Dealing with “Doughnuts”
I typically choose bullets that seat before contacting the dreaded doughnut, but my most recent build with short freebore requires deeper seating so I must deal with it. For those reloaders not familiar with the term, it refers to band of brass that builds up inside the neck-shoulder junction...the end result of which is to reduce the inside diameter of the neck at that point ... which can result in inconsistent neck tension which will affect consistency.
A friend that is schooling me regarding how to eliminate the formation of doughnuts contends that “doughnuts never sleep” and once they develop, are near impossible to eliminate. Makes sense to me.
First, the doughnut is formed when brass “flows” forward as it is fired. At the “pinch point” (the shoulder-neck junction), it creeps into the neck which makes the neck wall thicker at that point ... and then gets forced to the inside of the neck at that point, as the neck gets resized in the die. This doughnut can not be seen on the outside of the brass because it is forced to the inside by the resizer die. The best indication that it is happening occurs when the reloader notices the bullet seats easy until it contacts the doughnut, and then manifests itself with stiffer resistance.
The ‘remedy’ I am using is to turn the neck far enough so it “bites” into the shoulder area. The desired result is to “thin” the brass in that area so when it flows forward, it does not result in a thickened neck wall.
Any other strategies out there?
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Old Guys Rule
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