.223/5.56 reloading problem

[hillbilly1992]

i got a rock chucker press and have been trying to reload .223/5.56. ive got already shot casings that have been cleaned, trimmed and primed. when i go to seat the bullet and crimped the casing. everything checks good. but there are some casings that the projectile wont sit in the hole to press it, they just fall into the casing.

i have tried to slightly crimp the casing the seat the bullet but this cause the casing to mushroom. these have not been ran through the depriming die.

do i need to push them through the depriming die first?

Any other suggestions?

 

[taraquian]

Yes, it is usually the sizing and depriming die, without sizing the neck you can't get proper tension.

Normally you would size before trimming and priming, so I'm not real sure but I would remove the decapping pin and try sizing without depriming. Measure your cases after sizing for length as they may stretch a bit.

Read the instructions that came with your dies for setup and to remove the decapping pin.

 

[03fatboy]

I think you need to full length size or neck size,
if you haven't done that you will more then likely have to trim again or at least recheck measurements
Just my 2cents there's alot more experience out there and im sure they will help

 

[hillbilly1992]

this should make the diameter of the body of the casing the right size?

i have factory .223/5.56 bullets and the diameter of these casings are smaller than the ones that have already been shot

 

[hillbilly1992]

ok thanks i was going to try that earlier but was afraid of getting the casing stuck in the die which i have already done.

 

[kingmt]

Really? How did you get the old primers out to put the new ones in?

If your for real you really should read at least the instructions that came with your tools. Get a manual. We don't mind helping people but read how to do it first. It isn't as hard as posting then waiting for someone to respond then reading what they posted.

 

[03fatboy]

+1 taraguian
make sure you lube the cases

 

[rondog]

Hillbilly - Whatever you do, DON'T try to resize any .223/5.56 cases WITHOUT LUBRICATING THEM FIRST!!! You have to get some case sizing lube, and lube each case first!, Trust me on this.....bottlenecked rifle cases are tapered, and if not lubricated they WILL sieze up inside your sizing die so fast and so tight it'll make your head spin. And getting a stuck case out is NO fun. You'll be out chasing cars and howling at the moon.

But yes, all cases need to be resized before you reload them, pistol or rifle. Straight-walled pistol cases resized in carbide dies usually don't need lubricating, but ANY tapered cases do. 9mm Luger cases are tapered but don't need lube with carbide dies. But .30 Carbine cases, oh yeah! Those may look straight-walled, but they're not.

If you don't grease 'em, you'll sieze 'em. Doesn't take a lot, just a very thin coat, but it's gotta be there. Too much of a wax or grease type lube on a case can also cause dented shoulders, so don't put too much on 'em.

<edit> I see now where you said you've already stuck one...fun, wasn't it?

 

[hillbilly1992]

Really? How did you get the old primers out to put the new ones in?

If your for real you really should read at least the instructions that came with your tools. Get a manual. We don't mind helping people but read how to do it first. It isn't as hard as posting then waiting for someone to respond then reading what they posted.

these casings that i have are from my bosses deceased dad. so they were already deprimed and i have read every reloading manual that i have and the instructions that are with the dies. im just havin a problem with the bullets jamming when i shoot them through the gun. im just wanting a little help. just trying to learn this on my own and dont have somebody to teach me.

 

[gamestalker]

Start over again and first lube the necks, inside and out, and then lube the case body, not the shoulders. Only use a light film of lube or you'll end up with lube dents in your brass. Then run them through the full length resizing / depriming die. After it has been adjusted so that the shell holder at least touches the bottom of the die when the press ram is fully extended and produces a nominal degree of cam over, or pop over of the press linkage. This is only a ball park adjustment, as proper head space will be determined by several thousandths, up or down, further adjusting of the full length sizing die as per your chamber dimensions.

Then trim the brass after it has been resized. Trimming before is counter productive and won't accomplish the intended purpose. After trimming it will be necessary to ream and chamfer the rough edges off the case mouth.

After you've properly resized your brass the bullet should seat nice and snug. FYI, back the die out so it doesn't crimp, you don't need to crimp those cartridges, and trying to do so will only create more issues than could be ever solved. About the only commonly crimped bottle necks cases that need crimping are those that are intended for a tubular magazine fed weapons, lever action types, or elephant gun cartridges, a 600 nitro mag would be an example.

Good luck, and I hope all goes better for ya!
GS

 

[hillbilly1992]

Hillbilly - Whatever you do, DON'T try to resize any .223/5.56 cases WITHOUT LUBRICATING THEM FIRST!!! You have to get some case sizing lube, and lube each case first!, Trust me on this.....bottlenecked rifle cases are tapered, and if not lubricated they WILL sieze up inside your sizing die so fast and so tight it'll make your head spin. And getting a stuck case out is NO fun. You'll be out chasing cars and howling at the moon.

But yes, all cases need to be resized before you reload them, pistol or rifle. Straight-walled pistol cases resized in carbide dies usually don't need lubricating, but ANY tapered cases do. 9mm Luger cases are tapered but don't need lube with carbide dies. But .30 Carbine cases, oh yeah! Those may look straight-walled, but they're not.

If you don't grease 'em, you'll sieze 'em. Doesn't take a lot, just a very thin coat, but it's gotta be there. Too much of a wax or grease type lube on a case can also cause dented shoulders, so don't put too much on 'em.

<edit> I see now where you said you've already stuck one...fun, wasn't it?

thank you...ive learned the hard way about lubing the rifle casings and your right its not fun and they are a pain to get out.

 

[hillbilly1992]

Really? How did you get the old primers out to put the new ones in?

If your for real you really should read at least the instructions that came with your tools. Get a manual. We don't mind helping people but read how to do it first. It isn't as hard as posting then waiting for someone to respond then reading what they posted.

nothing to say now


thanks everybody else for the advice

 

[Trent]

when you trim them, you might be expanding the neck back OUT again. (Same thing happens when you neck-turn).

After trimming, chamfer them, and then always run them BACK through the sizing die again to make sure the neck is put back to the diameter it's supposed to be.

If this is happening, I'd recommend taking a look at your trimming mandrel (assuming you're turning them and not filing), and make sure it slides in and out of a SIZED case freely. If not, chuck it in a drill and hit it with some ultra fine grit emery paper to take a couple thou off of it. The mandrel in a trimming rig doesn't have to fit like a bullet. It can be quite a bit loose and still hold the case straight enough to get the job done.

 

[MrCountyCop]

yep decap/resize first with Imperial sizing wax

 

[Walkalong]

Hmm, sounds like you found some cases from the deceased reloader that he had deprimed but not sized. Since the cases are from unknown origin you should treat them like fired cases. Cases that may have been fired mulitple times.

So......

Check for internal signs of stretching.

Lube and size.

Trim to 1.750.

De-burr and chamfer.

Prime.

Load.

Buy a manual.

 

[RainDodger]

You have a reloading manual, correct? Be SURE you have one and re-read the basic process and look at each stage you must go through to obtain a loaded cartridge. Critical stuff!

You got cases from somone and you're not sure what's been done to them... totally reasonable. You should assume that NOTHING has been done to them. Follow your manual instructions and start from the beginning with them. Who knows how the previous owner took out the primers? I sure don't. So assume he did it with a freakin' punch and hammer or something... assume NOTHING has been done to them.

Start at the beginning and size/deprime them per instructions, and go from there. If you do that from step one all the way to a loaded cartridge, you should be fine. Follow the manual. If you have questions in the middle of the process, the guys here can help for sure.

 

[kingmt]

nothing to say now


thanks everybody else for the advice

Yes. Just the first I've been back to your thread. I still advise you read it again to get a better grasp on what is going on. I was new once also so I know what it is like to start.

What did you mean by the bullet is jamming?

As far as the press popping over that depends on the press. Best instructions for one fits all is raise the ram & turn the sizing die in until contact. Then lower the ram, turn the for in another half a turn, & lock it in place.

 

[Searcher4851]

I suppose it's possible that the casings were deprimed with a universal decapping die, which does nothing about resizing the case to the proper dimensions. It would be best to just treat the casings as unknown range pickups, and go through the whole process start to finish, without skipping any steps. In other words, deprime-resize (not forgetting to lube for the resizing), measure and trim if needed, if trimmed - debur and chamfer, prime, charge, and seat the bullet (no crimp should be needed).

im just havin a problem with the bullets jamming when i shoot them through the gun

I'm not sure what you are referring to here, so some clarification of that statement would be helpful in order to try to assist you in resolving that issue.

 

[hipclan]

Casings

I only load military LC brass, some WCC if I can find of lot of same times fired, etc. Have had opportunity to reload commercial brass also, and no comparison. Yes, I lube, full-length size, tumble, trim to uniform length, and use a Rockchucker with Redding dies. The inconsistency of force in the bullet seating step and range grouping shows all. Seating a bullet in commercial brass can be like seating a bullet in butter, or the next bullet may seat like in LC brass where it take the same solid amount of force. Might not make much difference in AR-15's, but does in heavy barreled bolt action rifles or for serious shooters that demand MOA.

 

[witchhunter]

I am thinking these cases are military, they were deprimed and the primer crimp swaged or reamed. Hillbilly, always start from scratch with unknown brass. Lube (sparingly) size, trim, chamfer, powder and seat bullet. I like to stay with one headstamp on my brass. Keep brass that is fired from your rifle seperate from picked up brass, so that you can always know it is an unknown. Good Luck.

 

[Lj1941]

ABCs of Reloading

ABCs of Reloading is an excellent resource for a beginner at reloading if it is still in print.??