22/250 reloads are tight in gun Help

MogulRun · June 18, 1999, 09:50 PM

I need a little help. I've started to reload 22/250 ammo for a friend. When I resize the brass it seems to be tight when loaded in the rifle. Should I set the die a little deeper to resize more, then check the round in the gun ? Or is it normal for once fired brass to be a little tight ? The ammo will only be used in his gun. What is the correct way to resize for usage in one gun ? Also a few empty cases he has giving me have splits in the brass. They were factory loads, and were not reloaded. Is this normal with this gun ?
I've done a lot of reloading for my 9mm and 45acp but the rifle reloads has me a little confused.
Thanks for your help

flatlander · June 19, 1999, 08:10 AM

Where were the factory loads splitting? If the neck of the case was split, it could be old cases that got brittle. I've seen that with old 30-'06 factory loads. You need a way to check the headspace on some of your friend's fired brass against the sized cases to see if you're setting the shoulder back to where it needs to be for easy chambering(this will also help you avoid setting it back too far, which will reduce case life). The easiest way I know of is to use the Stoney Point tool made for this. You need a vernier caliper to install this tool on, but once you have the setup, you can measure just about any bottleneck case. The old advice to screw the FL die into the press until the shellholder contacts the bottom of the die when the ram is raised is, well, not a very exact way to do anything. Different shellholders from the same manufacturer will give different degrees of sizing when using this method. Redding even makes a set of shellholders with different thickness so you can adjust the amount of sizing. Also, older brass that's harder will "spring back" from sizing more than newer, softer brass, and this could be causing some of your problem. Good luck.

dundee · June 19, 1999, 08:57 AM

2 thoughts; with the factory cases splitting ?? how many are split, where are the splits, are they of only one headstamp?
What make of rifle/barrel? is this a custom or other make that could have a out of spec chamber?
#2 the reloaded round should not be a tight fit in the chamber. Normally adjustment of the resixing die in the press until the resized case enters the chamber freely is a good fit of the case to that chamber.

Little-e · June 19, 1999, 08:58 AM

I don't know if I have quite enough experience to be giving advice but here it goes anyway. Check the length of the cases. Rifle brass will stretch alot more than pistol so your problem may be as simple as the cases being too long. Both max. case length and trim length should be in your reloading manual.

Don Morgan · June 19, 1999, 10:49 AM

I have to agree with Flatlander and Dundee, but there are some another test you may want to consider. Take an empty 22-250 case and slide it into the chamber to see if it fits just snug, then eject it out and look for markings on the case. If this is a Custom Match Grade Barrel you will have a very tight fit, if it is not then the chamber may not of been large enough from the factory and it needs to be looked at by a gun smith.

------------------
Society is safer when the criminal does not know who is armed

June 18, 1999, 09:50 PM	#1
MogulRun Junior Member Join Date: January 13, 1999 Posts: 2	I need a little help. I've started to reload 22/250 ammo for a friend. When I resize the brass it seems to be tight when loaded in the rifle. Should I set the die a little deeper to resize more, then check the round in the gun ? Or is it normal for once fired brass to be a little tight ? The ammo will only be used in his gun. What is the correct way to resize for usage in one gun ? Also a few empty cases he has giving me have splits in the brass. They were factory loads, and were not reloaded. Is this normal with this gun ? I've done a lot of reloading for my 9mm and 45acp but the rifle reloads has me a little confused. Thanks for your help

June 19, 1999, 08:10 AM	#2
flatlander Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 1999 Posts: 120	Where were the factory loads splitting? If the neck of the case was split, it could be old cases that got brittle. I've seen that with old 30-'06 factory loads. You need a way to check the headspace on some of your friend's fired brass against the sized cases to see if you're setting the shoulder back to where it needs to be for easy chambering(this will also help you avoid setting it back too far, which will reduce case life). The easiest way I know of is to use the Stoney Point tool made for this. You need a vernier caliper to install this tool on, but once you have the setup, you can measure just about any bottleneck case. The old advice to screw the FL die into the press until the shellholder contacts the bottom of the die when the ram is raised is, well, not a very exact way to do anything. Different shellholders from the same manufacturer will give different degrees of sizing when using this method. Redding even makes a set of shellholders with different thickness so you can adjust the amount of sizing. Also, older brass that's harder will "spring back" from sizing more than newer, softer brass, and this could be causing some of your problem. Good luck.

June 19, 1999, 08:57 AM	#3
dundee Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 1998 Location: mytown,mi,usa Posts: 162	2 thoughts; with the factory cases splitting ?? how many are split, where are the splits, are they of only one headstamp? What make of rifle/barrel? is this a custom or other make that could have a out of spec chamber? #2 the reloaded round should not be a tight fit in the chamber. Normally adjustment of the resixing die in the press until the resized case enters the chamber freely is a good fit of the case to that chamber.

June 19, 1999, 08:58 AM	#4
Little-e Senior Member Join Date: May 20, 1999 Posts: 171	I don't know if I have quite enough experience to be giving advice but here it goes anyway. Check the length of the cases. Rifle brass will stretch alot more than pistol so your problem may be as simple as the cases being too long. Both max. case length and trim length should be in your reloading manual.

June 19, 1999, 10:49 AM	#5
Don Morgan Member Join Date: June 2, 1999 Posts: 43	I have to agree with Flatlander and Dundee, but there are some another test you may want to consider. Take an empty 22-250 case and slide it into the chamber to see if it fits just snug, then eject it out and look for markings on the case. If this is a Custom Match Grade Barrel you will have a very tight fit, if it is not then the chamber may not of been large enough from the factory and it needs to be looked at by a gun smith. ------------------ Society is safer when the criminal does not know who is armed