308 win??

[treerooster]

I just resized an loaded some 308 win lc brass.. after i reloaded my first one i tried it in my gun which is a howa 1500 an it was hard to close the bolt.. i checked the messurements with the factory load which close up fine.. an they were the same.. so wondering why im having problems with this brass. but like i said i only completely loaded one round.. but it did close but was tight.. an did shoot ok.. so could my sizer die not be adjusted properly??

thanks Brent

 

[MtnCreek]

Sounds like the shoulder was not sized back far enough. What die are you using and how did you set it up?

 

[REL1203]

for larger rifle like 308, i highly suggest a case guage. I hve a dillion one, and it is fantastic...

 

[treerooster]

i have a rcbs fl dies. i put the shell holder in then run the ram up to the top an screwed the die in until it touched the shell holder then went in 1/4 turn.. like the inst said.. but i may need to go in a half turn...

thanks Brent

 

[Walkalong]

When adjusting down past shell holder contact you need to go far enough to take the slack up in the press, but any more just strains the equipment.

If you crimped, you may have over crimped and even a slight buckle of the shoulder will prevent or make chambering tough.

It is also possible, but not likely, that the shell holder is out of spec and too tall. (More than .125 from where the shell base sits to top of shell holder.)

It is also possible that the die is out of spec, but again, not likely.

 

[treerooster]

ok thanks for the info i will check these things.. glad i didnt load a hole bunch before i checked them. thanks again

Brent

 

[MEHavey]

Check a resized (but not-yet-loaded) case to see if the bolt will close easily.

... if it's OK ...

NO CRIMP !!!
(Back the seating die off to ensure no contact)

 

[Jasper1573]

I had this exact same issue with my first lot of LC brass. My cases were fired in a machine gun with much looser chamber and had stretched the brass beyond the length of my Remington chamber. Follow MtnCreek's advice and push the shoulder back just a little more so that the bolt closes but you can feel the pressure of the shoulder of the case against the front of the chamber.

 

[MEHavey]

If it's a machine-gun brass issue, the shoulder is not the problem.
If commercial brass resizes OK, see if you can borrow a small-base die for one-time sizing of the Lake City mil surplus.

 

[dawico]

Some military brass has very thick necks. If your chamber is tight, that may be the problem also.

 

[USSR]

If it's a machine-gun brass issue, the shoulder is not the problem.
If commercial brass resizes OK, see if you can borrow a small-base die for one-time sizing of the Lake City mil surplus.

Yep. What happens is the web area of the brass gets blown out of spec, and regular FL dies do not resize down that far on brass.

Don

 

[dodge]

I had the same problem with some IVI brass. This is Canadian mil brass but after I fired it in my 308 I had no more problems with it as it fired formed to my rifle's chamber.

 

[Shmackey]

I'll give 10-1 odds your sizing die isn't low enough.

The good news is you can test it all with empty cases. Prep a case just like you did for the last batch. Instead of charging it and seating a bullet, just feed the case through the action. If it's still tight, you know it's not the bullet.

Be sure you're trimming down to SAAMI length and chamfering/deburring. If not, do that and try feeding an empty again. Then go ahead and tweak that sizing die.

 

[918v]

I'll give 10-1 odds your sizing die isn't low enough.

He turned the die down to touch the shell holder plus another quarter turn. How much further down can the die go?

 

[MtnCreek]

Quote:
I'll give 10-1 odds your sizing die isn't low enough.

He turned the die down to touch the shell holder plus another quarter turn. How much further down can the die go?

If it goes much past that, the press is worn out, out of spec or built from some pretty flimsy stuff.

 

[MEHavey]

Again ... size a commercial case to see if the problem persists.

If the bolt closes easily on the commercial case, you need to small-base size the mil-surplus cases.

 

[Shmackey]

He can go another quarter turn. Often enough--depending on the press--a single 90-degree turn from "just touching" is going to be a hair too short to move the shoulder enough.

It won't hurt anything to give it a try.

 

[Walkalong]

None of my rifle sizers are screwed in past just touching. Most are not touching at all since I size to fit the chamber. My .223 sizer is just a hair off the shell plate on my LNL when sizing brass to fit a Wilson case gauge.

I do have some military .223/5.56 that was fired full auto, but I have not played with it yet.

 

[45ACPUSER]

To the OP did you say 7.62 Lake City Brass? Did you fire this as loaded ammo in your chamber? If you did not then we may have an idea of your woes! Was this once fired brass bought from a vendor?

First reread the directions for your dies! But, LC brass bought as once fired probably was fired in a machinegun. A sloppy chambered machine gun at that! The brass may well be in need of a pass thru a small base resizer die before you can load it! This die sizes the brass to SAAMI spec.

Redding and RCBS both make small base sizer dies!