PPU 8x57 brass with tight necks

I'm just now getting around to do some load development for my model 110 with its 8x57 Shilen barrel. Last year was of course a bear for finding rifle brass, so when some 8x57 PPU brass came up (200 shells) I took it.

In prepping the brass during the last few days, I found it just a little more than 0.001" over the trim spec, but the shocker was finding that the neck diameter on the entire batch was undersize. Now an undersize neck is not something one usually gets to deal with. I tried using the mandrel in my Lee Collet die to expand them, prior to sizing them with the collet, but the mandrel was really not intended for that and the surface hardness is not quite high enough either. I tried running the expander through them in my full length die, setting the expander low in the die. That only worked with lubing all the case necks. So I had to lube all the cases, hit the neck with the expander ball, then collet size.

Then I ran them through the stainless pin tumber with detergent to get them clean again, dry them in the oven at 170F. Now I am ready to chamfer the case mouths and load some primers....

If anyone were to use these cases as bought, they might have a rather frustrating time with load development.