Questions about using Wilson case gages.

Adjust your sizing die to put the case shoulder back where it came for on the .223.

Adjust the crimp die on the 9mm to measure .356" at the case mouth on a completed round.

If you are trying to use mixed head-stamp brass however.

You will always be tilting at windmills.

Because unlike American citizen's, all factory brass is not created equal.

Some is harder then others when new, and some will just plain will not cooperate or be happy, no matter what you do.

And some brass has been fired & sized more times then others so is work hardened.

Just like American citizens.

Sort it first, and figure out which brands are the problem.

Yes, I know that is racial profiling in the case world.
But you gotta do what you gotta do if you want them all to slide in place nicely in the gun.

rc

I further test by dropping them into a Glock 19 barrel that I took out of the gun. Most just drop in with a 'plink' sound and fire just fine.

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Yeah, that's cuz anything will drop into a G19 chamber.

Sounds like you might need to turn your 223 sizing die down a quarter turn.

Adjust the crimp die on the 9mm to measure .356" at the case mouth on a completed round.


You told the last guy .375" which I think is correct.
I don't believe you should mash the case mouth clear down flush with the bullet.

For the 223.

1. Check your cases in as-fired condition.
2. If the head projects above the upper step, adjust your die(down) as above to where the resized case drops even with the upper step or a little below. The idea is still to push the shoulder back as little as possible to allow easy chambering. The resized case needs only to drop .002 to .003 be-low the fired case.

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Wilson instructons.

One more thing to check, that I discovered one time. I couldn't figure out why some .243 cases weren't going all the way into a Wilson gauge..

Check the case rim. The smallest burr from and extractor can prevent the case from sitting flush. It can be a burr that you can barely even see. One touch with a file on the burr and it's perfect.

The ones that are not flush with the 9mm gage I further test by dropping them into a Glock 19 barrel that I took out of the gun. Most just drop in with a 'plink' sound and fire just fine.

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If your dies are adjusted correctly its because the rim is imperfect. On a glock barrel nothing comes in contact with this part of the case.



This is why I don't like using barrels as case gauges. They all "pass" then you get "mystery" malfunctions because they hang up going into the breech face.

This is why roll sizers and push through sizers exist or many times you can just insert the rim into the case gauge and give it a twist or two and fix the problem.

You told the last guy .375" which I think is correct.

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Opps!

Actually, .376" is correct.

rc

Try inserting some of the "bad" .223 cases into the gage backwards - head first. You may have dented heads that are out of round.

some will fit into the gage head first with some wiggling. But they still do not fit flush when inserted the right way, so what does this prove if anything?

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It proves, that you may still need to adjust the die down a "smidge" more.
As some have mentioned, you need to sort the brass, particularly the rifle brass as it will behave differently when sizing. The same is true in 9mm as well. I can tell a difference when sizing FC, Blazer, Win, Speer, etc...
I had a similar issue with 223 on a LNL AP using RCBS dies.
I just couldn't get the die down enough to "fully" resize some of the cases and they weren't sitting in the gauge correctly. I've since switched to resizing on my RCBS Rockchucker single stage and have the die down to size perfectly according to the Wilson gauge.
In 9mm I had some issues with my Lee dies in my LNL AP and some brands of brass. Some of the cases were not sized down enough and would not plunk in the Lone Wolf barrel for my Glock 17. I switched to the Hornady dies and have it set now so that it sizes all 9mm cases down to fit in the LW barrel with no issues.
I do believe that you need to sort the rifle brass and check your sizer adjustments.
As someone mentioned, the Glock has generous chambers and just because it fits there, it might not fit in the Wilson gauge.
Which dies and press are you using?
BTW, don't throw the Norma brass away -- that is some very good brass.
Eddy

Count - which dies are you using?

The drop in style gauges are useful but can be deceiving. A case may have been sized properly in terms of headspace, but still not fit into a drop in gauge. As stated by others, some pieces of brass simply will not size and those should be thrown into the recycle bucket.

The trick is to determine if the headspace sizing is wrong or if the problem is with the base or rim of the case.

You can get the Hornady headspace gauge, which attaches to a caliper and measures the distance from the base to the datum line on the shoulder, and gives you an actual hard number that you can use to determine if your sizing is correct. This method keeps you from blindly screwing down the sizer die and hoping it's correct.

So, if a piece of brass does not fit flush in the Wilson gauge, your next step is to use the Hornady gauge to get an actual measurement of the headspace. If that number is correct, then it's definitely a base/rim problem, which probably can't be fixed. And really, for range brass there's no good reason to try to fix it. Recycle it and move on.

Another thing to try is to use a small base sizer die, I used to have quite a bit of trouble with range brass jamming in AR's. Since switching to a small base die, most of my sizing problems went away.

Got the small base sizer die....

Important question: Do you have to run the cases through a regular full size die first???

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Nope. The small base sizer die is the same as a regular full sizer die, except it sizes a little farther down the case/

PS Hate having to remove stuck cases.

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Use Imperial Sizing Die Wax then.

Don

re 9mm Taper Crimp: .376 is too tight for a plated .356" bullet in a WIN, PPU or WCC thick-walled cases. The bullet plating can be damaged at that crimp. Same for lead oversized bullets . They can be mashed smaller at .376. Use enough taper crimp to "remove any belling".
That should measure anywhere from .3765" to .379" depending on the case thickness and bullet diameter. This will sometimes give the coke-bottle shape that is normal.
The case gage checks for SAAMI specs maximum of .380"