.308 reloads are hard to chamber

[g_gunter]

I could use some help here. I am having a heck of a time with .308 reloads being difficult-to-chamber. Factory ammo chambers fine.

This is what I'm doing.

If full-length resizing:
1. Run through full-length sizing die (cases lubed)
2. Trim case to 2.005"
3. Prime case
4. Charge case
5. Seat bullet (no crimp) to 2.045" OAL w/ Hdy. 150 gr. SST

If neck-sizing only:
1. Run through neck-sizing die (Lee Collett Die)
2. Prime case
3. Charge case
4. Seat bullet (no crimp)

At first I thought the problem might be with my Lee dies. But after buying RCBS dies I experienced the very same problem. I thought that maybe (during full-length sizing) I was not pushing the case in far enough during sizing but that was not the case. Every bit of the case is being sized during the full-length sizing operation.

Neck-sized ONLY rounds are even more difficult to chamber.

This problem occurs with Hornady, Winchester, and RP brass alike.

Any thoughts on what I may be missing here?

Thanks,

g_gunter

[g_gunter]

Correction:

5. Seat bullet (no crimp) to 2.745" OAL w/ Hdy. 150 gr. SST

g_gunter

[Hardegg]

Everything sounds right, but did you compare your reloaded OAL to the factory ammo?
Possibly do a Chamber OAL measurementand see if your loading to long.
What kind of rifle?

[cma g21]

What rifle are you using?

Are these the RCBS dies you bought?
http://www.huntingtons.com/dies_smallbase.html

If not, they might be what you need.

[castnblast]

Anytime you neck size only, the rounds will be more difficult to chamber. The ogive on the bullet you are using (I'm not familiar with it, but speaking from other bullets on 300 win I had a similar problem with) may be further up, and require a slightly deeper seat. You are probably hiting the lands and that is creating the problem. Try seating the bullet about .003 deeper and see if it chambers better. If you are using these for a hunting round, I'd go ahead and do a full case resize. I do that to all my hunting rounds because of the chambering issue. Try that and see what happens. If it is still difficult, drop the bullet a bit deeper till it chambers properly. You may want to make a dummy round for that experiment to be safe...No primer, just case and bullet.

[TATER]

I think that you may need to look at resetting your sizing
die. You need to make sure you give the die a good quarter
turn once it touches the holder. bring the ram down and give
the die a quarter (more) turn.
You want to feel it cam at the end of the stroke.
At that point is when the shoulder is set back on the case.
HTH

[30Cal]

I agree that the sizing die may not be set correctly. What type of rifle are we talking about? If you chamber a sized case, is it stiff?

[g_gunter]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the responses. The rifle I'm using is a Rem 700 VSF .308.

Let me backtrack for a moment...I may have just identified part of the problem. I told you all before that this happens with Winchester, Hornady, and RP brass using both LEE and RCBS dies. However, I've gone back and retested this and it appears that the problem continues only with the once-fired Hornady factory ammunition brass.

It appears that the problem has cleared up when running my Winchester and RP brass through my RCBS dies, hence, I could be dealing with 3 separate issues: 1) Lee dies not quite as precise as RCBS and 2) Hornady brass may be a bit thicker and/or more difficult to work with, and 3) tight chamber.

The chamber on my VSF seems to be very close to minimum specs so I could be starting out with less to work with (tolerance-wise). I'll keep ya'll posted on my progress.

TATER, castnblast, & 30Cal I will take your advice and look more closely at the seating depth and die adjustment.

I would still welcome additional input.

g_gunter

[castnblast]

I sincerely doubt die trouble. I've used RCBS and Lees w/ no issues. The Lees (which I use on a regular basis now) must be dialed in as Tater mentioned. BTW are these hunting rounds or bench rounds? If your hunting and have tight tolerances, I'd go w/ a full length resize. I had this same identical problem with my HOWA 1500 in 22-250. Brand new gun, rounds wouldn't chamber well at all till I did a full resize and got the COL .002 below max. That fixed my problem. I still get 3/8-1/2 inch groups @ 100. good enough for me.

[ziggy222]

i never used lee dies but i heard they have different set up instructions than rcbs and if you neck size only,you should only use the neck sized cartridges in the same gun every time but you prolbably know that.

[Wild Bill Bucks]

I had a problem like that, here a while back. My problem was I had forgotten to de-burr my cases satisfactorily. Since then, I always remember to de-burr, and to use a spray, dry lubricant, on the bullets, before I load them into the brass.

If you don't remember to de-bur or lubricate, the bullets will sometimes push the neck back on the brass, causing it not to chamber easily. The manufacturer of the brass should make no difference, since you are only resizing the outside of the case. No matter how thick the brass is, it will all be the same size after running it through a sizing dye.

Try running a spent brass through your rifle, after resizing. If it loads easily, then something you are doing during the load process, is causing the neck to be pushed back.

Hope this helps.

I always full length size.