Lee Classic Loader Hard Chambering?

[edwardware]

Hi All,

I've just reloaded my first ever batch of ammo, and I've run into a problem that I hope someone here recognizes.

I'm using once-fired Federal brass in .270 Win. After trimming to length and neck sizing the brass, I checked the whole batch, and all of them chambered normally. After charging and seating the bullets (Hornady 130 gr SP) every one chambered very hard. I checked OAL, and that was not the issue. I found that every round had a very slight protruding lip formed right at the mouth. After gingerly removing this slight lip, the rounds chamber normally.

I have to guess that the lip is formed by seating the bullet. I didn't chamfer the mouth, only slightly relieved the edge left by trimming.

What am I doing wrong? Should I be slightly chamfering the mouth rather than just deburring it?

 

[rcmodel]

Yep.

Sounds like you have the remnant of the old factory crimp, or a bur from trimming pouching out the case mouth after seating.

Inside chamfering & outside deburring after trimming it should get-R-done.

Just Chamfer & Debur enough that you don't sharpen it to a knife edge.

rc

 

[edwardware]

Thanks RC.

To clarify: There should be a definite chamfer on the case mouth, but not quite enough for the inside and outside chamfers to meet and form a sharp edge?

 

[rcmodel]

Yep.

rc

 

[Duckdog]

You may not be "crimping" the end of the casemouth. Try turning the funnel like peice around and it will form a crimp. If I remember right, that's in the instructions. That may take care of the lip your seeing.

 

[edwardware]

Thanks RC. I'll give that a try.

Duckdog: I'm hesitant to crimp these. The bullets sit plenty tight in the neck sized brass, and in my reading I haven't come across anything to indicate that crimp is necessary for bolt action if the neck is normally tight. Do you know otherwise? Thanks!

 

[Duckdog]

I usully put a crimp on everything I load. Sometimes it's not much, but there's always a crimp. Your right, some guys don't put on any crimp. My thoughts were that if you did champfer the case and still has a raised burr, that maybe you have a sight bell on the case mouth that could be stopping the chambering.

Dumb question, but is the brass your using fired from the gun that has trouble chambering it?

 

[243winxb]

Chamfer & deburr. The lack of an expander can be a problem also. To much force is used to seat the bullet, bulging the neck/shoulder area. Boatail bullets work better than flat base with "Hammer Loaders" No crimp needed on the 270

 

[edwardware]

@ Duckdog: Yes, the brass is once-fired in the same rifle.

@ 243winxb: The Hornady 130 gr SP are 'slightly' boat tail, and will set in ~0.100" by themselves. I don't understand why an expander should be an issue; I thought that the neck was oversized after being fired and needed to be resized back down to spec, not expanded. Is that not so?

Thanks, Ed

 

[243winxb]

The neck wall thickness of the brass is different from lot to lot, or between brands. Your neck is sized from the outside and pushed in. Standard dies have an expander to open the inside of the neck to the correct diameter. This lets the bullet seat with less downward pressure . With the Lee loader, the bullet becomes the expander. By the way, soon or later you will have to full length resize your brass so it will chamber.