Thread: Shoulder bumping

Shoulder bumping 303. Does anyone do it, what's you experiences?

Would have thought neck sizing would be the way to go, unless you have a bolt with different length heads to set headspace from.

@grandpamac may be able to offer some insight..?

Originally Posted by charliehorse

@grandpamac may be able to offer some insight..?

Greetings All,
My loads for my 2 .303 rifles are very light and the cases are only neck sized. With loads that develop a pressure of about 35,000 CUP the cases do not stretch at all and you can neck size almost endlessly. You will often see the primers backed out but this is not a problem. If you want to use book max loads you will likely need to use the FL sizing die adjusted to just size the case enough to chamber without resistance and no more. This is what shoulder bump is designed to do. I did this with some SH cases I had for my iron sight .303. FL sized cases with the die screwed down hard on the shellholder will likely result in tragically short case life in a Lee Enfield and head seperations as early as the third load. I use a Lee Loader hammer die to neck size my .303 cases. If I didn't already have the Lee die I would probably go for the Lee Collet die. My first handloading attempts with a .303 and a Lee Loader did not go well. Now 50 years later I can make it work. Slow learner? Aren't we all? Happy to answer questions.
Regards Grandpamac.
I neck sized cases for my .308 using target loads of 38 grains of AR2206H behind a 150 grain projectile.