Reloading .223 cases to big ?

What kind of barrel and what type of firearm? Is your die screwed all the way down to touch the shell holder? Does other ammo chamber ok? Could be several things. More info could help.

Is your press camming over on the bottom of the die? Will the case start in the chamber and just not fully seat which would indicate your not pushing the shoulder back all the way? Or do the cases not even start into the chamber, are they to fat? There is no way a case sized in a sizer die cut to specs and set up right to full length size would not chamber. Were using a hard steel die to squeeze soft brass down to size so no matter how shot up the case is the die will make it fit. Things that can effect this fit is the off chance your die is not cut right, your shell holder is out of spec so the die is not able to work right.

How do they fit in the casegauge?

Sorcerer1 said:

They will not chamber in new barrel .

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I think a good starting point would be to figure out why? Likely you have a dimensional problem so I would find out where. Take a sized case that won't chamber and blacken it with a Magic Marker, Dykem Blue or similar. Now try and chamber that case and then look at the case closely?Note any scratches or shiny spots. Inspect with a focus on the shoulder and base areas. I would start with that. Also, what type rifle are we having this problem with?

Ron

Sorcerer1 said:

Cleaned and recapped .556 cases with RCBC FL dies . They will not chamber in new barrel . Reset FL dies further down but they still will not chamber . So are these cases to far gone to get the small base dies and try again . These were once fired cases . I'm pretty new at this so any help is welcome .

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If the shell holder doesn't touch the base of the die when you're resizing you aren't full length resizing. There are also tighter chambers in some barrels, especially in AR-15 type rifles that require the use of a small base die.

Are you crimping?
Check the shoulder of the case and see if you are bumping the shoulder down.

Does the finished rounds seem to have a ripple in them?

If you don't have one of these (or another brand that does the same thing) it might be a worthwhile investment.
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...ylde-case-gauge-sku452000102-41313-61023.aspx

.

OP definitely needs some way to check/measure resized cases. Brass stretches when fired and when resized, the case might be too long. That's what case trimmers are for. Buy a micrometer or the gauge Acera recommends to make sure cases are within specs.

I second smoking the case to see where the problem is.

Muddydogs said:

Is your press camming over on the bottom of the die? Will the case start in the chamber and just not fully seat which would indicate your not pushing the shoulder back all the way? Or do the cases not even start into the chamber, are they to fat? There is no way a case sized in a sizer die cut to specs and set up right to full length size would not chamber. Were using a hard steel die to squeeze soft brass down to size so no matter how shot up the case is the die will make it fit. Things that can effect this fit is the off chance your die is not cut right, your shell holder is out of spec so the die is not able to work right.

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This isn't true. Everything has a certain amount of spring. One case could go in & when it comes out the amount of spring could put it right in spec while the next one could have a little more spring & ends up to large. Sometimes just running it through again will be enough but other time they need a little extra push.

Without a case in the press.
If the die is touching the shell holder & your taking up all the flex in the press (commonly called caming over because of the fell of it getting as tight as it can then kind of snapping to a stop) then you can slide a filler gauge under the case in the shell holder to get that little extra push.

kingmt said:

I second smoking the case to see where the problem is.


This isn't true. Everything has a certain amount of spring. One case could go in & when it comes out the amount of spring could put it right in spec while the next one could have a little more spring & ends up to large. Sometimes just running it through again will be enough but other time they need a little extra push.

Without a case in the press.
If the die is touching the shell holder & your taking up all the flex in the press (commonly called caming over because of the fell of it getting as tight as it can then kind of snapping to a stop) then you can slide a filler gauge under the case in the shell holder to get that little extra push.

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If your cases have that much spring then set the die down more, if the so called spring is that bad then the brass is probably past its usable life. If you read the OP he states the brass is once fired so I doubt it has that much spring in it. If the die is set up right to full length size the case then once fired brass is not going to have enough spring to make it not fit in the firearm.

Sure it can. I see them often. Like I said tho sometimes just a second pass will do. Your die could size cases just a bit more or his brass may have came from a larger chamber. Just .001" is a huge difference when we are talking about press.

may be 5.56 brass that was shot in a full auto and needs trimmed if its used brass.

carbine85 said:

Are you crimping?
Check the shoulder of the case and see if you are bumping the shoulder down.

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Since he doesn't have the die screwed in enough to touch the shell holder, he isn't bumping the shoulder down.

Crimping could be the problem. No crimping is needed for 223 Remington cartridges. Crimping can also deform the case enough to prevent chambering without any visible defect in the case.

I missed the first time reading he didn't have the die all the way down. The OP doesn't exactly say that but that's what I interpret after reading it again. Maybe they will come back & give us enough info.

Like the others have said, run the sizing die down till you have no gap between the die and shell holder with a brass in the shell holder. Normally when setting up a sizing die you run run the ram all the way up, screw the die down till it contacts, then lower the ram and add another 1/4 turn. This is a good starting place. Depending on flex you may have to run the die down more. If so do it in small increments 1/16 -1/8 turn. Make sure your using enough lube. If it's difficult you may not be using enough or may need to try a different lube. If this is once fired the brass may also need trimming.

Grumulkin said:

If the shell holder doesn't touch the base of the die when you're resizing you aren't full length resizing.

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That's not true.

The reloading industry standard for full length sizing is the fired case outside dimensions are all reduced. SAAMI's definition:

RESIZING, FULL LENGTH
The operation of reforming a fired cartridge case to approximately its original dimensions.

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The die doesn't have to touch the shell holder but set the fired case shoulder back any amount is all that's needed. Best results are when the shoulder's set back about .002" for bolt guns, .003" for semiautos and lever action rifles.

A 1/8 turn of the die changes its height .009", 1/16 turn .0045". Too much for incremental changes. Below this picture is the web site with labels you can print to put on your die lock rings so the die can be adjusted .002" per mark:



http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab170/jepp2/DieAdjustment-1.jpg

If the chamber's at the maximum range of headspace, setting the die to stop against the shell holder sizes the fired cases way too much. The fired case shoulder will be set back too far and when that case is fired, its back end will stretch too much because head clearance is too big. Case head separation starts soon with such practice.

Bart B. said:

Below this picture is the web site with labels you can print to put on your die lock rings so the die can be adjusted .002" per mark:



http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab170/jepp2/DieAdjustment-1.jpg

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Great idea! Simple, elegant and useful.

If the shell holder doesn't touch the base of the die when you're resizing you aren't full length resizing.

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That's not true.
The reloading industry standard for full length sizing is the fired case outside dimensions are all reduced. SAAMI's definition:

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For a new reloader, that's angels on the head on a pin.

For initial entry into safe/dependable-feed reloading, full-length sizing is is order. And full-length resizing means the casing fully/completely enters the sizing die top-to-bottom (+ a bit of 1/8-turn-past-contact cam-over for good measure.)

This is especially important with gas/autoloading weapons where the bolt must completely close with little or no effort. ("... Stuck bolt Locked up tight...." can be the least of unpleasant problems otherwise)

Anything less is partial resizing -- which takes considerably more judgement that comes only with hard-bought experience.

When I asked several reloading die companies about terminology, they all agreed that.......

* the back 1/8th inch of rifle cases never goes into sizing dies. That part's in the shell holder. And several thousandths inch in front of the extractor groove (or rim on rimmed cases, or belt) are not touched by the die.

* partial sizing with a full length die means the die's set in the press such that bottleneck case shoulders are squeezed forward as the case body is sized down a little and only part of the case neck is sized down. The die doesn't touch the case shoulder at all.

* full length sizing is when the case surface from pressure ring to mouth is reduced in diameter and case shoulder is set back any amount.

"full length sizing is when the case surface from pressure ring to mouth is reduced in diameter and case shoulder is set back any [meh emphasis] amount."

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No. Anything short of full body/shoulder reduction/setback to at/near
full capacity of the standard/factory die is only partially resized.

By very definition, full length resize mean just that: Full length.
All else is a slippery sliding scale from that basic reference point.

(And for gas guns, the reloader better have some significant experience -- and zero-point dimensions
for each rifle chamber as well as case headspace/measurement instruments to go along with it.)