FL Sizing .35 REM and neck tension.

[FullEffect1911]

Alright, I Will be the first to admit I am not the most experienced bottleneck cartridge re loader out there, so I have a few questions.

I loaded up 30 rounds for my new Marlin 336 in .35 rem. I full length sized brand new Winchester brass (lee dies) and seated 200 grain sierra pro hunter round nose bullets. The problem is I was getting very poor neck tension on some of the rounds.

I was able to spin the bullet in the case on some of the rounds, and could change the depth by hand. After using the lee FCD the rounds were much more solid, but I was able to seat them deeper by pushing the bullet tip against a solid surface. The bullet would drop down to the bottom of the bullet cannelure and stop there when pushing on it, but this is beyond recommended C.O.A.L.

I pulled the bullets and reloaded them, which sorta worked... there is just not as much tension as I would like to have. I am going to baby the batch when shooting them as a result.

So what is likely the problem? To big of an expander mandrel? Too small? What should the mandrel measure when using .358" dia bullets in the .35 rem?

I never had problems like this with .223, so I figured I would ask those more experienced than me.

 

[454PB]

Yes, it sounds like the expander plug is too big. You could either return the die to Lee with an explanation, or fix it yourself. If you have a micrometer, measure the diameter of the expander plug, then chuck it in a hand drill to spin it and use fine emery cloth to reduce the diameter .001". You can then reassemble the die and try it out. If it's still too loose, repeat the process. Without measuring my own .35 Remington die expander, I can't tell you exactly what it should be, but I would estimate it should measure about .355" to .356".

 

[GooseGestapo]

What brand of brass and where did you find/get them?
What brand/make of bullet. Diameter ?

I've never encountered that problem in 30+yrs of loading for .35Rem.
Once or so with mil-spec brass in 8mm Mauser and .308.

I suspect the brass is excessively thin. I've run into brass that was over-length and had to be trimmed. Also, brass that had too much crimp and wouldn't chamber. This would then allow the bullet to be moved by hand/finger force.

Also, brass that had been fired in a chamber that required significantly more sizing to fit in a minimum dimension chamber (usually range pick-ups).

My bet is that it's the brass as I've never had any real issues with the Lee dies.
However, an undersized bullet could cause this also.......

 

[45ACPUSER]

If the brass was old and work hardened from multiple firings and resizing operations I could see it nto holding neck tension. I tend to agree the expander on the decapping stem is the culprit! I like to agree that turning down the expander is the easiest on sight fix...

 

[ranger335v]

If a bullet fits loosely in a recently FL sized (and expanded) case, the neck is too large for the bullet. Either the bullet itself is undersized, not likely, or the neck is oversize, also not likely but obviously it happens. Right now, you have two choices. Either contact the die maker or make the expander smaller yourself.

Borrow a micrometer if you have to but mike the expander. It should be either bullet diameter of a thousanth smaller, no more. If it is a single thousanth too large, that's the problem. A thousanth or two makes a world of difference in bullet fit.

If it really is oversized, it's easy enough to fix yourself but it does require an electric drill motor, some fine grit sandpaper AND a micrometer to monitor your progress. Chuck the decap/expander stem in the drill (lightly, so as not to damage the threaded part) and spin it while holding sandpaper around the very hard expander ball. Use only a fine grit black sand paper, 400 grit silicon carbide paper actually, which is avaialbe at Walmart's auto paint section. It works well for metal sanding chores.

Keep miking the ball as you work and stop when it reaches bullet diameter and try it again. If the neck is still loose, repeat the spinning and remove another thousanth.

 

[FullEffect1911]

What brand of brass and where did you find/get them?
What brand/make of bullet. Diameter ?

Brand new Winchester brass and Sierra pro hunter 200 grain bullets. I need to actually check the diameter of the bullets, but they should be .358".

Are lee expander plugs tapered or cylindrical? If it is tapered I could just loosen the collet and raise the plug up a bit. If it is cylindrical i will chuck it up in my lathe and take it down a .001". I do have mics so it isn't a problem.

 

[DickM]

I've reloaded .35 Rem, various brands of commercial brass, for many years using an old set of Lyman dies and never had the problem you describe. I just went downstairs and measured the expander - 0.3555 in.

 

[FullEffect1911]

thank you very much for the measurement... I now have something for comparison.

 

[454PB]

It looks like most here have repeated what I said, and DickM's post verifies my guess at the proper diameter for the expander ball.

 

[FullEffect1911]

It looks like most here have repeated what I said, and DickM's post verifies my guess at the proper diameter for the expander ball.

I love it when all of the information jives. Also a very fine estimate on the size, it just doesn't get much closer than that.

 

[FullEffect1911]

I took some measurements. The expander is measuring 0.3571" and the bullets are .358". I'll take down some with some fine grit emery cloth and get it down to .3560 to .3555. Then I will try it out and report back.

 

[FullEffect1911]

Alright, put a dummy round through and neck tension is now as good as I can tell. Outstanding advice guys, thank you.