defective sizing die? rounds chambering hard

seansean1444 · March 18, 2014, 08:49 PM

hi im new to reloading and currently using the lee challenger kit. with the kit im using the lee ultimate 4 die .223 set. today I full length resized 20 rounds and loaded them with 26 grains of cfe223, cci primers, and 55 grain nosler ballistic tip boat tails. I full length resized all with imperal sizing wax and had the sizing die set up correctly. after making 20 rounds I realize that 75 percent chamber hard, the bolt closes half way easily and then then rest is hard to push down. I then measured everything with a micrometer and my rounds are to spec. then I took some brass I hadn't resized yet and it chambered perfectly then resized one of them tried to chamber it and same story it chambered very hard ( in a Mossberg mvp patrol rifle). so I though my headspace may be off and went to my gunsmith he indicated my headspace was spot on. and said my rounds weren't resizing yet they are within spec, any ideas?

4runnerman · March 18, 2014, 08:56 PM

The ones you fired in your rifle chamber easy?. Then you run them through a full length die and the chamber hard?.Have you trimmed your cases for length?
Also check the necks, Are they getting squished?.

higgite · March 18, 2014, 09:48 PM

You mention difficult chambering, but you didn't mention extraction. Is the bolt hard to turn open? Hard to extract? How does the headspace measurement of your cases compare to the headspace of your rifle? The FL resizing process pushes the shoulder forward before it pushes it back. If your die isn't set to push the shoulder back far enough, that would explain why the fired cases chambered okay but the resized ones are difficult.

Vance · March 18, 2014, 10:39 PM

You really need to get one of these.
https://www.dillonprecision.com/cont...fle_Case_Gages
It will help you to properly set up your sizing die.

skizzums · March 18, 2014, 11:37 PM

can you chamber a round hard and extract it w/o firing and show us a pic please? could just not be trimmed and the case neckk is jamming into lands, or you could just not be seated deep enough

pic please

seansean1444 · March 19, 2014, 01:06 AM

extraction is also hard but only for the same distance it was hard chambering

seansean1444 · March 19, 2014, 01:08 AM

and all the brass is only once fired and i did not trim because it was all under the max length.

varmintpopper · March 19, 2014, 01:59 AM

seansean1444
The problem could be in the way You are crimping the bullet into the case while reloading. If the seating/crimping die is not set up properly You could be causeing a slight bulge in the case shoulder. Read up on the seating/crimping operation in your reloading instruction book and re-set the dies.

Good Shooting

Lindy

nemesiss45 · March 19, 2014, 02:22 AM

ok, so the case you tried, then resized, then tried again and it stuck had no bullet seated?

if so, the really does narrow it down to the sizing die... and since the main body of the die should not make any demension larger, it seems like it must be an issue with the expanding ball.

maybe the expander ball is pulling the shoulder out just enough to make the case too long. what die set are you using? is it carbide? are you lubing the inside of the neck?

or maybe the expanding ball is out or spec or out of alignment causing excessive runout.... im not sure how extreme that deformation would have to be to cause hard chambering though.

you should be able size a case then blacken it with a candle, then chamber it to see where it is rubbing

March 18, 2014, 08:49 PM	#1
seansean1444 Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2010 Location: ithaca, new york (home of the ithaca shotguns!) Posts: 395	defective sizing die? rounds chambering hard hi im new to reloading and currently using the lee challenger kit. with the kit im using the lee ultimate 4 die .223 set. today I full length resized 20 rounds and loaded them with 26 grains of cfe223, cci primers, and 55 grain nosler ballistic tip boat tails. I full length resized all with imperal sizing wax and had the sizing die set up correctly. after making 20 rounds I realize that 75 percent chamber hard, the bolt closes half way easily and then then rest is hard to push down. I then measured everything with a micrometer and my rounds are to spec. then I took some brass I hadn't resized yet and it chambered perfectly then resized one of them tried to chamber it and same story it chambered very hard ( in a Mossberg mvp patrol rifle). so I though my headspace may be off and went to my gunsmith he indicated my headspace was spot on. and said my rounds weren't resizing yet they are within spec, any ideas?

March 18, 2014, 08:56 PM	#2
4runnerman Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2010 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,577	The ones you fired in your rifle chamber easy?. Then you run them through a full length die and the chamber hard?.Have you trimmed your cases for length? Also check the necks, Are they getting squished?. __________________ NRA Certified RSO NwCP- Performance Isn't Optional

March 18, 2014, 11:37 PM	#5
skizzums Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2013 Location: Douglasville, Ga Posts: 4,615	can you chamber a round hard and extract it w/o firing and show us a pic please? could just not be trimmed and the case neckk is jamming into lands, or you could just not be seated deep enough pic please __________________ My head is bloody, but unbowed

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March 18, 2014, 09:48 PM	#3
higgite Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2010 Posts: 1,025	You mention difficult chambering, but you didn't mention extraction. Is the bolt hard to turn open? Hard to extract? How does the headspace measurement of your cases compare to the headspace of your rifle? The FL resizing process pushes the shoulder forward before it pushes it back. If your die isn't set to push the shoulder back far enough, that would explain why the fired cases chambered okay but the resized ones are difficult.

March 18, 2014, 10:39 PM	#4
Vance Senior Member Join Date: January 16, 2011 Location: North Bend, OR Posts: 743	You really need to get one of these. https://www.dillonprecision.com/cont...fle_Case_Gages It will help you to properly set up your sizing die.

March 19, 2014, 01:06 AM	#6
seansean1444 Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2010 Location: ithaca, new york (home of the ithaca shotguns!) Posts: 395	extraction is also hard but only for the same distance it was hard chambering

March 19, 2014, 01:08 AM	#7
seansean1444 Senior Member Join Date: November 28, 2010 Location: ithaca, new york (home of the ithaca shotguns!) Posts: 395	and all the brass is only once fired and i did not trim because it was all under the max length.

March 19, 2014, 01:59 AM	#8
varmintpopper Junior Member Join Date: December 29, 2007 Posts: 12	seansean1444 The problem could be in the way You are crimping the bullet into the case while reloading. If the seating/crimping die is not set up properly You could be causeing a slight bulge in the case shoulder. Read up on the seating/crimping operation in your reloading instruction book and re-set the dies. Good Shooting Lindy

March 19, 2014, 02:22 AM	#9
nemesiss45 Senior Member Join Date: February 6, 2014 Posts: 526	ok, so the case you tried, then resized, then tried again and it stuck had no bullet seated? if so, the really does narrow it down to the sizing die... and since the main body of the die should not make any demension larger, it seems like it must be an issue with the expanding ball. maybe the expander ball is pulling the shoulder out just enough to make the case too long. what die set are you using? is it carbide? are you lubing the inside of the neck? or maybe the expanding ball is out or spec or out of alignment causing excessive runout.... im not sure how extreme that deformation would have to be to cause hard chambering though. you should be able size a case then blacken it with a candle, then chamber it to see where it is rubbing