Turning necks for .223

[callgood]

I am using a Wilson Sinclair neck turning tool on new Winchester brass. I set it to turn to .012" After running an expansion mandrel down the necks I am seeing-

Some necks with very little removed.

Many necks with everything from the mouth to the shoulder removed ON ONE SIDE only.

A few with a good deal removed all around the entire length to the shoulder.

Is turning to .012" a good setting as far as case longevity is concerned? The concentricity is running from .002 to .004.

On the first 50 I turned when I worked up my loads I turned to .011, but I thought this took off too much brass. However, I did get some great groups.

I loaded 150 turned to .012, but I haven't had a chance to shoot them (in a Bushmaster) and I'm trying to decide if I want to use a Lee FCD on them.

Thanks for you input....

 

[xring44]

The one side only being cut is fine, it indicates the brass is slightly thicker on one side than the other, problem being that the entire side of the case that the cutter is cutting is thicker. these cases will eventually bow or form a banana shape, the thin side expanding and contracting more readily. Athough I see no harm in turning the necks, little will be gained accuracy wise when fired from a standard chamber.IMO. I'm not following you on the cut too .010---.012? Are you refering to the thickness of the brass in the neck?
Actually you are better off removeing only the high side in a factory chamber as too much will invaribly leave too much space in the chamber neck and splits in the neck will occur in short order.

 

[callgood]

Thanks, xring.

I turned the first 50 cases to .011 when I was working up my load-

25.3 grains Varget
69 grain SMK
CCI 41

was the best combo. Best group I've ever gotten with this rifle. I didn't have a concentricity gauge at the time.

Thinking I might leave a little more brass on the case I backed off to .012" My concentricity gauge is showing anywhere from .002 variation to a few .004s.

I was wondering if this setting seemed reasonable from the standpoint of longevity. The 50 cases I trimmed to .011 all looked fine after the first firing.

 

[xring44]

.002 to .004 is extremely good with win/rem/fed cases, did you also check the case neck runout? Its good to check before and after fireing, gives you a good idea whether your chamber is cut square to the barrel. Sometimes run out is caused by the dies, easy to check it with a concentricy guage! Good luck with your loads, I have had some problems with winchester brass being extremely brittle, more so than Federal or Remington. Possibly just a bad lot.

 

[callgood]

Yes, case necks look good also. I plan to check concentricity before neck sizing, after neck sizing, and after seating the bullet on some cases to see how or if it changes through the process.

I realize a lot of this is unnecessary for a gas gun, but as I have the time I'm doing it as much for the education as anything. And as I said, it (or something) has resulted in great results, when compared to milsurp, WWB ammo. When I started loading for pistol I took the same approach. Being new, I figured if I could standardize as many things as possible I wouldn't have as many things to consider if somthing didn't turn out as expected. I haven't tried "match" ammo in the rifle. Probably should get a box and shoot it for comparison.

Thanks again for your input.