FL size or Neck size.

[gkdir]

First of all let me state that although I have been a "shooter" for 50 some years, I have never "re-loaded" not one single round--until now!! Have slowly been acquiring all the "goodies" to reload several calibers (recently retired and bored) Have came to the quandry of whether or not to FL size my brass, or just neck size it. All my brass is once fired (mostly by me) down thru the years. All has been fired through "different" rifles of the same calibers. Every die set I have purchased always includes a FL and seater die--seldom a neck die. So since I probably have 10,000 pcs of brass from .223 thru .300why mag, and will probably never load a pc. of brass more than a couple times in its life--is their any reason for me to FL size? Thanks,

GD

 

[Rokman]

If you are going to shoot the same brass through more than one rifle with the same caliber, you will need to FL size. Even if you fire them in just one firearm per caliber, you will eventually have to FL size. If they are semi-auto or lever, then you should FL size. I have neck sized for several bolt actions after fireforming the brass and they worked fine. Clear as Mud? Good luck with your reloading endeavor. It's a great hobby.

 

[Walkalong]

Full length size at least to start. Get a gauge of some sort so you can see where you bump the shoulder to, or get a Wilson case gauge and size to fit it.

No reason to stop at two or three loadings. You can easily get 5 plus from your .223 even FL sizing.

-is their any reason for me to FL size

You have been shooting FL sized brass all your life, why stop now?

Here was a fun idea filled thread recently discussing the merits of sizing.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=582586

 

[918v]

If your brass has been fired through multiple rifles then you must FL size, otherwise they won't fit ALL your rifles.

 

[gamestalker]

FL sizing will still offer you a lot of case life. In just my 7mm rem. mag. alone, I was getting 6 to 8 cycles with maximum worked up loads before I started necking them. And belted magnums seem to expire brass a little faster than standard bottle neck cases, especially when loading to maximum SAMMI specs.
So in my opinion, I would just fL size for now, and if you later feel you need more from your brass, or simply want to explore other options, then think about necking your brass.
Another option you might want to consider though is a collet sizing die. I don't use them as yet, but I have heard they will extend case life by leaps and bounds, while maintaining the accuracy necking is known for as well. I'm going to explore that option in the near future to see if it lives up to everything I've heard about it.

 

[TooManyToys]

The 1st time around you will need to FL size since your brass has been fired in different guns.
After that, ( if you will keep the same brass & gun together) the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc loadings can be neck sized only since it is now fire formed to that guns chamber.

 

[blarby]

Allrighty, I'll pitch a couple pennies in here...

If you are fastidious enough to keep your brass separate for each rifle, I'd say go ahead and neck size after fire-forming. Its sometimes confusing, but if you have a precious brass type, or just not a lot of brass in general- it can be worth it to squeeze every last load out of each piece of brass.

If you are like me, and the brass goes EVERYWHERE, both at home and out at the range, you might be better off FL sizing just to be on the safe side.

At least at the range or on hunts you can bring one rifle of each caliber with you, in a "good starting effort" to keep your brass separated by rifle.

Once it hits the bench....or if you have exploratory cats who like shiny things ( especially moving shiny things from one pile to the other) all bets are off.

If you don't power load, you'd be surprised at what kind of life you can get out of brass even FL sizing. If you have piles and piles of it from a lifetime of shooting...which it sounds like you may..... you might just want to FL for all around safety and be done with it.

One last pitch on FL sizing : Heavens forbid you ever had to share ammo with anyone, for any reason.....you'll be glad you did and built it to spec, not to a specific rifles' chamber.