Having a problem with .223

[alfack]

I have the same problem, but my chamber is a little tight. My problem was the PMC brass. It would not take a size like the other LC brass I have.

I took a fired casing of factory ammo, measured the base and compared it to an unfired round. The fired case was .374" at the base. The unfired case was .371. The PMC brass I had resized was also .374 and the LC brass was .372 after resizing.

The rounds I had made with the PMC brass fit in my case gauge with no trouble, which indicates they were within SAAMI specs and that my chamber is smaller than SAAMI specs.

Instead of messing with reaming the chamber, I think I will just toss the PMC brass. It has crimped primer pockets, too.

I guess the point is, it's possible that your chamber is smaller than spec, too.

 

[Ianmtx]

Okay, I got a small base die the other day and re-sized some brass with it. I noticed that it does size it a little smaller, but it is still getting stuck. I also noticed another thing.

On my Lee expanding die, the neck of the case doesn't reach the top of the die because the bottom of the die stops it first when it hits the baseplate. Should be case be pressing against it to shape the neck down? It might be possible this is the reason why it isn't fitting all the way in the chamber. Just a thought.


Also, since this is 5.56 brass should I talk to my gunsmith about maybe reaming my chamber? Or should I just straight up buy a 5.56 NATO barrel?

 

[Clark]

Hey guys, been reloading pistol for a while now, recently started .223 a few months ago. The problem I'm having with .223 is for some reason some of the cartridges that I'm making are getting stuck in the barrel so that the bolt assembly isn't able to close all the way and the gun won't fire obviously because of this. When I try to pull back the charging handle, it's really hard to pull back and I pretty much have to bang the gun on the table on it's stock while pulling the handle to get the bullet stuck out of the barrel.

I am using 55 gr FMJ .223 bullets and once-fired military brass. The brass is trimmed to the proper length and I even tried seating the bullet a little bit deeper and it's still not fixing the problem.

I bought a Professional Ordnance Carbon 15 Pistol Type 97 ~ 10 or 15 years ago for $1,000, took it to the range twice, and sold it for $850.

The ammo would get stuck in the chamber before the bolt was closed.
It wanted very small base cases, or the case would not fit. And it was too noisy and inaccurate.

I just got back from Montana, where I saw a Howa Barreled action Varmint .223 that would not take cases with a base .375", or even close to it. The new Win brass must be selected with a micrometer before being put in the gun.

My theory is that the reamers were re sharpened one too many times.

 

[zeke]

would help to know what rifle you are loading for ie brand/type (bolt/semi?). Also would help to know what brand bullet/brass you are using and what is the COL.

"The marks are on the actual bullet." The bullets are seated to far out for your chamber. Some commercial brand 55 fmjbt's are not the same as military issue 55 fmjbt's, which are designed to be used with a 5.56 chamber. Alot of older commercial 223 chambers have much shorter "leades" than a ar-15.

 

[243winxb]

Adjust your Full Length Sizing Die Correctly.

On my Lee expanding die, the neck of the case doesn't reach the top of the die because the bottom of the die stops it first when it hits the baseplate. Should be case be pressing against it to shape the neck down? It might be possible this is the reason why it isn't fitting all the way in the chamber.

The full lenght sizing die must contact the shell holder to size the brass correctly. What die are you talking about? You need 2 dies. 1. A full length sizing die, this also expands the neck after sizing. 2. A seating die. Are you saying your decapping rod with the expander is keeping the case from entering the full length sizing die all the way?

Also, since this is 5.56 brass should I talk to my gunsmith about maybe reaming my chamber? Or should I just straight up buy a 5.56 NATO barrel?

NO Buy 20 rounds of new factory ammo, fire, then reload. Do you still have this problem?

 

[Rokman]

I hope that you get it worked out because .223 is a real joy to load for me.

 

[243winxb]

Find more info here on Lees Help Page >http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi/faq/index.cgiFull Length die adjustment

When using our full length sizing dies for rifle cartridges, the die should be turned in to touch the shell holder and then enough more that there is no daylight between the top of the shell holder and the bottom of the die during the sizing process. This is the preferred method because the act of sizing sometimes results in flex that prevents the shell holder from touching the bottom of the die.

Lee dies are designed so that the shoulder of the case is not sized until the very top of the die has been reached. This is done for two reasons; first, we do not want the die to overwork your brass and second and more importantly, we do not want to invite headspace problems. Pushing the shoulder back too soon can create a situation that can eventually cause case separation and a dangerous situation.

If you notice that your Lee Die does not appear to push the shoulder of your case back, ensure that you are adjusting the die so that there is no daylight between the top of the shell holder and the bottom of the die during the sizing process. If you see daylight at the top of the stroke, readjust the die downward and repeat sizing until it disappears. If your case is still difficult to chamber, you can send the die back to us with a sized case and we can modify the die to minimum SAAMI specifications.

Can't close bolt on rifle

First make sure the the sizing die is adjusted so that the shell holder contacts the base of the die when the ram is at the top of its stroke when resizing a case. This ensures that the sizing die is bumping the shoulder back as well as reducing the diameter of the case. If the shell holder does not contact the base of the die, the diameter of the case is squeezed down, making the case (and distance to the shoulder) longer.

If this does not solve the problem, return the sizing die with a couple of fired cases, and we can modify the die to suit. Our address is:

Lee Precision Inc,
4275 Hwy. U
Hartford, WI 53027.

 

[Clark]

Lee put his foot in it if he did not qualify THAT process.

He may make dies and he may make shell holders, and he may be certain that the brass shoulder will not spring back more than .002", but he did not chamber the rifle.

When I measure the shoulder to breech headspace datum of .223 rifles, the factory rifles are sloppy. The minimum from breech to shoulder registered with SAAMI is 1.4636" and the max is 1.4736":
Ruger .003" over
Colt .005" over
Wilson .0065" over
Bushmaster .008" over

I may be able to headspace a rifle right on the money, but the factories do not waste the effort.

If Lee's dies and shell holders are going to touch and get a case to fit in a min chamber, then the same process without more mental effort is going to set the shoulder WAY back for sloppy factory rifles.