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John Schluter
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Neck Tension in 32-40
Feb 28th, 2025 at 2:26pm
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First, how is neck tension measured for cast bullets. Case neck ID vs. bullet diameter interference?
Second, what interference should I be looking for? I'm using 170 and 200 gr. cast bullets in two 1885 Winchesters that I recently rebarreled, so I don't have to be concerned with a magazine.
  
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calledflyer
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Re: Neck Tension in 32-40
Reply #1 - Feb 28th, 2025 at 4:36pm
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I spent some time piddling with fixed loads in my ol' .32-40 a few years ago when I'd grown curious whether the assorted molds I had were worth shooting in it rather than the breech-seated loads otherwise shot. It proved to be pretty rewarding, with the best of the experiments producing groups that were not much different than the bs ones were (still are Wink). Of course, you need to work to see what those two of yours like the most, but I won't speak of that to you. Rather.... to answer your question about neck tension, I got the best results by running the cases into a old 8mm Mauser die that sized the case neck less than the pair of .32 die sets I own. In other words, just enough to hold the bullet where I put it and drove to the range. I sometimes seated bullets way out, just barely covering the base band. Then, at the range, I used my old Ideal tool to try different depths to see how that changed things. Mostly found that seated just nudging the rifling with the first band was good, but very little different than a tad shy of touching. Of course, with the delicate tension, no bullet could be jammed into the rifling because it would just freeze up and get pushed into the case-inconsistently I feel. Whatever, the cause, these were never as good as the ones that actually fit into the rifle easily. Hope that this is of some use to you. Let us hear how it all goes.
  
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marlinguy
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Re: Neck Tension in 32-40
Reply #2 - Feb 28th, 2025 at 5:34pm
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I've never known of a way to check neck tension exactingly. I check mine to see if they pull out, then if they can be spun or turned, or if they don't turn at all. 
I like enough neck tension on fixed ammo .32-40 to either barely turn, or not turn.
  

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calledflyer
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Re: Neck Tension in 32-40
Reply #3 - Feb 28th, 2025 at 10:00pm
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turning.... I did that a few times and they turned, but like Vall, I don't have a way to precisely measure the tension or the 'squeeze'. My neck size was predicated on the results I got using the available equipment. the attempts were: no sizing at all, a pair of different sizing dies and the seaters for .32-40, a shot at the sizer of a borrowed .32spl set, and finally an old 8mm die picked up at a show. Nothing real scientific, just trying out a pile of ideas and bullets.  Assorted amounts of annealing were tried but don't think I ever made much of a conclusion there. Just goofing and the 8mm was abut a thou bigger than the other sizers.
  
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KaiserKong
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Re: Neck Tension in 32-40
Reply #4 - Mar 5th, 2025 at 9:38pm
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Strictly speaking tension should not be measured by the difference in bullet to neck inner diameter as the stiffness of the brass and bullet could vary. But it is convent way of giving a qualitative difference by saying adjusting how much neck expansion you apply from a Lyman M-die.

You could measure the cartridge OAL after seating and then place different weights on your cartridge and see how much is needed to push the bullet in a measurable amount (obviously do this with a dummy round). I've seen tension described from zero to 80 pounds of tensio (the higher ones having a crimp). 

After the bullet leaves the case it will encounter the force to engrave it into the rifling next. That will be many times greater. I would think then that if you have the bullet seated right up to the lands you probably won't see too much difference from the neck tension but always worth a try. I'm interested in what you find out.   

-Dave
  
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calledflyer
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Re: Neck Tension in 32-40
Reply #5 - Mar 6th, 2025 at 8:19am
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my intent wasn't to hit a particular amount of force needed to move a bullet in the case, but rather, to get the bullet to remain in a chosen position but no squeezed so much that bullet damage occurred. I arrived at the amount of dimensional sizing for that purpose and to minimize the working of the cases to prolong life. Just a wee tick of sizing was needed. 
I had tried to use fatter bullets in wholly unsized cases. Only one mold I had provided a bullet that fit. And, either my rifle disliked that one or at least disliked that size. I didn't travel far down that path, but found very pleasing results with the minimal sizing and bullets more to my rifle's liking. Then I went back to breech seating like always. Roll Eyes
  
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Premod70
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Re: Neck Tension in 32-40
Reply #6 - Mar 6th, 2025 at 9:15am
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If loading for single shots I measure the inside of my fired cases to get a mean average dimension and that figure as the base diameter of my custom mold dimension. From there I have a two step expander made up with the minor dimension a thousandth or two smaller and the major at around five or just enough to clear the chamber neck. Then measure the seating depth by seating the bullet to the optimum distance and use that figure to set the setup of the expander to the bullet's seating depth. This application works well for match shooting but can not be expected to serve well in a hunting cartridge.
  
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