That is the question. Thoughts on whether or not to size the brass after shooting?

I only size if loading fixed ammo AND only if the intended bullets fall through the neck.  If I can partially size the case and get the necessary friction then that is all I do. With BP I don’t size as long as the loaded round will chamber since the bullet sits on the wad. That said, I am not a big fan of fixed ammo if I can breech seat. I am planning of shooting some fixed ammo in a 256 Win high wall that I assembled using a $40 gun show barrel later today. 

Jack

With fixed ammo, smokeless I size as little as I need to in order to get the neck tension I want.

With black powder I try to set it up so the bullet is a perfect slip fit in a fired case.  If it's not a perfect slip fit then sometimes I will size, depending on circumstances.  Some of this depends on the brass and dies.  A little sizing can work well with BP, particularly with well annealed brass.  Here is a recent target I shot with one of my long range rifles.  A Shiloh 45-100, annealed brass partially sized and expanded with a 0.458" expander using a .458" bullet for very light neck tension.  Target scored 100-7x @ 300 yards from prone ( there was an 11th shot fired that hit the 8 ring).   

Chris.

Babydriver wrote on Mar 1^st, 2026 at 10:31am:


Your vague question cannot be answered by anyone but yourself. 

My answer is, maybe...

Let us know how it works out for you.