rcbs competition FL die set(advice wanted)

[lannie]

The die set is in 22-250
part # 37101
I have neck sized for accuracy and brass life for the rifles i own. Have never owned more than 1 rifle for each caliber of centerfire. Hunting rifles I do cycle
each round to ensure smooth chambering. This new die set is equiped with a
FL sizer with a raised expander ball. For accuracy would i be better off to use
this FL resizer or use a Neck sizing die? In the past i have purchased neck sizing dies and am more comfortable with them rather than neck sizing with FL dies. Is the FL die in this set something special or ? Does anybody have expierience with this ? The seater die in this set is very impressive and i look forward to using it but i am wondering if i should buy a seperate neck sizing die. The rifle is a factory cz 550 varmint if that matters. Any help is appreciated.
thanks
lannie

[JWilliscroft]

First of all, I hope you recieved everthing as described !! Second, a properly adjusted FL sizing die does all that's required !! It will provide a fire formed case, without excessive play !! Set it to bump the shoulder of the chamber fired case .002" & you have a perfect fit for my (read Your) .22-250 !! There are several, very well made OAL gauges on the market. I personally have a Stoney Point (now Hornady), & a Sinclair that work very well !!

[JWilliscroft]

What .22-250 cases !! They stretch fast !! Even with a properly adjusted FL die, trimming is frequent !!

[Dean2]

Except in the very tight, and perfectly coecentric chambers cut into benchrest rifles it is not clear that one or the other of either neck sizing or FL sizing is inherently more accurate in a regular hunting or production varmint rifle.

What is VERY clear is that neck sized brass does not stretch as fast as FL sized brass. A full length die can be backed off to size the body less, which reduces the speed of stretching. What that also does is also back off the ability to bump the shoulder back the couple of thou it needs. Most reloaded cases that bind hard on chambering is because the neck radius is impacting the chamber too soon. This usually occurs after the 3rd or 4th firing if the neck is not being bumped back.

One of the best ways to slow brass stretch is to make it into a 22-250 AI. Short of doing that, my practice on all non-big game hunting brass, is to neck size only and bump the shoulder back .001 to .0015 from the cases length after the FIRST time it is fired. The brass of course has to be used in the same gun each time.

Done this way, and keeping the cases trimmed to length (though that will only be required a couple of times over the life of the case) results in long lived cases. It is also very rare that I have had to full length resize these cases due to the bodies becoming too tight, but if you are shooting max loads of fairly fast powder you may find you need to FL size every 10 or so loadings.

[Dean2]

Per a PM question-

Just to clarify paragraph three. Measure the case length (headspace from rim face to reference radius on the shoulder) after the first firing with a full load. Hornady, Sinclair etc, as said above makes tools for this, and are called "Case Headspace gauges" though since most modern cartridges don't headspace on a rim they would more accurately be called "Case Shoulder Space Gauges". They cost about $40.

Set your neck sizing die, or even your FL die to bump the shoulder back to this exact measurement on the second and subsequent firings. The amount of set back from the measurment of the same rim face to reference radius on the second plus firings is usually .001-.0015. This ensures minimum working of the brass with continued easy chambering.