5.56x45mm NATO reload shoulder crushing

[edwardware]

The reason I put a little tighter crimp is because of the cannelure and also in the past when loading solid copper projectiles I had some of the bullet heads actually fall into the case. . .

1) That's a bullet. There's no such thing as a bullet head.
2) You'll never bandaid inadequate neck tension with a crimp.
3) You can't apply more than a moderate crimp with a taper or roll crimp die without suffering the problem you have here. If you try, you crush the neck or shoulder instead of tightening the crimp, as you are.

Fix the neck tension problem by fixing it, in your sizing step.

The key to crimping is ensuring all of your brass is the same length for consistency. I use Lee collet dies to crimp everything. . .

The single most valuable feature of Lee's Collet Crimp dies is that they are not sensitive to trim length.

 

[Toprudder]

2) You'll never bandaid inadequate neck tension with a crimp.

The single most valuable feature of Lee's Collet Crimp dies is that they are not sensitive to trim length.

+1.

 

[Skgreen]

I don't crimp 223, and I made some ammo that looked similar to that recently.
Not quite as pronounced, but bulge was in the same place. (No scratches)
1. How, exactly, are you sizing your brass?
2. Where did the brass come from, meaning was it range pick up, (not from your rifle), and/or previously fired from more than (1) firearm? or, was it brass you owned and had previously shot each piece through (1) rifle?

I shoot 99.99% bolt action through 1 rifle. Got a little lazy and 'forgot' some of the brass I had on hand was shot from different firearms.
Was also bored,,, Decided to use the LEE collet sizer instead of full-length resizing.

My hypothesis is that lazy and bored got together and decided to test me.
The penalty for failing the test was to full-length size about 700 pieces of brass.
(I aced that test! LOL!)

 

[FROGO207]

Are you chamfering the case mouths after trimming? That first round pictured looks like it has a lip outside. Also the bullet seating die could be adjusted down too far and might be incidentally crimping some rounds before the FCD stage. Especially if they are not all trimmed to the same llength. A flat based bullet can push the shoulder down if the inside of the neck is not chamfered beforehand butboat tails are usually OK unless there is an internal lip. The lip is often caused by a dull cutter when you trim.

 

[FROGO207]

I like a SS press at times like this. You have so many things going on at once it can be hard to easily find your problem. Even pressure on the press handle is info on a single stage, not so much on a progressive.

 

[Walkalong]

The reason I put a little tighter crimp is because of the cannelure and also in the past when loading solid copper projectiles I had some of the bullet heads actually fall into the case during storage (in a 2 gallon bucket).

Something is wrong with your sizing if the bullets fell into the case. As posted already, a crimp cannot make up for poor neck tension.

You need to re-visit your sizing operation.

I couldn't tell if you are trimming cases or not, and if you are not, you need to. If you do not long cases will eventually get you in trouble.

The Sheridan gauge is a great way to test your sizer. The Wilson checks headspace, and will catch extra fat rounds, but the Sheridan also checks case diameter and if your loaded rounds pass the Sheridan, they should chamber in any SAMMI spec chamber.

 

[swagbrdr]

So I use a Lee Factory Crimp die on my 556 ammo, and never have the issues shown in your pics...ever. I would agree with others that you may have a sizing issue. Do you check your headspace on your brass? I’m almost wondering if you’re using once fired mil brass and you’re not getting it sized properly. Proper headspace is crucial in autoloaders.

How were you able to get those out of the chamber?

 

[mrawesome22-250]

It would be physically impossible for those to make it into the chamber.

Got a feed issue. Try some different magazines.

 

[Hickey]

Hi All,

I'm having the same problem! All my cartridges are sized, trimmed and put thru a Hornady sizing gauge before reloading. It happens when I load the bullet into the cartridge that I get it crushing. I tried going slow with the press handle but same still crush. I'm using Hodgdon CFE223 powder (26.5gr), Hornady once fires brass(5.56) with Hornady V-Max 53 gr bullets. I do not crimp my shells. Any ideas what maybe happening? Like I said it only happens 1 or 2 times out of 20 rounds.

Thanks Hickey

 

[Juiceking]

Hi All,

I'm having the same problem! All my cartridges are sized, trimmed and put thru a Hornady sizing gauge before reloading. It happens when I load the bullet into the cartridge that I get it crushing. I tried going slow with the press handle but same still crush. I'm using Hodgdon CFE223 powder (26.5gr), Hornady once fires brass(5.56) with Hornady V-Max 53 gr bullets. I do not crimp my shells. Any ideas what maybe happening? Like I said it only happens 1 or 2 times out of 20 rounds.

Thanks Hickey

Curious what .223 dies your using...you said you don't crimp so might be a sizing issue..i was getting similar thing happening but i was using rcbs 2 die and i had the die adjusted to crimp while setting bullet and iwas getting results in pic every 20 rnd or so

 

[Blue68f100]

Back the body of the die off another 1/2 turn to make sure it's not pinching the bullet. Also add a camphor to the inside neck so the bullet will start easy and straight.

Check for burr on the mouth lip, can happen during trimming, needs to be removed.

 

[Hickey]

Blue68F100 ! You are right!!! I back off about 1/2-1 turn (Hornady .223 die) and have no issue now. Did what Hornady said to do but I guess I needed to go a little more turns to get it to work. Thanks you all for the help!!!!

Bill

 

[Dudedog]

Happy ending!

 

[Bhennessee1]

I had the same problem. Happened to also be using the same bullet and loading on a dillon. My issue ended up being inadequate chamfer causing the case to crush slightly when I seated the bullet. I always chuck my chamfer tool in a battery drill and just give each case a little kiss with it. Never had trouble before and never since. Just one of those things I guess.

 

[lordpaxman]

I'm using the LEE factory crimp die.

Welcome to THR. Lots of great advice here!
You said you FL size, and trim and then load. It sounds like you want to seat and crimp using the FCD in two different operations, but what seater die are you using and how is that set up? My .223 dies have a seat/crimp die only, so you have to be careful setting that up such that it doesn’t crimp. I do like a light touch of crimp just to remove the bell.
@Hickey , welcome to THR as well. Glad to see you worked out the issue, that happens a lot more than you’d expect, even with pistol rounds.
@Bhennessee1 , I use a Lyman .22 M type expander die to open up the case mouth prior to seating. Seems to work ok. Good luck.

 

[IMtheNRA]

I think you have a second problem. If your bullets are falling into the case, you need to figure out what's going on. What dies and press do you use, and can you please describe your case preparation method?

 

[Bhennessee1]

Welcome to THR. Lots of great advice here!
You said you FL size, and trim and then load. It sounds like you want to seat and crimp using the FCD in two different operations, but what seater die are you using and how is that set up? My .223 dies have a seat/crimp die only, so you have to be careful setting that up such that it doesn’t crimp. I do like a light touch of crimp just to remove the bell.
@Hickey , welcome to THR as well. Glad to see you worked out the issue, that happens a lot more than you’d expect, even with pistol rounds.
@Bhennessee1 , I use a Lyman .22 M type expander die to open up the case mouth prior to seating. Seems to work ok. Good luck.

It was just a very small sharp edge from trimming combined with the nearly flat base of the particular bullet I was using. It would have a tiny sliver of the circumference of the bullet and case the case to crush so slightly that I couldn't see it on most of the problem rounds. The case gauge is what caught it every time.

Also seems like at one time I had the powder die screwed in too far and had the powder funnel crushing cases when it was charging. That's another possibility to look at along with the obvious crimping too early in a combo seat/crimp die.

 

[Skylerbone]

I always crimp and always with a separate die. Case prep is the dirty often unspoken part of reloading that too many neglect. I find it far more critical than loading just off lands or getting loads down to the last 1/10th grain.

All of it plays a part, but prep and tracking brass for your accurate (hunting/target) rounds is vital. I trim with my Lyman power trimmer then chamfer by hand using consistent pressure and counting turns.

 

[lordpaxman]

It was just a very small sharp edge from trimming combined with the nearly flat base of the particular bullet I was using.

If you don’t want or need to chamfer, this is an alternative some use in more automated processing:

https://www.lymanproducts.com/rifle-neck-expanding-m-dies

 

[JFrank]

I ran into a problem with some reloads I churned out during the COVID shutdown that are having some issues. When I went out to the shooting range some of the rounds are having their shoulder crushed/smashed when cycling causing a pretty bad jam not letting the round actually chamber. The first thought I have is that the gouging is from the rifling and the round is not being fully chambered forward causing the carrier to crush the brass however my overall round length is per the load spec.

Here's my load data: 55gr Hornady FMY-BT with cannelure, 21.7gr Accurate 2200, 2.2" COAL. All brass had been cleaned, fully resized, trimmed, cleaned again before loading.

It seems that the jammed rounds have some gouging on the bullet head. I've only reloading for about 5 years and this is the first time using Hornady FMJ, I've usually only reloaded solid copper projectiles with no problems at all. I tested the rounds in 3 firearms to make sure a Larue 5.56, S&W 5.56 and also a DPMS with the same jamming problems. Please see attached images and thank you in advance for your comments.
View attachment 919589
View attachment 919590

Have you annealed these cases ? Just curious because that's the only time I've seen cases distort like that.

 

[Bhennessee1]

If you don’t want or need to chamfer, this is an alternative some use in more automated processing:

https://www.lymanproducts.com/rifle-neck-expanding-m-dies

I didn't know something like this existed. I just though the expander in the sizing die was what everyone used. I put every .223 case through a little crow trimmer every time so I always inside and outside deburr.