My first reloads..NEED HELP!!

[C-grunt]

I finally got everything to reload my .308 yesterday and made up a batch. But I didnt notice until I got to the range today that some of my brass were deformed. At the base of the shoulder the brass has bulged a little. I included a picture, its not the best but you can see what Im saying. Im using a Lee hand press. Can anyone tell me what Im be doing wrong?

 

[P95Carry]

This is easily done!

You have perhaps gone too enthusiastic on bullet crimp and so applied excessive pressure during the seating/crimping phase. Back off that die a bit.

Lee factory crimp dies help here - and altho an extra stage do do a good job.

 

[Master Blaster]

It could also have happened durring resizing, the resizing die may be screwed in a bit too far, you did full length resize these right??

 

[lee n. field]

the resizing die may be screwed in a bit too far

That would be my guess. I did the same thing with my first .223 reloads, by not paying attention to RCBS' adjustment instructions.

 

[Rock_Steady]

Make certain to clean your dies, and ensure that there is no additional lube inside - getting case lube on the shoulder can do that and I've messed up with my .30-30 reloads that way. Also, make sure that all the cartridge cases are trimmed to the same length!

 

[dtalley]

+1 what P95 said.

I've done the same thing with my 6MM Rem. and it happened when I seated the bullet and attempted to crimp some. I got too rambunctious, or as P95 stated "enthusiastic" when seating.

 

[trickyasafox]

i agree with p95. i did this on the first batch of reloads i ever did (223)

unscrew your seating/crimp die 1/2-3/4 of a turn. see if it gets better

 

[treebeard]

I had the exact same problem on my .223 55gr. V-max loads. However, I did not have the same problem with my 69gr. HPBT loads? I would have to believe that I overcrimped as opposed to overpimped the case.

 

[tomhorn]

i would check the amount of lube in the die (build up)if its a used die, if the bulge is all the way around you may as stated by master blaster resized a bit heavy handed , good luck something happens to everybody sometime.

 

[Lennyjoe]

Don't feel bad, its a rookie mistake.

I don't even crimp rifle rounds anymore with the exception of .223 for the AR.

 

[langenc]

get a case gauge and check each case after sizing and again after seating. Will show those problems sooner. The case gauge is just a 'portable' chamer. They will also check your case LENGTH.

 

[tgs]

Hydrolic Action

Either the die is fouled with lube or your using too much lube, probably both. But its an easy fix. I try to use only enough lube that I can feel its there/ if you can see it its too much. Also I like to use a Q-tip with a very slight amount of lube and wipe the inside of the case neck.
The hydrolic action causes the wrinkling and is 99.9% of the time always too much lube.
Also after you have sized all your cases use a dry Q-tip and wipe the inside the neck so powder doesnt hang on the lube residue.
Lube is a must but I use as little as I can get away with and clean your dies periodically. Dont get the idea its ok to lube every other case thinking because the die holds lube. You will hang a case in a heart beat and that aint fun.
Its not the crimping unless your just way out of adjusment and then know why your even crimping.

 

[dcloco]

....or the cases are too long. (not trimmed)

 

[GRIZ22]

I vote for the seating/crimping die. If that happened in the sizing die you wouldn't be able to get the brass out. There would have to be a heck of a lot of lube in the sizing die to do that. Lube dents are usually in the shoulder not bulging out from the shoulder. Case length would really have to be excessive to get that big a bulge.

Try backing out the seater/crimper and turn the seater in a little at a time to get proper round length. After that is achieved back out the seater and slowly turn in the die so it crimps the bullet and tighten up the die body. Then, without moving the die body, screw down the seater until it contacts the bullet. You then should be good to go.

 

[Walkalong]

Trim all of your brass to length after sizing them, clean your dies, and then carefull adjust the seater/ crimper die down to get your crimp and you will be just fine. If you are setting up the seater/crimper try putting a spacer on your die and then get the bullet seated where you want it. Now thread the seater stem out so you can adjust the die down to crimp. When you get that adjusted so you have a nice crimp thread the seater stem back down until it touches the seated bullet, give it another quarter or half turn down and try seating/crimping simultaneously another round with it set there. We all learn like this. We have all done something similar at sometime or another.

 

[Shootingman]

I agree withp95, I've done it myself, its easily done-being a little heavy handed on seating/crimping,take it a littlelighter on the hand & you will feel the crimp,

 

[snuffy]

NOT THE SIZER

There's no way any FL sizer die could cause a bulge like that on a case! Excess lube will cause dents in the tapered portion of the shoulder IF the vent is plugged, but never deform a shoulder/case body junction like that!

It is plainly the seater/crimp die adjusted too far down, it's tryng to crimp too much, the brass has to go somewhere so it bulges the case-body/shoulder junction. It's a rookie mistake, not a problem.

To fix those you'll have to pull the bullets, dump the powder, back the deprimer stem up so it won't deprime the primer, and full length re-size them again. I'm sure they wouldn't chamber like they were? Don't have a bullet puller? You just found out why most of us have one! :banghead:

 

[toecutter]

I'm with snuffy/P95 this is an issue with your crimping operation. I moved over to using a lee factory crimp die for exactly this reason. No more worries about die adjustments and case trimming irregularities.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Over crimping, gentlemen. Just plain and simple over crimping. .30-30 cases are very suceptable to this. Just back off the seating/crimp die a bit or get a Lee FCD...As I did.

 

[rino451]

I"m having the same problem as C-Grunt...

Using both an X-die or Lee dies, I get the same bulge with I seat without crimping. I've tried lubing inside the case mouth more and not at all, cleaned all th dies, and even gotten aggressive with the champfer. Any clues? If I back out the seating die I can't get the OAL down to 2.26" (for .223).

Thanks for any ideas.


Randall

 

[Alvin in AZ]

If your brass looks like the picture, then the answer is in the second post (by P95). You're shoving the brass into the crimping die too far. BTDT

The answer for crimping is the Lee Factory crimp die.
Hadn't BTnorDT yet.

Should tho since it's a 30-30 that I'm working with. :/

Alvin in AZ

 

[Phillip Allen]

A caution here...those cases are now too short for your chamber and may stretch or even seperte at the head...they are hard to salvage but it is possible. if you are new at this, don't try to salvage them as you have much more to lose than to gain...

 

[rino451]

It was going this before crimping. It has stopped at this point. I'm not really sure what was going on. I removed the seating die and reinstalled it in the press. I also le the brass cool down to room temps. They were in the house and my reloading stuff in in the garage some 20-30 degrees cooler. After all that, no problems at all. I was able to seat and then crimp (with a Lee FC die) without event.

Thanks all!

Randall

 

[snuffy]

Using both an X-die or Lee dies, I get the same bulge with I seat without crimping. I've tried lubing inside the case mouth more and not at all, cleaned all th dies, and even gotten aggressive with the champfer. Any clues? If I back out the seating die I can't get the OAL down to 2.26" (for .223).

Same answer as to c-grunt's problem, miss-adjustment of the seating die. Most seating dies also have a crimping shoulder in them. For rifle dies, it's a roll crimper, it allows the bullet to pass through, but rolls the mouth of the case into a cannelure. If there's no cannelure it can't crimp, so it bulges the case!

Here's how to set the seating die; Put a shell,(trimmed to minimum trim length), WITHOUT a bullet,(prefereably one without powder as well), in the shell holder. Raise the ram all the way to the top of it's travel, to it cams over or to a solid stop position. Now start screwing the seater die down into the press, with it's lock ring backed up a couple turns. Keep your hands away from the handle, when it starts to move the ram down, you've found where the die has to be to crimp. Now, if you want to crimp, then as soon as the die moves the ram, stop, lock the lock ring down right there. You MAY have to turn the die a little further down to get the desired crimp. If, on the other hand you do NOT want to crimp, turn the die back up a full turn, then lock the lock ring there.