small base die help please

[falfanboy]

Hello. My springfield M1A super match rifle will shoot factory m80 ball or my reloads with new brass quite readily with no problems; however, it does not accept my handloads when I resize the used brass. It locks up and does not fire. Everytime I tried to feed it my reloads using fired brass, the same thing happens. I have been a reloader since 1974 and I have never had this problem. After a lot of research, I decided that a small base die would probably be the solution to this problem so I ordered a redding small base resizer die in an attempt to solve this problem. Before I decided to go this route, I had already deprimed and resized over 100 pieces of Lapua brass in my old resizer die. May I just run these resized brass into the redding small base die again or would that ruin the brass? Thank you for your help in this matter. By the way, I bought the M1A new in the box several years ago but i only fired it enough to break in the barrel then I had to store it until quite recently. So it has only had about 300 rounds fired through it.

[ammo.crafter]

My Remington 742 in 30-06 functioned perfectly when I used small base dies.

In my experience, semi autos like small base dies.

I do not see an issue if you run the already re-sized brass thru a small base die.

[falfanboy]

thank you for your help ammo.crafter. I appreciate it!

[Shadow9mm]

Your fine, just resize again with the small base dies. I woukd say, make sure you hold the casing up in the die flr a solid one one thousand count. Brass is springy. If you resize it too fast sometimes it comes out of the die larger than it should.

[falfanboy]

thank you shadow9mm. i will keep that in mind

[44 AMP]

I would expect a super match grade rifle to have a tight cut "super match grade" chamber, and to be ...picky. Small base dies should solve the issue, but tis only should, not an absolute will. IF it doesn't you may have to resort to a custom cut sizer die to match your rifle's chamber and those won't be cheap.

Should be no problem running regular sized brass through a small base sizer, as mentioned, leaving the brass in the die a few seconds before withdrawing it should give the best possible results.

Good Luck!

I have a standard rack grade M1A, and for over 3 decades, its run flawlessly on ammo FL sized in the regular Lyman .308 sizer die I've been using since 1973.

My rack grade gun shoots as well (likely better) than I do, never felt the need for the expense fo a match grade one.

[mehavey]

Falfanboy, Do I assume you have already checked the headspace (dimension) of the resized brass against that same dimension on the factory rounds ?

Jus' checkin' . . . .

[seanc]

How is it locking up? Are cases getting stuck in the chamber or is the action not closing all the way?

A question for the more experienced reloaders, not a suggestion: What about bumping the shoulder down a smidge?

[gwpercle]

No reason to not re-size the re-sized brass in the small base resizing die ....
Make sure to adjust the small base sizing die correctly ...
Hope this helps your problem .

I use Redding Dies also ... but my Rifle is a 1903-A3 Springfield bolt action and the standard resizing die works just fine .
Gary

[mehavey]

What about bumping the shoulder down a smidge?

Hence my suggestion that -- before doing anything else --

...check[ing]the headspace (dimension) of the resized brass
against that same dimension on the factory rounds...

[Metal god]

I agree with Mehavey , should double check measurements to include case diameter as well as head to datum measurements. Really should know exactly what needs fixing before fixing .

Is this a new to you rifle or have you reloaded for it before ? What press are you using to size cases ? Does the die and shellholder touch when sizing ?

[GeauxTide]

I've got an M1A and a BAR Mk3 and use the RCBS SB dies. Mahvelous. Pay attention to case length, too.

[Unclenick]

If you haven't got the die yet, do three things:

First, line your cases up on a table or other flat surface using a yardstick or other straight edge along one side to be sure they are in a straight line. Then sight down the case mouths to see if they are also lined up or if they are tilted. The Garand and M14 style bolts and actions are famous for not holding their bolt faces perfectly square, resulting in slightly tilted case heads. Such tilting adds extra length to the case if it doesn't happen to be picked up in the same orientation in which it was fired. If you have tilt, you want to identify the side opposite the direction of mouth tilt and feed that first into your shell holder. If it goes into the shell holder over the high primer groove that most (except Redding shell holders) have under the shell holder mouth, you resize the case shorter than needed because the case isn't pushed at its longest point.

Second, when you set up your sizing die, be sure to use the crack-of-light check. All presses, even the heavy iron ones, have some degree of stretch, and that can short-stroke your resizing slightly. Set the sizing die up, re-lube the case and press it up into the die. Then look sideways at the shell holder deck where the mouth of the die touched it during your die setup. Put a flashlight behind it to make sure there is no crack of light between the deck and the die mouth. If there is, screw the die in another 1/8 turn and try again. When the die is turned in just far enough to make the crack of light disappear, it is fully resizing. Note that it is best to do this check with a case that hasn't been previously resized because that puts the most stretching force on the press, but you go with what you have available.

Third, per Shadow9mm's suggestion, run the case all the way into the die and count. He holds while saying "one one thousand". On a stubborn case, I hold while muttering 1.-2-3-4-5, and then lower the press ram just far enough to use my thumb and index finger to turn the case a third of a turn and then run it back up into the die for another muttering count, then repeat that sequence once more. I can almost always get two or three-thousandths of additional shortening of the case from head to shoulder that way. Also, it automatically handles the tilting height issue I mentioned under "first".

Fourth, if none of that works, take your expander out of the die. Some dies that resize just fine will have their expander balls pull so hard on the neck that it actually pulls the top of the shoulder forward a little, taking the case from just fine to too long at the neck and shoulder junction. If you are having this problem, be sure to be using an inside neck lube. I don't know what die you have, but there are carbide expander balls available for RCBS and Redding and Hornady dies, I believe, and they greatly reduce that tendency. A still better approach is to resize without the expander in the die at all, them use a separate Lyman M die to expand the mouth. Set it so just a sixteenth of an inch of the case mouth will go over the small step in the die. This creates a short wide space that lets you set your bullets in to stick straight up as you seat them. It greatly reduces cartridge runout and visibly improves accuracy. Expanding by pushing down into the neck rather than pulling up is much less prone to distorting the case. But still use an inside neck lube with it. The dry graphite or motor mica dust lubes are fine for that.