Does my brass even need prep?

[rd2play]

I have a few cases that I fired out of my 308 bolt action, I tumbled them, deprimed (no sizing), and, when I checked, they chamber just fine. The length increased, but, as I said, they chamber. I can seat the bullet just fine without any neck expanding.

Can I just skip any brass prep stages and go straight to reloading them? (For use in the same rifle).

[TacticalPlinker]

I have a few cases that I fired out of my 308 bolt action, I tumbled them, deprimed (no sizing), and, when I checked, they chamber just fine. The length increased, but, as I said, they chamber. I can seat the bullet just fine without any neck expanding.

Can I just skip any brass prep stages and go straight to reloading them? (For use in the same rifle).

Sounds pretty much like you already prepped the brass... Also in a bolt action, the case length should not matter as much as with a semi-auto, especially if you're not using a magazine fed action. They should be short enough to not cause a jam. Have you measured them against published Case Length data?

EDIT: No resizing could be an issue. They might expand enough to cause a jam or "stuck bolt".

[NoNOS67]

Neck tension is the thing you're most likely to have issues with. My question is why? No offense, but if you're the type that likes to cut corners, reloading probably isn't for you.

[rd2play]

I'm new to rifle reloading. I have no problems going through the entire prep stage, but I keep reading online that for bolt action you only need to FL size after several reloads. Just neck sizing is needed. But then... if the bullet can be seated, why would even neck sizing be needed?

Again, please understand, I don't try to cut corners, just to understand.

[damndave]

In a bolt action rifle, you only need to FL resize every few reloadings, but you do need to neck size. You still need to chamfer and deburr. Scratched up bullets can greatly effect accuracy.

[magic32]

I like case prep, just because. Really though, I'm shooting them so I like to make sure everything is up to snuff. Be safe. Enjoy.

[NoNOS67]

I'm new to rifle reloading. I have no problems going through the entire prep stage, but I keep reading online that for bolt action you only need to FL size after several reloads. Just neck sizing is needed. But then... if the bullet can be seated, why would neck sizing be needed?

Again, please understand, I don't try to cut corners, just to understand.

Again, it's necessary for proper neck tension. Will these be for range use, or hunting? FL sizing is recommended for hunting use, as reliability is of the utmost importance. At a minimum, I would neck size and verify that case length is within specs.

My apologies if my first post came across as accusatory; it was intended as a general statement.

[farnorcal]

I believe you want the neck .003 to .004 smaller than the projectile. Not 100 percent sure about 308 but is a good start

[rd2play]

Thanks for the replies. I'll use them for targets. I guess I will trim (debur/chamfer) and neck size (FL size later) for now.

[GeoffLinder]

You ALWAYS need to neck size or the case mouth won't grip the bullet properly. You can do this with regular size dies by screwing them in just enough to not bump the shoulder back. You can also get neck size only dies.

It is not a bad idea to bump the shoulder back just a tiny bit (about .001") if you are looking to use the reloads for hunting or other reliability required usages, this insures they will not be difficult to chamber and require a lot of force to close the bolt. For plain target shooting this will probably not be an issue in a bolt action as long as they are going back into the same rifle they were fired from.

[rd2play]

I'm really confused about this. I have a Lyman M die for neck expanding. I read the instructions and what it does is to flare the mouth so that it doesn't shave the bullet. However, as I said, I can seat the bullet just fine without any neck expanding.

Should I just trim (and debur/chamfer) and that's it?

[rsrocket1]

You are talking about neck expanding as you alluded to in your OP. Others are talking about neck sizing which is the opposite, shrinking the neck so that it properly holds the bullet.

There is no need and never was a need to use the M-die to expand the neck for jacketed bullets. The M-die is used to widen the neck the full length of the bullet so that you don't swage a lead bullet when seating it.

99% of the time, simply chamfering the neck is enough to start the bullet seating process. Neck sizing is definitely required because the neck expands during shooting and you want consistent neck tension to hold the bullet in the case during transport and chambering. You should have enough tension so that you cannot push the bullet in by hand, but might be able to push it if you put your weight behind it while pushing it against the table (that much neck tension is what you want).

[rd2play]

Got it, thanks rsrocket1.

[22popnsplat]

look up fitted neck casses on varmit al's website , I have never done it but have considered trying it on some of my wildcats.

[GeoffLinder]

You are talking about neck expanding as you alluded to in your OP. Others are talking about neck sizing which is the opposite, shrinking the neck so that it properly holds the bullet.

There is no need and never was a need to use the M-die to expand the neck for jacketed bullets. The M-die is used to widen the neck the full length of the bullet so that you don't swage a lead bullet when seating it.

99% of the time, simply chamfering the neck is enough to start the bullet seating process. Neck sizing is definitely required because the neck expands during shooting and you want consistent neck tension to hold the bullet in the case during transport and chambering. You should have enough tension so that you cannot push the bullet in by hand, but might be able to push it if you put your weight behind it while pushing it against the table (that much neck tension is what you want).

This is exactly right. ^^^

Neck must be sized down and then popped out to correct ID with expander ball in size die. Mouth belling or flaring is never needed for rifle cartridges using jacketed bullets. You can usually seat boat tails easily without a chamfer on case mouth inside edge, flat base bullets will almost always want some chamfer to seat properly.