Thoughts On Resizing Loaded Ammo

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I have about 1500 rounds of loaded .22-.250 ammunition that has been once-fired (fireformed) and subsequently neck sized only for my brother's varmint rifle. We managed to shoot the barrel out before using all of the ammo and (of course) it will not chamber in his new Hart barrel.

I am considering full length resizing it--removing the expander/decapping assembly from the die and tumbling afterwards to remove the sizing lube. This is not an optimum solution, but at the same time, I do not relish breaking down that many rounds and reloading them again.

I have done this in the past with .223 rounds with no issues whatsoever, but not with a medium sized cartridge like a .22-.250.

What say you? Anyone do this and have good luck or am I stuck pulling them down?
 
Not ever a thing you want to do...A FL resizes the case neck AND reduces the bullet diameter if you size a loaded round.

Bullet diameter and neck tension will vary greatly....accuracy poor.
 
Originally Posted by ammolab
Not ever a thing you want to do...A FL resizes the case neck AND reduces the bullet diameter if you size a loaded round. Bullet diameter and neck tension will vary greatly....accuracy poor.
There are also shoulder "bump" dies that do not touch the neck and I may have to look into one of those. I use Redding competition bushing dies to control my neck tension, so I would not want to mess that part up. These are not "junk" rounds, if they were I would just break them down over time and reload them.

Edit: I see that Redding makes a body die that will do exactly what I am attempting. Problem solved.
 
Originally Posted by 2015_PSD
[There are also shoulder "bump" dies that do not touch the neck and I may have to look into one of those.


I was going to suggest the shoulder bump dies. I have a set for my .223 since I have several rifles in that caliber.
 
Loose ammo is safe because it's not contained. When loaded ammo is tightly contained, it's risk factor goes way up, such as a chambered round with a plugged barrel. For that reason alone, I'm not sure the risk-reward ratio is worthwhile.
 
I don't have any experience reloading any rifle cartridges (or any necked pistol cartridges), but I use a Lee Factory Crimp Die for my straight/taper walled pistol cartridges. It's made to post size after being loaded, I run it as the final operation when reloading. I see that it exists for the 22-250, but it doesn't explicitly say that the FCD for rifle is for post sizing, unlike the page for pistol caliber FCD.

Rifle:
https://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/rifle-dies/factory-crimp-die

Pistol:
https://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/hand-gun-dies/lee-carbide-factory-crimp-die/
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
Loose ammo is safe because it's not contained. When loaded ammo is tightly contained, it's risk factor goes way up, such as a chambered round with a plugged barrel. For that reason alone, I'm not sure the risk-reward ratio is worthwhile.
How is it tightly contained? The body die is open ended and seems to be purpose built for this.
 
Full length resizing dies oversize the neck, when is then brought back up to the correct size by the expander ball. Resizing loaded ammo would squeeze your bullet down quite a bit, possibly resulting in a poor seal and poor fit in the rifling. I doubt it would pose any danger, but accuracy would likely suffer.

If it were me I would pull the bullets and resize the cases. I have no problems with resizing cases with live primers as long as it is done slowly.
 
Originally Posted by Elkins45
Full length resizing dies oversize the neck, when is then brought back up to the correct size by the expander ball. Resizing loaded ammo would squeeze your bullet down quite a bit, possibly resulting in a poor seal and poor fit in the rifling. I doubt it would pose any danger, but accuracy would likely suffer.

If it were me I would pull the bullets and resize the cases. I have no problems with resizing cases with live primers as long as it is done slowly.
As noted above, Redding (and others) make body dies to solve the issue I am experiencing. I ordered one this morning and will report back after I have it.
 
Originally Posted by 2015_PSD
Originally Posted by Elkins45
Full length resizing dies oversize the neck, when is then brought back up to the correct size by the expander ball. Resizing loaded ammo would squeeze your bullet down quite a bit, possibly resulting in a poor seal and poor fit in the rifling. I doubt it would pose any danger, but accuracy would likely suffer.

If it were me I would pull the bullets and resize the cases. I have no problems with resizing cases with live primers as long as it is done slowly.
As noted above, Redding (and others) make body dies to solve the issue I am experiencing. I ordered one this morning and will report back after I have it.


Ok and report back how they shoot with a picture of the target!
 
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by 2015_PSD
Originally Posted by Elkins45
Full length resizing dies oversize the neck, when is then brought back up to the correct size by the expander ball. Resizing loaded ammo would squeeze your bullet down quite a bit, possibly resulting in a poor seal and poor fit in the rifling. I doubt it would pose any danger, but accuracy would likely suffer.

If it were me I would pull the bullets and resize the cases. I have no problems with resizing cases with live primers as long as it is done slowly.
As noted above, Redding (and others) make body dies to solve the issue I am experiencing. I ordered one this morning and will report back after I have it.


Ok and report back how they shoot with a picture of the target!
Since the neck is unaffected, I expect they will shoot as intended. Time will tell...
 
Originally Posted by 2015_PSD

I am considering full length resizing it--removing the expander/decapping assembly from the die and tumbling afterwards to remove the sizing lube. This is not an optimum solution, but at the same time, I do not relish breaking down that many rounds and reloading them again.


Don't tumble loaded ammunition. It can break up powder grains and/or remove coatings designed to control the burn rate. There's a risk of altering the powder burn characteristics significantly. It would be safer to just wipe them off.

Ed
 
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