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Old February 16, 2012, 06:02 AM   #21
HiBC
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 13, 2006
Posts: 8,274
I may be wrong,but I am going to assume your Armalite rifle is correct.

If your bullets are setting back easily,you likely have insufficient neck tension

Your sizer die is supposed to squeeze the neck down smaller than required,and,as the decapping/expander spindle is drawn back through,the expander plug sizes it back up.You feel that on the down stroke.

Two features in the die establish neck tension.The die body,squeezing down,the expander plug,sizing up.

Clean brass does not wear die steel fast,but gritty range brass that has not been cleaned is an abrasive cutting tool.If your dies are used,or old,suspect wear on the squeeze down part.

If you load .223 long enough,I promise,one way or another,you will come to a halt with a broke decapping pin and a bent expander spindle.Replacement .223 RCBS spindles are cheap and easy to find.Get one,try it.Compare the expander plug diameters.Could be the original is out tolerance/oversize.Anyway,try the new one.If you feel the resistance of the draw over the expander,with two spindles,you should know you have a good diameter.

Nominal size of a #2 drill is .221.The shank will likely be about .220 or so.Easy slip fit,not too much rattle.

On getting a Dillon,Wilson,etc case gage,do it! There is a precision ground step that will tell you the hi-lo limit to set the resizing die for the correct shoulder bump.

You probably know headspace is an important critical dimension when building a rifle.Setting the sizing die correctly,with the gage,is exactly the same as setting the headspace of the ammo,so it can work with the rifle.That bushing die is your ammo heaspace gages.

I strongly disagree with the advise to just screw your dies in for a stronger bump over on the shell holder.It is easy to over shorten your brass,creating a condition similar to excessive headspace.Your brass will quicly develop stretch rings and head separations.

Please give us follow up.For about $13 you can get a Lee collet factory crimp die.You still need to establish good neck tension,but a light crimp with the Lee die seems to work well.
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