New to rifle cartridge reloading and am a bit stumped.
Using a case gauge I have brass that drops in a bit to far meaning the shoulder is already pushed too far back.
Will a full length sizer move it out or do I just have to load them up and fire them to stretch it out?
A lot of my brass is just range pickup, not fired out of my rifles.

I’ll pick up brass also, some you can tell it’s kinda newer. That may be in the original box in the trash can, or bright & shiny, of the same make.

I have also left brass at the range, that I had no desire to reload. So, you never know what you may get.

Factory ammo has to fit any standard gun chamber. Reloads for a gun only really have to fit that chamber, though usually fit most others.

If the brass is good otherwise, should be fine to load it without worry. I wouldn’t be concerned about trying to extend the shoulder any.

I’m also usually a mid pressure level loader. When loading to modest pressure, one has more allowances with good safety margins.

I only use my case gauge after resizing so a FL sizer should help get you where you want to be.

A full length sizing die will only push the shoulder back towards the base. If you have a case where the shoulder is already further down the case than (shorter) a factory case shoulder, the only way to move the shoulder forward towards the bullet neck is to fire it.

^^^^^^^^
That, what he said there.

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
New to rifle cartridge reloading and am a bit stumped.
Using a case gauge I have brass that drops in a bit to far meaning the shoulder is already pushed too far back.
Will a full length sizer move it out or do I just have to load them up and fire them to stretch it out?
A lot of my brass is just range pickup, not fired out of my rifles.

Easiest procedure is 1) back off your full length sizing die a couple turns (or so) off the shell holder, 2) size the case, 3) load the empty case into the chamber. the bolt should bind the case on the shoulder, meaning the length between the case head and shoulder is too long. For this you just keep screwing down your sizing die until you can just close the bolt on the empty case with a very slight resistance. If you do this it means you're probably a target/benchrest shooter. If not I'd recommend turning down your sizing die a little bit more until there is zero binding, meaning you'll have a resulting cartridge that will always fit the chamber no matter the temperature and conditions, ie a hunting rifle vice a target rifle. If the gun is for dangerous game, you'd want a looser rather than a tighter fit, for obvious reasons, and in that case I'd be using premium dangerous game rounds from any of the big manufacturers. There are however expert shooters who DO reload for their DG rifles, but they've got things pretty dialed in and tested etc. And those guys generally don't hunt alone anyway, Grizzly, Cape Buff, etc.