Trouble sizing 6.5 CM Range brass

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Skgreen

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Using Hornady Custom Grade dies and Hornady range pick-up brass.

Seems like a significant percentage will not size down enough to chamber in my rifle.

Picture: Factory Hornady round on top, 'attempted to chamber' resized brass below.

Diameter of case measured roughly 5/16ths of an inch above the base (blue arrow) of some resized brass is as much as .470-.471, while factory ammo measures .465 in the same area.
My Hornady 9 manual indicates a dia of .470 at the green arrow, tapering towards the neck.

rr.JPG

Can't say I've ran into this before.
* Is my sizing die 'questionable'? (Die is approaching 1/2 turn past touching on a RockChucker Supreme, Plenty tight, die is bottoming out on the shellholder, so cranking it down even further doesn't seem rational)
* Is the brass trash, or?
 
Is die bottoming against shellholder with a case in the press/die?
 
Then it would seem your die is slightly larger than what is needed for your rifle's chamber. There are sometimes small differences in shellholders, and you might consider using a Hornady shellholder if you aren't already. A possible work-around is to remove the de-capping pin from the die and insert a feeler gauge of a few thousandths thickness between the shellholder and case bottom when resizing. That will form the shoulder a few thousandths back further.
 
Skgreen said:
Using Hornady Custom Grade dies and Hornady range pick-up brass.

Seems like a significant percentage will not size down enough to chamber in my rifle.

Picture: Factory Hornady round on top, 'attempted to chamber' resized brass below.

Diameter of case measured roughly 5/16ths of an inch above the base (blue arrow) of some resized brass is as much as .470-.471, while factory ammo measures .465 in the same area.
My Hornady 9 manual indicates a dia of .470 at the green arrow, tapering towards the neck.

View attachment 971402

Can't say I've ran into this before.
* Is my sizing die 'questionable'? (Die is approaching 1/2 turn past touching on a RockChucker Supreme, Plenty tight, die is bottoming out on the shellholder, so cranking it down even further doesn't seem rational)
* Is the brass trash, or?
Click to expand...
Are you experiencing a resistance on bolt closer or bolt lift clickers ?
 
In the pic, the case is all scratched up at/near the spot that the case is binding in the chamber. (No scratch's before)
Cannot chamber the worst offenders far enough to even close the bolt.
Store-bought ammo does fine, so it's something on my end that's wacked.
Brand new rifle / Brand new dies. New-to-me caliber.

I've loaded 223 by the 10's of thousands, but something is amuck here,,,
Originally thought I must have mis-sized them / die wasn't far enough down on my LNL AP. So, I ran 'em through my RockChucker a 2nd time (same Hornady die) No appreciable improvement.

LNL shell plate, Hornady shell holder, RCBS shell holder, no difference
Some chamber fine, others- 'kinda', and some, just don't.

My die doesn't seem to correct the affected area and/ or perhaps the chamber is a bit tight as well, but ,,,
 
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Just a observation ... Back the die off 10 thousands and try again, you may be shoving the shoulder back too far causing UN necessary radial expansion.
Or just trash the brass
 
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Dug out my headspace comparator,,,, 0.400 bushing
Factory ammo measures 3.542
Sized case measures 3.540
Does not appear to be a headspacing issue,,,
Might be a BUNCH of cases ending up in my recycle bin,,, :(
(If they were 9mm, I'd say they musta been fired in a Glock! LOL!)
 
I'm assuming you measured overall case length after sizing, and it's under 1.92".
 
All were trimmed to 1.91

I've got a case gauge on the way,,, We'll first see if my rifle and the case gauge think alike, and then,,,, the sorting will begin,,, :(

I originally sized and primed 900 cases. Loaded 100 of 'em. Shot about 43 or so out of a batch of 50,,,
So,,,,, I have 50 loaded cartridges and 800 sized and primed cases to check,,, and another 3-400 on top of that which were tumbled only,,,,

Aye Carrumba!!!
 
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Do you have a case gauge for this caliber? If so flip the round around and see if the base will enter the case gauge.

Have you tried just a sized brass, no bullet.

You may be doing a slight crimp that is expanding it just below the shoulder. Easy to test just back off the body of the seating die.
 
Case Gauge has been ordered and 'sized brass only, no bullet', was tried after the 2nd sizing with result pictured in post #1. :(

This 'latest edition to the gun safe' has went a bit backwards,,, Been pickin brass for months,,, also been scrounging primers for months, 100 at a time,,,,,, Felt lucky when I was actually able to find some dies,,, Rifle came next,,,
Now,,,,,,, I'm feeling lucky as I was able to find a Case Gauge and a collet for my bullet puller! :rofl:
 
Do you know anyone else locally that has 6.5 dies? Try a couple with their die and see if it your sizing die that is the problem.

d
 
I have had issues chambering range pick up brass in tight chambers. Annoying in a bolt action, potentially devastating in a semi.

If you have a rifle that is very picky, you may want to get some small base dies. Make sure you are using good lube, bad lube can cause the base to expand a bit too. If you have not used Imperial Sizing Wax, give it a try.
 
Skgreen said:
Dug out my headspace comparator,,,, 0.400 bushing
Factory ammo measures 3.542
Sized case measures 3.540
Does not appear to be a headspacing issue,,,
Might be a BUNCH of cases ending up in my recycle bin,,, :(
(If they were 9mm, I'd say they musta been fired in a Glock! LOL!)
Click to expand...
You should not be bumping the shoulder back based on factory numbers, rather only bump cases that are fully fire formed in your chamber this is identified by resistance during bolt closer.
I suggest you are experiencing too much shoulder movement causing extra radial expansion.

The brass has to go somewhere....

Respectfully
J
 
Skgreen said:
resized brass is as much as .470-.471, while factory ammo measures .465 in the same area.
Click to expand...
The .470" is SAAMI maximum. What does fired factory brass, out of your new rifle, measure? I guess smaller.

Scrap the range brass that will not chamber freely, after sizing.

Dies dont size the red circled area. 20210118_200519.jpg
 
UPDATE:

RESOLVED!

Purchased a RCBS 6.5 CM die set and the brass sizes fine now. :thumbup:

Can't say I've heard of a bad from the Factory die before, but all indicators point towards my Hornady 6.5 sizer being out of spec.

Things that make you go hmmmmm,,,, ;)
 
Skgreen said:
Can't say I've heard of a bad from the Factory die before, but all indicators point towards my Hornady 6.5 sizer being out of spec.
Click to expand...

I had a .223 sizing dies once and I had similar problems that you were having. Borrowed and neighbors dies and no issues. Replacing the die was the only solution. Not sure it happens often, but I've heard of it.

-Jeff
 
My choice-RCBS

Its all about "tolerances" I guess most fl dies are some where in between minimum & maximum?

LEE-
Our full length sizing dies are cut to size the case closer to the middle of the SAAMI dimension, because that is where most rifle's chambers are made, and to size to the minimum would shorten case life. If this does not solve the problem, return the sizing die with two fired cases, and we can modify the die to fit to your chamber.

Our address is:

Lee Precision Inc,
4275 County Road U
Hartford, WI 53027 .
Click to expand...
 
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I've been saying a while now that all dies are not created equal, it can be confusing especially trying to measure and determine what's happening when the press handle gets pulled.
Even tougher with range brass fired in some other chamber.
 
Could be die is on the big side and your chamber on the tight - however- range brass is not always the best-
- how many times was it reloaded before you picked it up? Was it shot out of a AR with hot loads and a big chamber? - I've seen ARs stretch the hell out of a piece of brass-- does your die size brass that have been shot in your gun?
 
My bad- you solved it- bad dies- great to here you got it fixed-

-good shooting-
 
Glad to hear that you solved the problem. I'm partial to RCBS dies mostly because I have never had a problem with them. Like you, I moved to them after being dissatisfied with another brand. But you don't hear much about anyone having problems with Hornady. I've never used their dies but I personally know others that have and they are happy enough with them.
 
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