You Can't Have It Both Ways - Sporting Shooter

With a 4-Die Set you have the option of neck-only sizing or full-length sizing when shooting the same cartridge in separate rifles.

Q: My mate and I both own Winchester Model 70 Featherweights in .270 Win. and I started to reload for both rifles, but I’ve struck a snag. I neck-resized all the cases and then loaded them with the Hornady 130gn Interlock bullet and 55gn of AR2209. At least half of my reloads won’t chamber in my mates gun, but enter the chamber of my gun easily. Can you tell me what the problem is? Where did I go wrong?
Andy Jackson

A: Evidently your mates gun has minimum chamber dimensions and yours has standard chamber dimensions. Cases fired in your gun won’t enter the chamber of your mate’s gun since they are oversized. Careful full-length resizing of the cases is necessary when the loaded rounds are to be used in a minimum dimension chamber. You don’t really have a problem as all you have to do is separate your reloads and match them to each rifle, but in future I suggest you full-length resize all your fired cases if you want them to fit in both rifles.

Nick Harvey

+ posts

The late Nick Harvey (1931-2024) was one of the world's most experienced and knowledgeable gun writers, a true legend of the business. He wrote about firearms and hunting for about 70 years, published many books and uncounted articles, and travelled the world to hunt and shoot. His reloading manuals are highly sought after, and his knowledge of the subject was unmatched. He was Sporting Shooter's Technical Editor for almost 50 years. His work lives on here as part of his legacy to us all.