Well this is frustrating... .308 not fitting in case gauge.

[JFrank]

Yeah I’m up in the NW corner..
I mentioned earlier that a typical 308 bolt face ( .473) used for many calibers, for discussion mine in particular will have a reamer dimension at the .200 line of .4714 whereas my fired brass will be around .470 then resized with one die I get .468 ish and again similar at the CSJ , about .002 reduction using a semi custom die, in comparison a small base die may reduce as much as .004 which is quite a bit but maybe necessary to overcome the previous chamber the brass was fired in.

 

[ManFromMontana]

@South Prairie Jim - I saw that. I'm looking forward to seeing what the RCBS SB die can accomplish. Thanks so much for the info.

 

[Blue68f100]

Take one of the pieces that fail and stick the base in first. Giver it a twist and try again. It may be you have a burr on the extractor groove.

I have a old RCBS dies set/sizer that seams to size about 0.002" smaller in the body section than most others. I machine inserts for my brass trimmer and my neighbors brass will not fit my insert, while mine drop in and out with no problem. I use to load for a old Browning BLR which I was told had a tight chamber and needed a special SB die to work. My std die worked just fine. I guess the tolerances RCBS used back then where not as tight as they do now.

 

[Sammy_joe]

Hey guys…I usually lurk and read, haven’t posted in years, but here goes…
I have a problem similar to the one discussed here. Rifle is type 1 BAR, .308 (1969 model). My findings, to the best of my limited ability:
I have found the culprit to be inherent to LaPua brass. I was disappointed in this because I really like LaPua. For some reason, fresh never fired LaPua ran without issues. Once fired, the problem surfaced. A quick check with a cartridge gage shows the base is still too large, preventing my bolt from going to battery, hence ftf. I went with the SB die. Same issue. I have tried any number of other makes of brass (Winchester, Hornady, federal, etc.) with no issues at all. Even when using a standard sizing die. They all pass the plunk test. So, I have shelved the LaPua in favor of Winchester.
BTW, I have the exact same issue with a .22-250, M77. More than usual effort to close the bolt, but it runs. I have switched from LaPua to Hornady brass for that rifle.
Have you guys had this experience?

 

[Dave P]

FYI: if I recall right, a 30.06 FL die can be used to squeeze down the base of a 308 case. Much like a SB die. Cheap ass redneck solution.

 

[GravelRider]

All this could have be avoided by just buying NEW BRASS.

Some available at Midwayusa. $1 each or more.

Lots of factory ammo for sale also at Midwayuse .

Have you tried factory ammo? This could be a gun problem. New gun-Always test fire first with a NEW box of factory ammo.

I ran 80 rounds of cheap Russian steel cased ammo through it without an issue. Plus, the sized cases/completed ammo fail in the case gauge. Definitely an ammo issue, not a gun issue.

I never test fire a new gun with factory ammo. I don't even own factory ammo in most calibers. Most of my guns have only seen my reloads. I don't plan on changing this practice either. If I have issues with my reloads in a new gun, then I'll run some factory ammo through it to rule out ammo vs gun problems. I don't really see the purpose of test during a new gun with factory ammo.

 

[GravelRider]

I was able to do some testing, and here's what I came up with.

I used eight groups of 10 cases. All of the cases already failed the initial sizing (FL die + Lee shell holder + One Shot). They are reported in number successfully sized (passed case gauge go/no-go).

1. SB die + Lee shell holder + One Shot
5/10

2. SB die + RCBS shell holder + One shot
7/10

3. SB die + Lee shell holder + Unique lube
5/10

4. SB die + RCBS shell holder + Unique lube
2/10

5. FL die + Lee shell holder + One Shot
1/10

6. FL die + RCBS shell holder + One shot
2/10

7. FL die + Lee shell holder + Unique lube
0/10

8. FL die + RCBS shell holder + Unique lube
3/10

I then broke them into aggregates of each intervention:
FL - 6/40
SB - 19/40

Lee - 11/40
RCBS - 14/40

One Shot - 15/40
Unique - 10/40

I then calculated P values of each of the three pairs of interventions (using Z-test).

FL vs SB, p = 0.0009

Lee vs RCBS shell holder, p = 0.23

One Shot vs Unique, p = 0.11

So based on my limited testing, the small base sizing die is the only intervention that has made any difference... And it's only fixing about half of the cases.

 

[243winxb]

 

[ericuda]

I've seen a lot of people saying this is bad brass or bad dies. The common denominator usually turns out to be spray lubes. When you are full length sizing brass the down stroke is pushing the case into the die which sizes down the case and bumps back the shoulder. The upstroke pulls the decapping rod and sizing button back through the case mouth. If you have a lot of friction the case will not fully seat to the base into the die on the way in, and then will stretch the neck on the way back out resulting in inconsistent cases. The difference in pressure needed to full-length size larger bottleneck cases, especially those oversized from machine gun firing, is huge between the sprayed lanolin and manually applied machine oils or waxes (pad or rag on body, brush in neck). Your press has leverage and should size with little effort. If you have to push or pull hard change the lube before changing dies or brass.

Best explanation ever. I was goofing around yesterday sizing 308 military brass with lee fl die. Lube with lanolin and heat and dip neck in imperial neck lube. Sizes with moderate pressure, case ended up black from graphite and lube. Case didn't fit in my Wilson below max size to step but not as bad as op.

Lubed with imperial case lube using fingers and put a little inside neck. Worked much smoother and upstroke way easier. Fits in Wilson perfectly now between max and min steps.

 

[ManFromMontana]

Yes thank you @243winxb for that explanation. Makes perfect sense. Now, at least, I can move on with my life...

 

[JFrank]

Made somewhere, by someone, they are called RING dies.
I’ve never owned one or used one however they do exist for just such an occasion.
J

 

[ManFromMontana]

Thanks @South Prairie Jim . Tried to find them...no luck. But thanks for the info