neck turning too much?

[Burnin-Powder]

I turned some 243 win necks too much and when run through an RCBS die they wont hold a bullet. Shouldn't the die size way too small then when the expander ball comes back through the neck, it will pull it back to size. The outside diameter of a case from the die is .270ish. Shouldn't a 243 die be a bit smaller than that? .260 would give about 10 thousants on each side. Is my die wrong or is that as much as most dies size? I would think it should go to .250 (which is too much but) then the expander would pull the inside diameter back to hold a .243 bullet with some neck tension say to .239 or .241. Is my die wrong or is that all they are suppose to do? Is this batch ruined?

[drybean]

yep sounds like it,remove your expander ball& then
check them,time to buy a bushing die or a lee
colet die
drybean

[justin1098]

dies don't go way too small because that would overwork the brass and cause split necks. What is your neck thickness after turning? Redding recomends one thousandth under the diameter of the neck on a loaded cartridge which should be the same as 2 times neck thickness plus .243.

You will probably need to use a bushing die or get a custom die if you have a tight neck custom chamber on your rifle. Or you could do the cheap thing and chuck your brass and start over.

[Burnin-Powder]

Shouldn't it be smaller than that though? I mean 27 thousants thats 13.5 on each side? I would think 6 or 7 thousants on each side would be enough. Is than not true? I would have thought .260 would be common. How thick are most necks?

[justin1098]

lapua brass is about .015. I don't know about other brands.

saami spec for 243 win is .276. That would be .0165 neck thickness.

http://www.saami.org/PubResources/CC...Winchester.pdf

[barrel-nut]

LEE collet die will solve your problem, and cheaply to boot.

[Burnin-Powder]

Thanks all for advice/help.

[Joe O]

You may not need to trash the brass.Remove the expander ball from the die and measure the neck.If you get .270 or less,it should hold a bullet.If larger than .270 maybe not.You want enough tention so that you cannot push the bullet in the case with your hand.Trimming necks for a Sammi chamber gives little or no advantage.Brass with neck uniformity out of wack,can benefit from a light turning ,to clean up the high spots(90%).Alternatives are:1.trash the brass(hopefully not many pieces),2.Lee collet die,and 3.Neck bushing die w/smaller bushings .266,.265.

[gotcha]

+1............. What joe said

[stangfish]

One thing I know is you are always learning. The more you learn the more you realize that everything you do has a purpose. If I may ask, what was the reason for turning the necks in the first place?

[Burnin-Powder]

Someone told me to. Uniform brass. I thought it might shoot better.

[stangfish]

Someone told me to. Uniform brass. I thought it might shoot better.

Next time they offer advice...smile and ask around. I am not what you would call a "serious" shooter but most of the time if your using a standard chamber you dont need to turn the necks. If you do, you would take just enough off to clean it up some. Probably leaving witness marks or low spots that dont clean up all the way. Less than .001 per side maybe. The Lee bushing die might work to fix your problem. If you took too much off you might not be able to obtain sufficient neck tension. I would say not all is lost, you have learned some things and can still use the stuff just be a little less agressive with the feed screw. ;D