Mouth of the Case too big

[BigN]

I'm reloading 22-250 cases using 50 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets in .224. The gun it's for is a Remington 700 ADL Varmint that shoots 1/2" groups with factory loaded Remington 55 gr soft points. I have a Lee Collet Neck Die. I've resized the cases, taken out the primers, put the primers back in and charged the cases with powder. Now my bullets just fall into the mouth of the shell. It doesn't say anything about crimping the case in the instructions. I MUST be doing something wrong. I've reloaded several hundred rounds for all different calibers over the last several weeks with the same equipment and I haven't seen this problem yet. The neck is usually not that tight, but tight enough to hold the bullet. Oh yes, I've reloaded 223 rounds with the same bullet and haven't had that problem. Any suggestions?

 

[Myke_Hart]

Measure the neck inside diameter of a offending case.

Measure the bullet diameter.

Take apart the lee collet die and measure the rod width.

What do you get?

It should be at least .001 smaller than your bullet.

The lee collet die is meant to be squashed in your press firmly.
Are you sure that you have the die adjusted correctly?

This die must be set to touch the shell plate then screwed down 1 more turn.
You also must apply a min of 25lbs on the press handle to resize the neck properly.
If you press is camming over the instructions suggest that you set it to touch the shell plate.. plus 2 full turns.

It's all in the instructions with the die.

 

[918v]

You are not applying enough pressure to get the collet to size the neck correctly. Adjust the die further down and give the handle more leverage.

 

[ranger335v]

918 is correcdt, you haven't yet sized the neck down.

 

[243winxb]

Lee FAQ from link below.

From the Lee Link below

Collet die pressure exertion

All of the sizing in the Collet die takes place at the very end of the stroke, when the ram/shell holder appears to bottom out against the base of the die. If you lean into the handle at this point, you will force the collet up into the die body, and cause the collet to squeeze the case neck down against the mandrel (the very end of which pops out the spent primer). About 25 lbs. of force is sufficient to resize most cases. If you are sitting in front of your press, just leaning your upper body weight into the lever is about right.

A good way to determine how much is necessary is to start the case into the die and feel the die remove the primer. Start using pressure and work up to what you think is about 25 lbs. Remove the case from the die and attempt to place the intended bullet in the case neck. If there is little or no resistance, repeat the process with slightly more pressure. When you have reached a point where there are vertical striation marks on the outside of the case neck or the intended bullet does not fit easily into the case neck, the correct amount of pressure has been achieved.

Collet Die adjustment

If you are using the Collet die in an RCBS Rockchucker press, or a similar design that toggles over center at the top of the (ram) stroke, this applies far greater force than is necessary to resize just the neck of the case, and can damage the die or collapse the case. To correct this situation, adjust the die two full turns into the press after the die contacts the shell holder with the ram at the top of its stroke, rather than one as in the instructions. This will stop the press before it gets to the toggle over point. With a press without having an over center feature, apply about 25 lbs. of pressure to the handle once it bottoms out to resize the case. On most presses, this translates to over 600 lbs of pressure on the ram.

The collet might be stuck in the closed position from closing the die without a case inside. Remove the cap from the top of the Collet die and push the mandrel, collet sleeve and collet out through the top of the die. Open the collet back up with a tapered punch or Phillips screwdriver.

If this occurs with a full length sizing die, the decapper/expander is out of adjustment. The decapper/expander should be flush with the top of the decapper clamp. If it protrudes more than 1/4 inch, the die will be resizing the inside and outside diameter of the case neck at the same time, resulting in a collapsed case shoulder.

Collet Die explanation

The Collet neck sizing die is superior to the competition's neck sizing die design because it squeezes the neck against a mandrel. This results in very uniform case mouth inner diameter, regardless of case wall thickness.

With bushing-type neck sizing dies, one has to select (and usually purchase) the appropriate bushing to get the desired case mouth inner diameter. Uniform case mouth inner diameter gives uniform bullet pull, and as you know, uniformity is what accurate ammunition is all about.

The Collet die set also includes what we call the "dead length" bullet seating die. This die is set up like a full length sizing die, in that one adjusts the die down so that the shell holder presses against the bottom of the die when the ram is at the top of its stroke. This pressure removes any clearance between the shell holder and ram, lever linkage, die threads and press frame, etc. and results in a more uniform bullet seating depth. Note that there is no provision for crimping in this die.