets closed.
This means the case is more precisely aligned with the bore axis when ignition occurs. Is this a crucial distinction? I don't know, but logic would suggest that cases that aren't left expanded fore and aft will end up randomly cocked in the chamber when ignition occurs, and when the case neck opens to release the bullet, what do we think the rest of the case is doing? Whatever it is, it's maybe a whole lot more internal motion and realignment during the crucial bullet/rifling entry phase than I'd want to be seeing happening.
But what about the case shoulders? Well, case shoulders don't usually need bumping back for every cycle. If you forego hotter loads, it happens a lot less often, too; which is a key reason why I counsel against hotloading. Case necks also go through not so much expansion during the firing cycle, so case neck splits may be getting postponed, too.
But we still haven't addressed the case shoulders. For overlong case shoulder, I need to readjust the die so it bumps the shoulder back for just that cycle. That can be a pain to set up and restore back, and subjects the case wall and neck to a full length resizing, so I do it as seldom as possible. Actually, for my .30BR cases, I have yet to do it at all since I did the original F/L resize in the first loading two years ago. That's a good part of what I mean about milder loads being better.
Another strategy could be to use the F/L die for a similar case design, but one that uses a larger bullet diameter, like using a .308 case for a .260 case, or a .358 Win die for a .308 case, as a shoulder bump die. The case shoulder and body gets a complete resize, the case neck remains untouched, and the other die setup, with the partial length adjustment, remains undisturbed. More expensive, yep, but the logic could justify it.
Are there other advantages to partial length neck resizing? Maybe. In my experimentation, I determined that the best neck tension is the least neck tension. This can go too far, and neck tension so light that it allows the bullet to be shifted during chambering (or extraction) is too little. This is also another reason why I set up the Cartridge OAL to jump, instead of jam. When I set up the F/L die for partial resizing, I use a dummy round, and adjust the resizing die so the seated bullet can be spun in the case with just the grip of forefinger and thumb on the bullet. I then increase the resizing die depth until it can't. This provides a definable and repeatable neck tension. I'm not trying for some numeric value, rather; I'm trying for something that can be defined, recognized, and repeated. The important part here is that we can keep up with neck hardening by repeating this setup refinement every few loading cycles. Keeping the neck tension relatively consistent and verifiably so is the overall goal here, because neck tension is one of the crucial factors in establishing load development die setup parameters.
When loads go bad, it's this factor that usually is to blame, and also the factor the fewest people will suspect is at the cause of all the confusion. Neck hardening dictates that neck tension will change, and this resizing technique keeps it under good management. Simply sizing to a specific diameter pays zero heed to the brass hardening factor, and even though the numbers look good, the neck tension is still always going to be in transition with such methods.
Again, my methods ignore the numbers, and deal directly with the actual situation, which the numbers can often fail to reveal.
BTW, an earlier reference advised that primer pockets need cleaning. I tried/tested this and found no reliable evidence it does anything related to accuracy; but it does soothe the soul.
Two weeks ago, I took delivery of one of these Ultrasonic Cleaners. I put my Wife's rings in for 10 minutes and boyohboy, do they look a lot better now. I then threw in 60 of my Lapua .30br cases which have been accumulating internal crud for lo these past two years. I had to keep repeating, until I got just past 2 hours, but yessir, those case now look completely virginal (clean, yes, shiny, no...; including the primer pockets since I also had the stupid luck to have done them with the primers removed). Future cleanings should take a lot less time, now.
BTW, the thing issues a soft, insidious 43Hz buzz, so be advised it drives normally docile cats insane, and people slightly less so. I have been advised that either I or 'that thing' are hereby banished from the inhabited areas of our domicile.
Greg
PS, I just finished cleaning a quart container full of old once fired .223 LC brass that had been sitting dormant for about a decade. A quart is to big a load for the 3 liter capacity of my little Ultrasonic Cleaner. I halved the quantity of brass, reduced the water level to just cover it and fortified the Citric Acid/Dawn solution. After a half hour the neck interiors are completely free of soot, and I'm assuming the rest of the interiors follow suit. Although I used Lemishine for the .30BR, I replaced it with one packet of Unsweetened Kool-Aide Lemonade with the .223. The two products are essentially citric acid, but the Kool-Aide only costs 20 cents a pack. It works just fine.
Thinking about it, the consequence is one or several cases with a tighter than ideal bolt closure drag. I could reset the die and resize the cases again, but I don't. I don't believe in working the brass any more than is absolutely necessary, so I will adjust the die, but leave the cases alone until the next loading, living with the drag for this loading cycle. Accuracy issues would also likely be less than one might imagine, since the firing cycle pressures will expand both the case and the chamber appreciably; effectively equalizing the pressure/expansion effects of resizing for all of the cases in that reloading cycle.
Folks will (rightly) repeat the longtime mantra that case size constitutes true chamber size. But it is the expanded case size that defines that volume.
I'm gonna get into case resizing now, and some of this is not going to conform with popular handloading dogma. As might be expected with the likes of me, I don't do things simply because they agree with common wisdom.
I (sorta) neck resize (mostly), but I still use the standard Full Length Resizing Die to accomplish the task. I use an old and currently disused practice that dates back to the days when Benchrest shooters only had F/L dies to work with. I call it partial length neck resizing, because that's pretty much what it is.
I set up the die with it backed off most of the length of the case neck, allowing only about 1/16"-1/8" of the very end of that case neck to actually enter the die, and yes, I also use the expander ball. This leaves the lower portion of the neck (and the lower portion of the case wall as well...) unresized. Obviously, this does not allow the case shoulder to be contacted (I have another trick for dealing with that process).
Why do this? Well it works the brass less, especially in the lower case wall area, where such working can contribute the case head separations. It only works the mouth area of the neck, too.
These expanded portions of the case wall and case neck do something that other case neck resizing techniques can't. By leaving these areas still expanded, they permit the case to more precisely center itself into the chamber when the bolt gets closed.
This means the case is more precisely aligned with the bore axis when ignition occurs. Is this a crucial distinction? I don't know, but logic would suggest that cases that aren't left expanded fore and aft will end up randomly cocked in the chamber when ignition occurs, and when the case neck opens to release the bullet, what do we think the rest of the case is doing? Whatever it is, it's maybe a whole lot more internal motion and realignment during the crucial bullet/rifling entry phase than I'd want to be seeing happening.
But what about the case shoulders? Well, case shoulders don't usually need bumping back for every cycle. If you forego hotter loads, it happens a lot less often, too; which is a key reason why I counsel against hotloading. Case necks also go through not so much expansion during the firing cycle, so case neck splits may be getting postponed, too.
But we still haven't addressed the case shoulders. For overlong case shoulder, I need to readjust the die so it bumps the shoulder back for just that cycle. That can be a pain to set up and restore back, and subjects the case wall and neck to a full length resizing, so I do it as seldom as possible. Actually, for my .30BR cases, I have yet to do it at all since I did the original F/L resize in the first loading two years ago. That's a good part of what I mean about milder loads being better.
Another strategy could be to use the F/L die for a similar case design, but one that uses a larger bullet diameter, like using a .308 case for a .260 case, or a .358 Win die for a .308 case, as a shoulder bump die. The case shoulder and body gets a complete resize, the case neck remains untouched, and the other die setup, with the partial length adjustment, remains undisturbed. More expensive, yep, but the logic could justify it.
Are there other advantages to partial length neck resizing? Maybe. In my experimentation, I determined that the best neck tension is the least neck tension. This can go too far, and neck tension so light that it allows the bullet to be shifted during chambering (or extraction) is too little. This is also another reason why I set up the Cartridge OAL to jump, instead of jam. When I set up the F/L die for partial resizing, I use a dummy round, and adjust the resizing die so the seated bullet can be spun in the case with just the grip of forefinger and thumb on the bullet. I then increase the resizing die depth until it can't. This provides a definable and repeatable neck tension. I'm not trying for some numeric value, rather; I'm trying for something that can be defined, recognized, and repeated. The important part here is that we can keep up with neck hardening by repeating this setup refinement every few loading cycles. Keeping the neck tension relatively consistent and verifiably so is the overall goal here, because neck tension is one of the crucial factors in establishing load development die setup parameters.
When loads go bad, it's this factor that usually is to blame, and also the factor the fewest people will suspect is at the cause of all the confusion. Neck hardening dictates that neck tension will change, and this resizing technique keeps it under good management. Simply sizing to a specific diameter pays zero heed to the brass hardening factor, and even though the numbers look good, the neck tension is still always going to be in transition with such methods.
Again, my methods ignore the numbers, and deal directly with the actual situation, which the numbers can often fail to reveal.
BTW, an earlier reference advised that primer pockets need cleaning. I tried/tested this and found no reliable evidence it does anything related to accuracy; but it does soothe the soul.
Two weeks ago, I took delivery of one of these Ultrasonic Cleaners. I put my Wife's rings in for 10 minutes and boyohboy, do they look a lot better now. I then threw in 60 of my Lapua .30br cases which have been accumulating internal crud for lo these past two years. I had to keep repeating, until I got just past 2 hours, but yessir, those case now look completely virginal (clean, yes, shiny, no...; including the primer pockets since I also had the stupid luck to have done them with the primers removed). Future cleanings should take a lot less time, now.
BTW, the thing issues a soft, insidious 43Hz buzz, so be advised it drives normally docile cats insane, and people slightly less so. I have been advised that either I or 'that thing' are hereby banished from the inhabited areas of our domicile.
Greg
PS, I just finished cleaning a quart container full of old once fired .223 LC brass that had been sitting dormant for about a decade. A quart is to big a load for the 3 liter capacity of my little Ultrasonic Cleaner. I halved the quantity of brass, reduced the water level to just cover it and fortified the Citric Acid/Dawn solution. After a half hour the neck interiors are completely free of soot, and I'm assuming the rest of the interiors follow suit. Although I used Lemishine for the .30BR, I replaced it with one packet of Unsweetened Kool-Aide Lemonade with the .223. The two products are essentially citric acid, but the Kool-Aide only costs 20 cents a pack. It works just fine.
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