Haven't found anything referring to this, so I gotta ask, has anybody ever tried to reload .308 brass, once fired, in a SAW only to find there is a bulge at the base of the neck preventing it from chambering in my rifle? Remington 700. I use a full length sizing die since obviously the brass is not fire formed to my chamber, lube every case, and there is no weirdness on the press when I seat the slugs. Did not crimp the rounds yet to test the action in the rifle, and found a bunch of cases that just will not chamber. Does anybody have any ideas how I can reclaim this brass for my loading bench and not toss it in the scrap bucket ?
.308 brass fired in SAW has bulge at the base of the neck, can I resize it to chamber
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If you full length resized the cases you shouldn't have a bulge. Since you haven't crimped the rounds yet it may be possible that you haven't removed all of the bell at the case mouth. I would make up a dummy round crimped and see how it chambers in your gun. Have you chambered any factory ammo? If you have without problem compare the dimensions to your reloads.
Factory ammo chambers just fine. Most of the brass I use also sizes properly and chambers fine. Didn't make any changes in the setting of the sizing die, and ran all my brass, mixed from a SAW shoot and other sources of once fired. I suspect maybe the SAW has a spot made in its chamber to create that bulge to help eliminate the chance of a stuck case after firing. Crimping makes no difference either way, as I don't go crazy with the crimp to make sure I don't distort the cases. (learned the hard way on that one a long time ago)
W.E.G.
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If it was fired in a belt-fed machine gun, it will be permanently banana-shaped, even if you run it in a full-length sizer.
Put it on a dial indicator after you resize it, and you'll see.
Put it on a dial indicator after you resize it, and you'll see.
I've heard of CETMEs or HK91s having fluted chambers but have had no experience with the used brass. It may help if you could post pics to see exactly what you're dealing with. I'm sure you'll also get replies from others with more experience than me.
W.E.G.
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243winxb
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What brand of dies/type? Are you using a flrs bushing die? If so, normal.
There is a crimper in most all seating dies. You may have the die screwed in to far. The round is being over crimped bulging the case.
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Wilburt
Member
Um... isn't a Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW)/M249 a .556? A FN 240B, M60 or similar belt fed weapon fires the 7.62 (.308 similar) cartridge. Sorry, I know this doesn't help. Just wondering.
SAW/M249
240B
SAW/M249
240B
Win1892
Member
I've loaded hundreds of 308 rounds using different batches of belt fed cases without issue. I just find that the resizing die MUST cam over to get everything back to normal.
Strongbad
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Heh... same thing I was wondering.
Military autos are hard as hell on brass. 308 brass isn't that expensive, and you could probably find once fired that wasn't run through some type of full auot machine gun that would be much less hassle.
W.E.G.
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The "banana brass" resizes well enough, and provides surprisingly good accuracy, even with the run-out.
But, it will "fail" the dial indicator test.
IIRC there was usually 0.002" to 0.003" runout that no amount of resizing would correct.
But, it will "fail" the dial indicator test.
IIRC there was usually 0.002" to 0.003" runout that no amount of resizing would correct.
evan price
Member
Have you already put a bullet in the case? Seen this problem when people have either too long of brass, or they have the seating die screwed down too far, it compresses the shoulder and you get a bulge at the base of the shoulder where the shoulder was pressed down.
evan price
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Have you already put a bullet in the case? Seen this problem when people have either too long of brass, or they have the seating die screwed down too far, it compresses the shoulder and you get a bulge at the base of the shoulder where the shoulder was pressed down.
ranger335v
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Makes no difference what the cases were fired in, a proper FL sizing should make it fit any SAAMI chamber; that's sorta what FL sizing's all about. The .243 and .22-250 cases I reform from .30-06 sure don't care what it was first fired in!
Try FL sizing one of the fired cases and see if it chambers while empty. If not, you probably aren't pushing the shoulders back quite far enough; adjust the die down a tad. If it does chamber okay, something is wrong in how you're seating the bullets.
Try FL sizing one of the fired cases and see if it chambers while empty. If not, you probably aren't pushing the shoulders back quite far enough; adjust the die down a tad. If it does chamber okay, something is wrong in how you're seating the bullets.
HankB
Member
It's probably not what the OP is having trouble with, but cases fired in machine guns often have stretched to the point that there's a thin spot in the brass just ahead of the extractor groove - this can be a source of premature case head separation in reloaded ammo. (This is easily checked for using something as simple as a modified paper clip - many comprehensive reloading manuals will discuss this.)
Thats for sure not to mention that thinner .308 sporting cases take a real beating from the heavy open bolt slamming them into the chamber. It can actully cause the case to shorten going in and really streach if not blow the heads off.
NuJudge
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I don't like using brass fired in MG's because of past bad experiences. I've found a Small Base sizing die useful with ammo fired in such guns. I also like to run them into the Small Base size die twice, as headspace seems tighter after the second trip. A quality size die Lubricant is a must for such, and I like Imperial size die wax.
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