Tight chamber

Howdy all.

My first post in THR.

I just bought a loaded M1A...brand new out of the box.

Its great, but Im not one for paying for factory ammo, and besides, never had much luck with it anyway.

I always hand load for my weapons.
Which brings me to the new M1A.

Head spaced to 1.631. TIGHT!
Found out the hard way..almost got a brass stuck in it. Lucky, I got it out ok.

Ive never reloaded for a semi before, but know you have to full length resize, which I did. Used brand new brass, so this was the second loading. Used Dillion 308 win die. Set almost touching the shell holder. Cant set it any lower.


Small base dies the answer?

Thanks!

Well dang!

I did not know that. I do recall seeing that in any if the paper work I got with the die set, but that means very little. Ive had them for years, and havent even seen the paper work for a long time.

I can try RCBS or someone else, but as it is, it looks like my girl girl only like brand new brass. I disassembled and cleaned the die, reset everything, tried 20 more brass, none will chamber, as least not enough that Im will to risk letting the bolt slam into it and risk getting it stuck in the chamber.

This is a new one on me. I though Id seen tight chambers before, I was wrong!

I have and used the Dillion gage. The head is between the steps, which should be a go, but alas is not.

This is Winchester brass. Ill try another brand. Meantime, I have an AR-10 buried in the safe that I have yet to even shoot. Ill dig it out and see if this brass fits it any better.

Im putting this out there also to the community at large....

Im not the words greatest speller, my grammar leaves a lot to be desired, and Im no wordsmith.

Im a blue collared working man. I make efforts to write posts correctly, but at the end of the day, Im not always writing my masterpiece. I get my point across best I can.

I say this because in other forums and rooms, the grammar nazis seem attracted to me, which is mostly uncalled for IMO. Ive seen less of it here on THR than other places...at least during all this time Ive been lurking anyway.

So, I apologize to any who may become offended by my horrible abuse of the English language. Just know I do strive to do better!

I got it. I was using a Lee single stage press with the Dillion sizing die. Ive always done it this to develope a load the weapon likes, then transfer over to the Dillion to mass produce it. Its easier using a single stage to do this, at least for me.

Turns out, the shell holder on the Lee is just a little bit thicker than the Dillion on the turret press, just a few thousands, but it was all it took. This let me lower the sizing die just enough.
Resized the brass on the Dillion, the brass slides right into the chamber like a hot dog down a hallway!

Learn something new everyday!

Wish my Bolt actions had tight chambers like this (wife too, for than matter...lol) ...I seldom have to full length size for any of them...just neck size and good to go for 5 or 6 reloads.

Thanks for the pointers guys!