204Ruger

Im sittin infront of my press at the moment debating the pros and cons of each. What do you guys do and why?

I only neck size. I don't like the idea of working my precious brass any more than needed. At some time you will want to "bump" the shoulders when needed. About .002 is all thats needed. For this you can use an FL die with out the expander ball. Or you can get a regular "bump" die.

I also neck size only, as much as possible. Limit full length sizing as much as possible and you will get more reloads out of your brass, as long as you are not running full throttle. Bill K

If you open a brand new bag-o-brass of any brand, you will find that it easily chambers in your rifle right out of the box, so why would anyone work that brass in a F/L die when it already chambers just dandy? F/L sizing of new brass makes zero sense. Do the normal prep on primer pocket, flash hole and case mouth and neck size only. The neck sizing ensures good consistent neck tension; critical to accuracy. The case already fits in your chamber, so why mess with the case body/shoulder by full length sizing and work the brass?

Like the others said, neck size it now, then when it starts to chamber with a hard bolt handle down, then bump it in the F/L die just enough to chamber with slight bolt resistance.

At this stage in your handloading career, it may be a good time to do some reading on the subject to determine why you're doing some things and not others at the bench. When you're dinking about with pressures at the 60,000 psi level 3" from your face, it's probably good to have a healthy understanding of what's going on and why. Education is good; read the reloading chapter at the beginning of every primary loading manual. It will answer a lot of questions you'll likely have. There's no shortcuts.

Hey thanks Rick. Ive done a lot of reading but I've seen conflicting info between brands and i thought I would see what the majority does. I'm aware the fire formed casings is the best fit and i thought why re-shape what fits perfect. But then I read what other experienced reloader say and they believe in fl over neck sizing. Thanks for the input my .204 brothers.

i have a question for all ,,, on this subject ,,,,,does it matter if your reloading rounds that may go into multiple firearms

savgebolt wrote:,does it matter if your reloading rounds that may go into multiple firearms

If you are reloading for more than 1 rifle in the same caliber, You will need to keep the brass from one firearm sorted for another rifle of the same caliber. No 2 chambers are exactly the same measurements. If you don't want to go thru this process, and don't feel the need to sepparrate your brass, you will have to full length size your brass in the same caliber after each firing. Like RIO stated in his post, read your reload manuals!

I FL size only. I have never lost a case because of FL sizing. I've been reloading the 204 since 2006 and the only brass that I've used is hornady. Savagebolt can confirm what I've typed here is true.

BTW,this is a great forum. Long time reader and this is my 1st post.

I full length size new brass before the first firing, that is to square the necks before trimming to equal length.
Subsequent firings I partially neck size only, because my theory is that the case is fire formed to the exact contours of the chamber,
therefore making them uniform in shape which aids accuracy.

[quote="Rick in Oregon"]If you open a brand new bag-o-brass of any brand, you will find that it easily chambers in your rifle right out of the box, so why would anyone work that brass in a F/L die when it already chambers just dandy? F/L sizing of new brass makes zero sense. Do the normal prep on primer pocket, flash hole and case mouth and neck size only. The neck sizing ensures good consistent neck tension; critical to accuracy. The case already fits in your chamber, so why mess with the case body/shoulder by full length sizing and work the brass?

Like the others said, neck size it now, then when it starts to chamber with a hard bolt handle down, then bump it in the F/L die just enough to chamber with slight bolt resistance.

Hi Rick,

I have been using a Redding Body Die for resizing after shooting - Bumping the Shoulder Back appx .002-.003 (Shooting a 39 Gr Sierra MK .2 under Max Load of H4895, Winchester Brass), How many firings are you getting before you have to Full Length Re-Size?, Would you care to give an Estimate. I am thinking once I started experiencing the hard chambering (bolt closing) that I went to using the Redding Body Die bumping the Shoulder back every firing. I an using the Lee Collet die for the neck sizing and have been getting good loads with low run out.

Always willing to learn more, If you think I could get by with just neck sizing and Redding Body Sizing every other firing, I would be willing to give it a try. Of course I would hope my Load Group Size would still be good. I did have this load in my rifle giving me 5/8-3/4 3 shot inch groups @ 200 yds.( I have been having some trouble lately getting the Small groups-something has changed. I am going to have to work on that again.

Thanks- I appreciate your thoughts and experience in regard to working up GOOD Loads.

FoxGuy