Proper way to chamfer .223 brass and copper shavings

[IMtheNRA]

The first time I loaded a few rounds of .223, I saw a tiny ring of copper shaving appear at the mouth of the case. That's when I remembered about chamfering the brass case. I used the RCBS tool and made about 6 half-turns with it in the case mouth.

I still see just a tiny bit of copper shavings (little dots) when I wipe the case mouth with my finger. Is this normal?

Regarding the case mouth "flare": Boat tail bullets are easy to seat, but the flat base 40-grain bullets are very difficult to get started in the case, and many fall off the case before they enter the seating die unless I hold them with my fingers or sort of "cram" them into the case mouth.

Does my Hornady FL sizing die leave such miniscule "flare" in order to maintain proper neck tension? Should I chamfer the cases more aggressively or is this how non-boattail .223 reloading is supposed to be? What do you suggest?

 

[mc223]

A steep angle "VLD" chamfer tool will ease the seating of flat base bullets, or just try to chamfer a bit more.

 

[Zippy06]

Measure case neck ID. Should be .223". Bullets .224".
There should be no "flare". that is for pistol brass.
Is this for a bolt action?
For a semi-auto. You are dealing with a crimp at the case mouth. Well, you should be.
+1 mc223. Vld chamfer tool. Rcbs makes a good one.

 

[IMtheNRA]

The loads are for a semi-auto rifle and the measurements are consistent with your post.

What were you saying about a crimp? There should or should not be one?

 

[skipjack]

I use a Lee case trimmer and lock stud to trim and chamfer the case at the same time. I use a cordless drill to hold and spin the lock stud. If the case is not too long, it will not be trimmed. Trimming and chamfering is a pain in the neck, but the way I finally found to do it makes it less so.

Regarding crimps, I usually use a light crimp on everything but frangible bullets. I don't crimp frangibles because they are subject to being broken during the crimp operation. I do not crimp for any rounds being shot by a bolt action rifle. All my .223 is for my AR.

I hope this helps...

 

[stubbicatt]

Everybody has their method and measure of success.

I use a Wilson chamfer/debur tool for my handloads. It doesn't take much. Just get the burr off the ourside of the case neck left over from trimming, and chamfer the inside of the case neck just enough to see that it has no ring of brass left over from trimming.

For me there is no magical number of turns with the tool, I look inside the case mouth to see what it looks like, and turn the case between my thumb and finger to determine the presence of a burr on the outside of the case neck. Doesn't take much, and if your case mouth is sharp as a razor when you are done, you have probably gone too far.

I too have one of the longer, tapered, chamfer tools with adjustable stops. It does a good job, but none of the rifles I presently own is accurate enough for me to tell the difference between cases prepped with this tool and those with the old standard Wilson.

Love those Lee case trimmers for doing small lots of cases. Work really well.

 

[snuffy]

and chamfer the inside of the case neck just enough to see that it has no ring of brass left over from trimming.

Doing it as you say is why the OP is having trouble shaving copper off his bullets. The INSIDE chamfer is critical to allow the radius on the heel of some flat based bullets to enter the case mouth without being scraped. A very slight inside chamfer will allow the bullet to be cut by the abrupt edge.

From the midway site;

Standard reamers chamfer with a 45 degree angle. The Lyman VLD (Very Low Drag) cuts at 22 degrees. Bullets will fit easily into the case avoiding damage from sharp case mouths.

HERE;http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=342199&t=11082005

Get one, then do a fit-up while chamfering to see the bullet enter the front of the chamfer without hitting the end of the case mouth.

 

[Walkalong]

I just use a regular old RCBS tool to chamfer. Works fine.

 

[rcmodel]

Yep, me too!
Been using the same RCBS chamfering tool for longer then I care to remember.

Just chamfer enough the flat-base bullets start easily into the case in the seating die without shaving brass.

As for counting turns, you can't go by that.

Mine takes much longer then it used too to get the job done then when it was new & sharp.

Wife says the same thing about me though!


rcmodel