help needed for newbie reloader: .223 match loads

[jameys18]

I'm pretty green with reloading and just did a batch of match ammo for an NRA XTC match. I used spent mk 262 match brass, which my rifle ate just fine last year at lant fleet matches, but the rounds I made are not allowing the bolt to close all the way and are hard to eject. seems like a no brainer that they are getting stuck in the chamber, I i figured i messed up somewhere and measured the rounds and compared to some mk 262 rounds I still have... measurements are below for three my loads and three new mk 262 rounds. For the life of me I can't see what the problem is. Can someone help me see what i'm missing so i don't blunder the next batch?.. for the record, i loaded with the same bullets as the 262's (77 grain SMK HPBT).

new 262 1:
OAL: 2.2510
Case length: 1.7560
neck: .2455
body top: .3555
body mid: .3650
body base: .3730

new 262 2:
OAL: 2.2510
Case length: 1.7560
neck: .2465
body top: .3535
body mid: .3635
body base: .3730

new 262 3:
OAL: 2.2580
Case length: 1.7485
neck: .2475
body top: .3555
body mid: .3635
body base: .3740

my load 1:
OAL: 2.2585
Case length: 1.7490
neck: .2470
body top: .3545
body mid: .3630
body base: .3740

new 262 2:
OAL: 2.2585
Case length: 1.7470
neck: .2460
body top: .3560
body mid: .3640
body base: .3735

new 262 3:
OAL: 2.2585
Case length: 1.7510
neck: .2470
body top: .3560
body mid: .3650
body base: .3735

 

[Charlie98]

Are the cases sticking, or is the bullet ogive profile different than your factory MK262 and are sticking in the rifling?

 

[Walkalong]

How did you set up the sizer? Full length sizer? Did you crimp? Did you check sized cases in a case gauge such as the Wilson, or even better, the Sheridan, before loading them?

Welcome to THR.

 

[jameys18]

I've got a lyman block that has several caliber holes in it to check cases. my load cases seat in the block and come out just like the mk 262's do with no sticking.. that's what i checked when i made the first couple of rounds to ensure they were sized correctly. I don't have an ogive, but i assumed using the same cases with the same bullets seated at equal depths would be good. I did not cimp (over crimped my first loading attempt on 300 black out rounds and had to redo about 200 because they wouldn't seat =/. I like the idea of reloading but, dang it, it's always something!

 

[Allen One1]

It sounds like you may not have bumped the shoulder back enough. Checking them with a case gauge would help to verify that they are sized correctly. Check them before you load them and again after and make sure they drop in. No expert here but that is where I would start looking. Just seems like you are not getting them sized properly.

Ok I'm late, you have already check this.

 

[Reloadron]

The first question I would be asking myself would be:

Are the cases sticking, or is the bullet ogive profile different than your factory MK262 and are sticking in the rifling?

Case diameter at 0.200" up from the base has a maximum of 0.3759 and 1.000" up from that a maximum of 0.3584". Knowing those dimensions only has value if your chamber is within specifications. You normally look at Maximum cartridge and Minimum chamber. A good case gauge, as Walkalong points out can be a valuable tool. When a finished round meets or exceeds the published specifications it should chamber just fine in a chamber meeting all published specifications.

I would load a few rounds, less powder and primer, blacken the brass and bullet and run them through your action. Inspect the ejected rounds and see where things are going wrong. Rubbing on the case body? Rub on case shoulder or rifling marks on the bullets? When a case meets all dimensional specifications it should chamber and extract / eject without a probelm unless the chamber has a build up in it and is not clean or to specifications.

Ron

 

[ArchAngelCD]

It does sound like the shoulder is not bumped back sufficiently.

A Wilson case gauge will help you set the sizing die more precisely.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1016251573/le-wilson-case-length-headspace-gauge

 

[rskent]

It does sound like the shoulder is not bumped back sufficiently.

It does seem like it. But if it were me, I would get a gage setup to measure the cases fired out of my rifle. Then I would set up my sizer to bump the shoulder back 2 or 3 thousandths.