Gtscotty
Member
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,635
Ok, I'll get right to the problem. I have been reloading 9.3x62 for my Ruger Hawkeye African in PRVI cases using RCBS dies. The PRVI cases seem to be made to the correct 9.3 spec (e.g. slightly larger at the case head and shoulder than 30-06), but whenever I size a PRVI case with the RBCS dies, the dies squeeze the head area of the case down as if the cases were made too wide.
I finally came to the conclusion that perhaps RCBS made its dies to fit a necked up 30-06 case instead of an actual 9.3x62 case. But just to be sure that the PRVI cases weren't at fault, I bought some Hornady 9.3x62 cases and Bingo: the press stroke through the sizing die was much easier and smoother, and the bottom of the cases were not squished (for lack of a better word).
I thought I had solved my problem until I actually went to go shoot the Hornady loads. Probably every other round required two firing pin strikes to fire, and about half of the primers looked very flat. I think both of these problems might be attributable to a head space problem, but I had resized these Hornady cases using the same die settings as I had for the PRVI cases (which had no misfires). Additionally, the Hornady cases look like they have bulged out to the case wall directly above the web (the PRVI cases to not show nearly as much bulging).
So now I'm stuck pondering the following questions:
Are my RCBS dies just made to 30-06 case head specs, or are they actually undersized to the point of being defective?
If my dies are normal, is there another brand of dies that sizes 9.3x62 brass to the correct, original dimensions?
Is the chamber in my rifle oversized?
or, is all of this a head space problem. I set the head space for this rifle the same way I have my others, by smoking the shoulder of a fired case and adjusting until the die just touches the shoulder.
So have any of you 9.3x62 reloaders out there run into any of these problems or similar issues? Thanks for any help you can give!
I finally came to the conclusion that perhaps RCBS made its dies to fit a necked up 30-06 case instead of an actual 9.3x62 case. But just to be sure that the PRVI cases weren't at fault, I bought some Hornady 9.3x62 cases and Bingo: the press stroke through the sizing die was much easier and smoother, and the bottom of the cases were not squished (for lack of a better word).
I thought I had solved my problem until I actually went to go shoot the Hornady loads. Probably every other round required two firing pin strikes to fire, and about half of the primers looked very flat. I think both of these problems might be attributable to a head space problem, but I had resized these Hornady cases using the same die settings as I had for the PRVI cases (which had no misfires). Additionally, the Hornady cases look like they have bulged out to the case wall directly above the web (the PRVI cases to not show nearly as much bulging).
So now I'm stuck pondering the following questions:
Are my RCBS dies just made to 30-06 case head specs, or are they actually undersized to the point of being defective?
If my dies are normal, is there another brand of dies that sizes 9.3x62 brass to the correct, original dimensions?
Is the chamber in my rifle oversized?
or, is all of this a head space problem. I set the head space for this rifle the same way I have my others, by smoking the shoulder of a fired case and adjusting until the die just touches the shoulder.
So have any of you 9.3x62 reloaders out there run into any of these problems or similar issues? Thanks for any help you can give!