Problems with 30-06 brass?

[Josh45]

About 200-300 pieces of brass for the 30-06, I have noticed one thing. They all have off OAL for the brass itself. I have F.C brass and R-P brass.

I FL sized all of them as they were fired in another rifle before mine.
Then, I would use the Lee trimmer and trimmed each piece.
Upon measuring each one, I found out that they were not consistant.

Some of the brass was at 2.484 as they should be.
Some of them were at 2.487-2.489. Why would that happen?
I have had some problem with some rounds not chambering.

9 out 0f 10 would chamber. The bullet I am using is the M80 pull downs 147 GR.
If that means anything for complete OAL.

But my question is for the brass OAL of itself. I try to retrim it but nothing is happening. Any ideas?

 

[rcmodel]

Well, the Lee trimmer measures length off the shell holder, so the brass has nothing much to do with it.

The way you use it can.
If you are not consistently consistent on pressure of the cutter, it will cut different.
If one brand of brass is harder to start with, or work hardened more, it will cut different.

Not chambering is a different deal altogether.
That indicates some of them are not getting resized fully for whatever reason.

Die adjustment, failure to pull the handle all the way to full press stop or cam-over sometimes, etc.

rc

 

[Sport45]

A bent rim may be keeping some brass from setting flat in the shell holder. Those will trim shorter because the pin on the end of the trim gauge will protrude through the primer opening. Can't think of anything that will make a Lee trimmer cut long.

 

[Josh45]

I applied some pressure when I noticed some did not get cut. They still wasn't getting trimmed any. I'm thinking like you said that I did not fully resize them. They will slide into the chamber but when I go to close the bolt downwards, It will not lock up.

If that is what I did wrong, I need to redo a bit of brass then....

Bent rims? I have some of those. I need to take a look at the OAL of those pieces.

 

[Josh45]

Okay, Had one that did not chamber in front of me. I looked at the rim and it does have a slight dent in the bottom of the rim making the lip uneven.

I have another one which does not have that and it still did not chamber.

The F.C round that did not chamber is the one with the dent in the lip. It measured at 3.250.

The R-P round that did not chamber is at 3.240.

I have some other rounds that were made at that OAL where the cannelure is and they chambered just fine. The only thing that I can figure is that I did not resize certain pieces correctly.

 

[rcmodel]

Generally speaking, OAL of a loaded round will not stop a round from chambering unless the bullet is seated out out so far it is getting jammed into the rifling hard.

It is also very unlikely your untrimmed (or trimmed) cases are so long they are being stopped by the case neck hitting the end of the chamber.

Bottom line is, you are not sizing the cases correctly.

Next time, try the sized brass in the rifle before you load them.

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

It's not a trimming problem. You are telling us about a few thousands of a difference in length, that won't matter. BUT sizing your brass incorrectly will cause a cambering problem. If you're not bumping the shoulder back just a bit that brass might not chamber. (but that's a guess since I can't measure the brass myself)

Like rcmodel said:

Not chambering is a different deal altogether.
That indicates some of them are not getting resized fully for whatever reason.

Die adjustment, failure to pull the handle all the way to full press stop or cam-over sometimes, etc.

rc

 

[Josh45]

Wanted to get verification it wasn't the bullets or the trimming part of what I was doing.
Eh, I guess I will be resizing a bit of brass tonight.

Thank's for the input guys.

I'm gonna pull this round apart, Resize it, Trim it and try again without loading it.

 

[Josh45]

Pulled the F.C round apart, Resized and trimmed. 2.482 now.
Reloaded it with the primer and powder, Set at cannelure and chambered in my rifle just fine.

Great, I have a lot of brass that may need to be resized. That's my own fault tho.

I also tried to chamber just the brass itself, But my rifle was having none of that.

Thanks for the input and I should pay more attention next time to how far it is getting resized.

 

[kelbro]

Don't mix that brass if you are developing near max loads. I have seen that the capacity on the Federal 30-06 brass is less than many other brands and will increase your pressure Unless you work up your load with the heaviest brass).

 

[Josh45]

No, These are all start charges. I am no where near max loads yet.

 

[gamestalker]

I use the same Lee trimmer your referring to and if there is any deformation of the case head such as a nick or a slightly dinged edge created while cycling, it will effect trim length to what ever extent of the deformation. This is because the case head won't sit square to the shell holder or stud. But just so your not concerned, a variance of +/- .001" - .002" isn't going to make a functional difference.

And to recap the chambing issue, it's something to do with how your resizing die is adjusted, possibly how your working the press handle, or it could be the finished OAL of your rounds is possibly too long for that throat.

 

[cfullgraf]

Well, the Lee trimmer measures length off the shell holder, so the brass has nothing much to do with it.

The way you use it can.
If you are not consistently consistent on pressure of the cutter, it will cut different.
If one brand of brass is harder to start with, or work hardened more, it will cut different.

To add, if the case being trimmed was extra long, sometimes the brass will roll over under the cutter instead of being cut. The cutter then does not cut as well.

Chamfer and deburr the mouth at an intermediate point of trimming and then continue trimming. That should help minimizing the trim variation.

 

[Josh45]

Thanks for the tip. I might have been doing that because I have quite a few pieces of brass that showed no trimming at all but the OAL of the brass was more than need be.

But as stated, It was the way I was resizing rather than trimming. Thanks for the input. It's appreciated. I was very aggravated not being able to use some of the rounds I made and not knowing for sure what was the problem.

 

[gamestalker]

Also make sure that nothing gets in between the stud and the case guage. I've had media dust cause me a problem now and then.