Neck Sizing Ruger #1

[roc1]

Can you neck size the #1 like a bolt gun? I have read you can only neck size bolt actions, which applies to lever and autos but single shots?
Thanks
roc1

 

[Ruger Packer]

As long as the brass you are neck sizing was originally fired in the gun for which you want to neck size, you CAN neck size it.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

Yeah, I found out the hard way that just neck sizing only could be a bad idea if you have several guns chambered in the same cartridge.

I had a Model 38 Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55. I used to neck size only to preserve brass life since brass was still fairly uncommon and it was mostly the expensive Norma stuff. A year or two later I got a Model 96 Swede. I loaded up some new brass and had a good time shooting it. Then one day, long after I had forgotten they were only neck sized, I fired those Model 38 loads in the 96. It was only after one case left the entire neck in the chamber did I check to find I had cracked over 40 of my nice Norma brass around the neck/shoulder. I naturally threw the rest away.

Uncool. But nothing more serious happened.

So if you do it, be *sure* to designate it on the loads as ONLY for that rifle!

 

[edfardos]

why exactly did the cases fail? I just started neck-sizing for 30-06. They work great (in the same chamber), but it's pretty obvious when looking at the cartridge that it's been neck-sized only (you can see where the sizer stopped, above the shoulder).

Do you neck size by backing out your regular sizing die? I've been backing out my rcbs sizing die by the width of a nickle (1.5 turns out) -- that's just enough sizing to hold the entire length of the projectile, but still the width of a nickle from the shoulder.


curiously,
edfardos

 

[VAdoublegunner]

I was neck sizing them as you describe it, by backing out a FL sizing die.

My guess, since they were all cracked at the neck/shoulder position, is that there was a mismatch between the main body of cartridge in the 2nd rifle's chamber (maybe too large ?) and the neck possibly gripped too tight or too quickly upon firing. Or it could have been a slight headspace difference? That is probably more likely, but I don't really know. I doubt the cartridge body was too snug a fit in the 2nd rifle. At least there was no indication when it was chambered. The shoulder was certainly not pushed back any, or if so only very slightly.

 

[edfardos]

Oh well, neck failure is better than a head separation. The later of which is what neck sizing tends to prevent. Thanks for sharing!

-edfardos

 

[roc1]

I buy neck dies so i can still partial full length size with the full length dies when it is needed. I also have more than one gun in some calibers so it is too much trouble to keep changing die settings.
roc1

 

[63November]

You can limit the amount you size your cases for a #1. The thing you have to do is make sure that they chamber easily. The worst thing you can do is get a loaded round stuck partially chambered. Doing so leaves you with two choices. You can either try to push it the rest of the way in with a wooden dowel or similar, risking the chance of really getting it stuck. (It goes without saying that you don't want to pound or tap it in as you might have troubles with the primer!) The second method of removing a stuck round would be to tap it out from the muzzle by using a rod. I don't fancy either method much and make sure my ammo fits well enough so that only the last few thousandths are snug in chambering, at the most. (The block can handle a small amount of chambering movement and force.)

 

[Idaho Spud]

I neck size for all my CF rifles except for the Ruger #1 in 243 and my Mod 94 Win in 30-30. The #1 definitely doesn't have the extraction power sufficient for me to trust it 100 per cent. I FL size all brass for it. I do neck size (with a dedicated NS die) for a bolt action in 243 Win.

 

[63November]

Actually, the #1 has the power to tear the rim off a case quite handily. Where it falls short is in power to chamber a round that is snug. If it will chamber far enough that it can be picked up by the falling block as it's raised, there is quite a bit of strength for chambering as well. Prior to that point however, the case needs to be pretty much a drop-in fit. Even a snug round that has chambered will be generally easy to extract as long as the pressure of the round is not excessive.

 

[mattsbox99]

I would also agree that the No. 1 has quite a bit of extraction power, though I've not ripped the rim off anything.

I do the partial full length sizing on my rifle reloads, but I only back off the FL die by 1 turn to prevent a 'donut' developing on the case neck.

I load for two No. 1s, a .25/06 and 6.5x55 Swede. I only have the one Swede, but I have a half dozen .25/06s and I can use all my reloads interchangeably.