Discuss handloading, reloading and presses here.
 #47325  by Delta2Echo
 
A friend of mine just told me about something he read in regards to casing for a bolt action rifle. He suggested to me to back off my full length resizing die so that it doesn't touch the shoulder. Trim to the correct length, then load as you normally would.

His exact words were:

If you back off you full length sizing die until it does not touch the shoulder, you are leaving the cartridge the exact correct length and neck ogive, centering the cartridge perfectly enough that actual case expansion isn't a concern. Still get an easy inserting cartrige and bullet is dead center of bore.

I'm new to reloading for bolt action, so any tips and tricks I can pick up, I want to pick up. How does what he explain sound to those of you with more experience with bolt guns? Any draw backs you can think of?

Thanks for any and all input.
 #47354  by myopicvisionary
 
You are talking about neck sizing. Its necessity depends on the rifle/cartridge combination. His exact wording gives me pause as to his actual experience in reloading. Ogive is the curvature of the bullet profile, it has nothing to due with the case neck. Neck sizing is not the panacea that it was in the olden days. Full length sizing dies are so much better now. A stuck round from neck sizing on the range will only cost you a match. In the field it can cost much more. Neck sizing can be a benefit in some cases where oversize chambers are common. The .303 British is often a culprit in this area. In most modern rifles this is of no real concern. If you are a bench rest shooter, OK get anal over it. Otherwise, load good ammo and don't worry about the minutia. If you get to the point where you are better than your rifle then the advanced stuff is for you. Until then, shoot and enjoy.
 #47498  by schmenge
 
I think your friend may have been talking about case neck concentricity, not ogive. No big deal. Unless you're a match shooter, I say run your cases thru the sizer die all the way, check the case length and trim if necessary. You may get one or two more shots out of a case if you don't run them thru the sizer, but who knows for sure.

I size all my cases and get very good results with my 30-06 and 7 mag. My freezer is full! Have fun with it, good hunting!
 #47502  by Tony T
 
Take Federal's Gold Medal Match for example. It's not tailored to any particular chamber, it's just a good, consistent product. And out of my 700 it's more accurate than I am. It should easily do .5 moa at 100yds.