.223 Resizing Problem.

[stonehenge69]

I'm fairly new to reloading. In the last 4 months I've loaded and shot over 3000 rounds of .45 with no issues. I figured it was time to move up to some rifle rounds.

Last weekend I loaded up 50 rounds of .233 (5 sets of 10 with different loads). Two of the rounds (#14 and #32) didn't fully chamber, locking up my Colt M4 to the point where I didn't think I was going to be able to extract either of them. I was able to remove them and the other 48 along with a couple boxes of factory ammo, shoot just fine.

The rounds were all Rem. once fired brass loaded using a Dillon 550B, Dillon dies, and trimmed to length. I set the resizing die per Dillons instruction (made contact with the shell plate and backed off 1/2 turn). I noticed at the time that the shells were putruding slightly above the top of the case gauge but wasn't sure if it was enough to be an issue.

Today I tried resizing some more brass and I'm still having problems getting the shell to fully seat in the Dillon case gauge. I've lowered the die in 1/8 turn increments to the point to where now its contacting the shell plate and I still have .050 sticking up above the gauge.

What am I missing here? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, I can't help with a Dillon.

But if it was any other press, you just have to screw the die down until it "bumps" the shell holder hard at full ram travel / cam-over.

Any less, and the cases are not really going to be full-length sized, and you will have exactly the problem you are having.

BTW: A similar problem can happen if you are crimping the bullets in the seater die.
Too much crimp will buckle the shoulders on .223 imperceptibly, but they will lock up an AR way tighter then tight!

rc

 

[taliv]

when i bought my dillon 1050, it came with 223 dies and the sizing die had actually been machined wrong and was a bit too long. it took me a while to figure out what was wrong because it wasn't as obvious as yours. (if your case is sticking out that much, something's very very wrong)

even if i screwed the die all the way down to the shell plate, it wouldn't size it enough, so i called dillon and they told me to send the die back and they'd replace it, or to hit it with a belt sander until it was short enough.

as i was pressed for time and didn't want to wait for shipping, i sanded it and have had no problems since.

 

[mkl]

Looking at the picture, I'd guess you still are not resizing them enough.

I use the Wilson case gage and have a single stage press, so I could be wrong here, but:

Can you see any gap at all between the shell holder face and the die bottom when the case is in your resizing die? If so, you may need to keep screwing in the die to get complete case resizing. Most die sets tell one to screw in the die until it touches the top of the shell holder and then add 1/8 to 1/2 turn. This extra partial turn is intended to compensate for the spring in the press when doing fairly heavy resizing jobs.

Be sure the case is adequately lubricated -- Hornady One Shot will probably not work if that is what you are using (works fine on pistol; not adequate for bottle neck rifle).

The head of the case should be at least flush with the top of your case gage if it is the same type gage as the Wilson.

 

[stonehenge69]

Most die sets tell one to screw in the die until it touches the top of the shell holder and then add 1/8 to 1/2 turn. This extra partial turn is intended to compensate for the spring in the press when doing fairly heavy resizing jobs.

MKL, after reading your post I doubled checked Dillon's instructions and it does say to back the the die off 1/2 turn after making contact with the shell plate. Having already tried it with the die making contact with the same results, I took your advice and screwed it down an extra 1/4 turn.
I just did 10 cases and all of them came out right in the middle of the high/low setting on the gauge. Hopefully that took care of my problem.

Thanks for quick replies guys. I'll make some up and see how they do.



Trey

 

[Walkalong]

I agree with Taliv, unless, like rcmodel posted, you have buckled the shoulder just a tad, which is very easy to do by the way. Ask me how I know.

My Mini 14 and my AR chamber will accept them that way, but I did have an AR with a Match chamber that would lock up with them like that.

Try sizing some more brass and see if they fit the gauge. If they do, take a very close look at the shoulder area of the loaded rounds that failed the gauge.

 

[dave from mesa]

Most die sets tell one to screw in the die until it touches the top of the shell holder and then add 1/8 to 1/2 turn.

I have a 1050 and a 550 and this is the way I set the sizing die. Has worked for me this way for many years.
I have never crimped my 223 cases and they run fine in my sons AR.
This may not be the correct way but works for me. have even left 1-2 in the bottom of a mag and reloaded it and no bullet creep.
Others may say diff and that's ok by me.

 

[rcmodel]

.223 bullets don't creep from recoil in the magazine.

If they creep, it's from hitting the feed ramps during cycling.

rc

 

[243winxb]

Dillon Directions

The directions say to use a chamber headspace gauge to set up the sizing die.

Watch out for bad shell plates when setting the flrs die to touch the shell plate. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=425469

 

[stonehenge69]

243winxb, Thanks for the heads up. looks like a RCBS precision mic is the way to go.



Trey

 

[243winxb]

More good links here. http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=5386587&postcount=48