The Foundation of Accuracy: Sizing and Its Importance
The world of handloading offers a unique blend of precision, cost-effectiveness, and the satisfaction of crafting your own ammunition. For those who delve into this fascinating pursuit, understanding the nuances of each process becomes crucial. A cornerstone of successful handloading is the meticulous task of sizing brass. This article delves into the often-debated topic of neck sizing versus full length sizing, providing a comprehensive guide to help you make the best choices for your reloading endeavors.
Reloading involves taking spent cartridge cases, or brass, and transforming them into functional rounds ready for the rifle. A critical step in this transformation is resizing.
Resizing, as the name suggests, is the process of returning the fired brass to a shape and dimensions that are compatible with your rifle’s chamber. During firing, the brass expands to conform to the shape of the chamber. This expansion can cause the brass to stretch, distort, or even stick in the chamber. Sizing addresses these changes, ensuring that the reloaded cartridge fits the chamber properly. Furthermore, proper sizing contributes significantly to consistent bullet seating and alignment, which directly impacts accuracy. If the case is not properly sized, feeding issues, extraction problems, and ultimately, poor accuracy, can result. It’s a foundational step that determines the success of every reloaded round.
Understanding the Two Main Paths: Neck Sizing and Full Length Sizing
The two primary methods for sizing brass represent distinct approaches to the same goal – restoring the brass to its optimal dimensions. They each have specific advantages, disadvantages, and are best suited for different applications and rifle types. Both techniques are fundamental to reloading but differ in their scope and implications.
Neck Sizing: A Focused Approach for Accuracy
Neck sizing, as the name implies, focuses solely on resizing the neck portion of the cartridge case. This method involves passing only the neck of the fired brass through a sizing die. The die’s inner dimension is slightly smaller than the diameter of the chamber neck, allowing it to restore the neck’s diameter, ensuring it will properly grip the bullet during seating.
The mechanics are straightforward. After firing, the spent brass, which has expanded to conform to the chamber, is inserted into the neck sizing die. As the case is withdrawn, the die reduces the neck’s diameter to hold the bullet securely. The remainder of the case body remains untouched by the resizing process. It is an approach that concentrates its efforts on the region responsible for bullet retention and alignment.
Advantages of Neck Sizing
One of the most significant advantages of neck sizing is its potential for enhanced accuracy. By only working the neck, the brass undergoes less overall stress and manipulation. This can lead to improved concentricity, meaning the bullet and case are more perfectly aligned. Such precise alignment minimizes any potential tilting or misalignment of the bullet upon leaving the case, contributing to greater accuracy downrange.
Neck sizing also offers the benefit of extended brass life. Because the full case body is not being resized, the brass is subjected to less work-hardening. Work-hardening is a process that makes the brass more brittle over repeated use. The less the brass is worked, the longer it is likely to last before it becomes brittle and prone to cracking. This reduces the need to replace brass frequently, leading to greater cost savings and conservation of resources.
Another advantage for the reloader is that neck sizing is generally considered a simpler and quicker process than full length sizing. With fewer operations involved, the reloading process can be sped up without sacrificing quality. This is especially important for those who reload a lot of ammunition.
Disadvantages of Neck Sizing
The downsides of neck sizing are related to its limitations. It is typically only suitable for bolt-action rifles. Other rifle types, especially semi-automatic, often require the complete resizing of the case body. For neck sizing to be effective, the brass must consistently fit the chamber of the rifle in which it is fired. If the case is too large, it can cause feeding or extraction issues, and if it is too small, it can fail to properly align the bullet, impacting accuracy.
When to Use Neck Sizing
For whom is neck sizing a good choice? Neck sizing excels in applications where the focus is on maximum accuracy. This includes target shooting, benchrest shooting, and precision rifle competitions. For such applications, the increased concentricity and reduced stress on the brass are highly valued.
Full Length Sizing: A Versatile and Robust Approach
Full length sizing is a more comprehensive method, as it resizes the entire case body, including the neck. When using a full length sizing die, the entire spent case passes through the die, which reduces the case’s dimensions to the specifications required.
The mechanics of full length sizing involve the case being inserted into the full length sizing die, which is designed to reduce the diameter of both the case body and the neck. The sizing die encompasses the entire casing and, when used, restores the brass to its original dimensions, or often slightly smaller to allow for bullet seating. This full-body resizing ensures that the cartridge will fit properly in any rifle chamber. The use of a sizing lubricant is critical to assist the brass in this process and to reduce the potential for case damage.
Advantages of Full Length Sizing
The advantage of full length sizing is its versatility. It ensures compatibility with all types of rifles, including semi-automatic, pump-action, and lever-action rifles. The fully resized brass is more likely to feed and extract reliably from these action types. The full length process is designed to restore brass to SAAMI or CIP (depending on the cartridge) specifications.
Full length sizing is also necessary for brass that will be used in multiple rifles chambered for the same cartridge. This ensures the ammunition will properly chamber in all rifles. It is also the method of choice if you are using a rifle with a chamber that is not precisely matched to the fired brass.
Further, full length sizing is a useful tool for correcting case deformation. Sometimes a case will be dented or damaged during firing or handling. Full length sizing can often restore a case to its original dimensions, allowing it to be used again.
Disadvantages of Full Length Sizing
The drawbacks of full length sizing are that it works the brass more extensively, which can lead to shorter case life. Because the entire case body is resized, the brass experiences more stress, which accelerates work-hardening. In the long run, this can shorten the usable lifespan of the brass.
Also, full length sizing might not consistently yield the same level of accuracy as neck sizing. The increased working of the brass can potentially affect concentricity. However, it is important to note that full length sizing can still produce extremely accurate ammunition.
Full length sizing tends to be a more involved process that can take more time than neck sizing. It usually requires the use of sizing lubricant, which can add an extra step to the reloading process. However, this is a small price to pay for the benefits.
When to Use Full Length Sizing
When is full length sizing the appropriate choice? It is the better choice for a wide range of applications, including hunting, general-purpose shooting, and any situation where the ammunition must function reliably in different rifles. It is also the preferred method for beginners, as it is easier to get right.
Headspace: A Critical Consideration for Sizing
Regardless of whether you choose neck sizing or full length sizing, the concept of headspace is fundamental to safe and effective reloading. Headspace is the distance between the bolt face of a rifle and a specific point on the chamber. In most bottlenecked rifle cartridges, headspace is measured from the shoulder of the case to the bolt face.
Both neck sizing and full length sizing can affect headspace. Neck sizing, by leaving the case body largely untouched, will generally maintain the original headspace of the fired brass. Full length sizing, particularly when the die is adjusted to size the case body slightly, can influence headspace.
During full length sizing, reloader can control the headspace by adjusting the sizing die relative to the shell holder. The goal is to size the case enough to ensure reliable chambering, but not so much that the shoulder is pushed back excessively. A case that is resized too much may result in failures and accuracy issues. The importance of correctly managing headspace cannot be overstated.
One useful technique is known as “bumping the shoulder.” This means adjusting the full length sizing die so that the shoulder of the case is pushed back a small amount, typically a few thousandths of an inch. This ensures that the cartridge will reliably chamber, and also addresses the issue of excessive headspace.
The ideal amount of shoulder setback will vary depending on the rifle and cartridge. It is recommended to have a headspace comparator, which is a precision tool used to measure headspace.
Making the Right Choice for Your Needs
So, which method is best? There’s no definitive answer. It depends on your specific circumstances. Consider the type of rifle you’re using, your accuracy goals, your reloading experience, and the desired lifespan of your brass. For bolt-action rifles used primarily for target shooting, neck sizing can offer significant advantages in terms of accuracy and brass life. However, for semi-automatic rifles, lever-action rifles, or when using brass in multiple rifles, full length sizing is often the more practical choice.
For the reloader, full length sizing is a more forgiving and adaptable choice. If you are just getting started, it’s the easiest way to begin reloading safely and consistently. Neck sizing often requires greater precision and attention to detail, along with the right equipment.
Tools and Equipment
Both neck sizing and full length sizing necessitate the use of several tools. For both methods, you’ll require reloading dies specifically for the cartridge you are working with, a shell holder designed to fit the brass base, and, of course, a reloading press. Full length sizing also requires a suitable sizing lubricant, like Imperial Sizing Wax or Hornady Unique Case Lube, to prevent the brass from sticking in the die. Other useful tools can include case trimmers, chamfering tools, and bullet seating dies. Careful consideration of your tools and equipment will improve safety, and the quality of your reloads.
Conclusion: The Art of Reloading
Choosing between neck sizing and full length sizing is a key decision that influences the results of your reloading. Each method presents its own advantages and disadvantages, and the best choice varies depending on your needs. Understanding the principles discussed above, the nature of your rifle, and the goals for your ammunition is a vital part of the handloading journey. It is also important to emphasize that reloading must always be done with safety as the top priority. Reloading requires care, knowledge, and attention to detail. Make the choices that work best for your particular situation, and enjoy the benefits of crafting high-quality ammunition.
