.308 Reloading Question/Help... - Page 3

Bart B. · November 26, 2012, 09:33 AM

I think there's a dimensional issue at hand. If a factory round chambers easily and your handloads don't, there's a dimensional difference. Only 1 or 2 thousandths in the right place will cause this problem. So you need something to measure your reloads to at least 1/1000ths inch.

One thing's a good micrometer or caliper graduated in thousandths.

The other's a case headspace gauge to measure the distance from the case head to the case shoulder's reference point. RCBS Precision Mic or Hornady's case headspace tool are good choices.

Do you have these and if not, are you willing to buy them? Otherwise, it's gonna be very difficult to get the problem resolved by on-line chit-chat in reloading forums based on your visual observations.

DASHZNT · November 26, 2012, 12:57 PM

I have calipers.. I have headspace guage. Please read earlier posts, I have all necessary tools.

hounddawg · November 26, 2012, 01:09 PM

so have you tried chambering a resized case with no bullet or primer yet?

DASHZNT · November 26, 2012, 01:11 PM

Again.. thats all Ive been doing since the first post! I cannot get a resized piece of brass to allow the bolt to close!!

Jimro · November 26, 2012, 02:15 PM

Remove your resizing die from the shell plate.

Disassemble and clean. Inspect the insides with a strong light after you clean.

Reassemble.

Place back in the shell plate until it touches, then only a 1/4 more rotation.

Take a once fired brass. Lube it outside, and inside the neck. Resize it. See if it chambers.

Your chamber is a series of two cones (body and shoulder) that feed into a cylinder (the neck area) which feeds into another cone (the throat). Since you are getting resistance at the very last part of chambering that tells me that you are getting interference either at the shoulder or the front of the chamber. Since factory ammo feeds, it is unlikely the interference is in the neck region.

This means that either your dies are out of spec for the shoulder, or they have a buildup of something that is pushing the shoulder out of spec.

Jimro

DASHZNT · November 26, 2012, 03:23 PM

Ok Everyone who still is watching this thread and has tried to help out.. I cannot thank you enough for your assistance.

I called Dillon Precision today and they resolved the issue in a mattrr of minutes! They walked me through each step and tweaked the machine so that after each step we insured it was locked down. I only had to go a half turn past the touching of the shell plate and then the center resizing and decapping pin needed adjustment as well, it needed to protrudd jusg a quarter inch or so from the bottom of the die. Such a minor thing messed caused so much headache. Enclosed is a picture of a successful dummy round for refernce.

Again, I am very thankful for your help, I learned alot. And I am also very thankful to Dillon Precision for their very patient and thorough customer service. Their product truly are the best and they stand behind it 150%. Needless to say, im a customer for life!!

DASHZNT

cw308 · November 26, 2012, 05:11 PM

Glade it's over for you, Have fun & Be Safe . Chris

DASHZNT · November 26, 2012, 05:20 PM

Thank You... I will.

DASHZNT

ripnbst · November 27, 2012, 01:53 PM

Glad you got it figured out.

tobnpr · November 27, 2012, 05:31 PM

Wish I had seen your post earlier....

Despite what the die manufacturer's say- screwing down the sizing die until it "touches" the shellplate- that often doesn't provide any- or enough- shoulder bump.

I had a similar issue when I first started reloading. Posted on the 'Hide, and most guys were telling me to send the die back to Hornady for grinding. I'll add that I had a Hornady Headspace Gauge (which you need to get if you don't have one, it's the only way to know how much bump you're getting compared to your fireformed cases) so I KNEW I wasn't getting the shoulders bumped back.

Finally someone posted as I'm doing, saying "been there, done that", and to go 1/2 turn PAST contact with shellplate to take all slack out of the press and get firm contact with the die and shellplate.

Problem solved. Keep in mind that, as Bart said, we're only talking about a mere thousandth of an inch or two...and getting that press to cam over HARD is often the solution to the problem. Like I said, if you don't have the LNL headspace gauge, it's a must have. I don't know how anyone can reload without it.

DASHZNT · November 28, 2012, 11:49 AM

Thanx Buddy.. I have the guage as well but I was reading it wrong to boot at the time. In doing this, I have a large batch of .223 that is off by 1 thousandth and now I dunno what to do. All signs point to pulling them and starting over.. Arrgh!!

DASHZNT

DASHZNT · November 29, 2012, 11:38 PM

Well... I bought a hornady cam lock puller for the .223 rounds and all is well!!! That tool is amazing, I was able to pull the 900 rounds I made of .223 that were off on the headspace and resized and resat and crimped them progressively on my Dillon 550 in about 3-4 hours carefully.

If there is one thing I learned with the .308 issue, is headspace is hugely important and I will NEVER allow multiple rounds running through my press that are slightly off like that because that task could have been Hell without that tool!!!

DASHZNT

November 26, 2012, 01:09 PM	#53
hounddawg Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2009 Posts: 760	so have you tried chambering a resized case with no bullet or primer yet? __________________ Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. - Ronald Reagan

November 26, 2012, 02:15 PM	#55
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 4,258	Remove your resizing die from the shell plate. Disassemble and clean. Inspect the insides with a strong light after you clean. Reassemble. Place back in the shell plate until it touches, then only a 1/4 more rotation. Take a once fired brass. Lube it outside, and inside the neck. Resize it. See if it chambers. Your chamber is a series of two cones (body and shoulder) that feed into a cylinder (the neck area) which feeds into another cone (the throat). Since you are getting resistance at the very last part of chambering that tells me that you are getting interference either at the shoulder or the front of the chamber. Since factory ammo feeds, it is unlikely the interference is in the neck region. This means that either your dies are out of spec for the shoulder, or they have a buildup of something that is pushing the shoulder out of spec. Jimro __________________ "Gorsh" said Goofy as secondary explosions racked the beaten zone, "Did I do that?" http://randomthoughtsandguns.blogspot.com/

November 26, 2012, 03:23 PM	#56
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	Ok Everyone who still is watching this thread and has tried to help out.. I cannot thank you enough for your assistance. I called Dillon Precision today and they resolved the issue in a mattrr of minutes! They walked me through each step and tweaked the machine so that after each step we insured it was locked down. I only had to go a half turn past the touching of the shell plate and then the center resizing and decapping pin needed adjustment as well, it needed to protrudd jusg a quarter inch or so from the bottom of the die. Such a minor thing messed caused so much headache. Enclosed is a picture of a successful dummy round for refernce. Again, I am very thankful for your help, I learned alot. And I am also very thankful to Dillon Precision for their very patient and thorough customer service. Their product truly are the best and they stand behind it 150%. Needless to say, im a customer for life!! DASHZNT Last edited by DASHZNT; November 26, 2012 at 03:32 PM.

November 27, 2012, 01:53 PM	#59
ripnbst Senior Member Join Date: November 24, 2010 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 1,038	Glad you got it figured out. Last edited by ripnbst; November 27, 2012 at 01:59 PM.

November 26, 2012, 09:33 AM	#51
Bart B. Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2009 Posts: 2,093	I think there's a dimensional issue at hand. If a factory round chambers easily and your handloads don't, there's a dimensional difference. Only 1 or 2 thousandths in the right place will cause this problem. So you need something to measure your reloads to at least 1/1000ths inch. One thing's a good micrometer or caliper graduated in thousandths. The other's a case headspace gauge to measure the distance from the case head to the case shoulder's reference point. RCBS Precision Mic or Hornady's case headspace tool are good choices. Do you have these and if not, are you willing to buy them? Otherwise, it's gonna be very difficult to get the problem resolved by on-line chit-chat in reloading forums based on your visual observations.

November 26, 2012, 12:57 PM	#52
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	I have calipers.. I have headspace guage. Please read earlier posts, I have all necessary tools.

November 26, 2012, 01:11 PM	#54
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	Again.. thats all Ive been doing since the first post! I cannot get a resized piece of brass to allow the bolt to close!!

November 26, 2012, 05:11 PM	#57
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 252	Glade it's over for you, Have fun & Be Safe . Chris

November 26, 2012, 05:20 PM	#58
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	Thank You... I will. DASHZNT

November 27, 2012, 05:31 PM	#60
tobnpr Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2010 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 2,205	Wish I had seen your post earlier.... Despite what the die manufacturer's say- screwing down the sizing die until it "touches" the shellplate- that often doesn't provide any- or enough- shoulder bump. I had a similar issue when I first started reloading. Posted on the 'Hide, and most guys were telling me to send the die back to Hornady for grinding. I'll add that I had a Hornady Headspace Gauge (which you need to get if you don't have one, it's the only way to know how much bump you're getting compared to your fireformed cases) so I KNEW I wasn't getting the shoulders bumped back. Finally someone posted as I'm doing, saying "been there, done that", and to go 1/2 turn PAST contact with shellplate to take all slack out of the press and get firm contact with the die and shellplate. Problem solved. Keep in mind that, as Bart said, we're only talking about a mere thousandth of an inch or two...and getting that press to cam over HARD is often the solution to the problem. Like I said, if you don't have the LNL headspace gauge, it's a must have. I don't know how anyone can reload without it.

November 28, 2012, 11:49 AM	#61
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	Thanx Buddy.. I have the guage as well but I was reading it wrong to boot at the time. In doing this, I have a large batch of .223 that is off by 1 thousandth and now I dunno what to do. All signs point to pulling them and starting over.. Arrgh!! DASHZNT

November 29, 2012, 11:38 PM	#62
DASHZNT Junior member Join Date: July 13, 2012 Posts: 179	Well... I bought a hornady cam lock puller for the .223 rounds and all is well!!! That tool is amazing, I was able to pull the 900 rounds I made of .223 that were off on the headspace and resized and resat and crimped them progressively on my Dillon 550 in about 3-4 hours carefully. If there is one thing I learned with the .308 issue, is headspace is hugely important and I will NEVER allow multiple rounds running through my press that are slightly off like that because that task could have been Hell without that tool!!! DASHZNT