223 brass ?

okiedokie · February 11, 2007, 10:40 PM

I have 2-223 rifles and I reload , when I full length resize them and trim them some of the shells are really hard to get the bolt shut on the rifle, and the gun shut on a crackdown rifle ,is there something I'm not doing right in reloading these ? I have encountered the same problem with my 22-250 . I really would appreciate any help that I can get on this prob. THANKS

CHAINSAW · February 11, 2007, 10:51 PM

Could your dies be not properly set to resize adequately. (too much or too little)? Could your chambers be somewhat lubed up? This will also cause ejection problems. Too much lube on case when resizing will cause bulging of case when resizing. Try the cases in your rifles just after resizing and see if the cases fit well then. If so you have a bullet seating problem. Start from the beginning and work all the way through.

I did have problems with two different die sets from Redding though. I won't go into it here as they make good products and I got two sets of lemons.

okiedokie · February 11, 2007, 11:00 PM

Thanks for the info Chainsaw, could you please explain about the die not being set to resize adequately ? what do you mean to much or to little ?

amamnn · February 12, 2007, 12:26 AM

It sounds as if you are not setting the shoulders back sufficiently. Your dies may be just on the border of proper adjustment. If so, then the difference in ram pressure and/or lubrication may be enough to make some cases ok and some not. Also, dirty dies will cause the same problem.

hoghunting · February 12, 2007, 12:30 AM

Or you could be crimping the bullet too much and it is pushing the neck down and flaring the shoulder. If this is the case, lighten up on the crimp.

okiedokie · February 12, 2007, 01:06 AM

What is the proper procedure in adjusting the dies right ? how do I set the shoulders back more as you say

amamnn · February 13, 2007, 02:06 AM

It does sound as if your dies are not adjusted quite right since you're having the same problem using two different calibers. It's a pretty common problem that can be traced back to the sizing die most often.

Generally, the die maker's instructions are the way to go-- be sure you follow them exactly. If that does not work, sometimes you do need to screw the die down a half turn or so more than what they call for. I would not go much further than that at this point.

snuffy · February 13, 2007, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Generally, the die maker's instructions are the way to go-- be sure you follow them exactly. If that does not work, sometimes you do need to screw the die down a half turn or so more than what they call for. I would not go much further than that at this point.

I want to take this good advice a step further. Most die instructions say to screw the sizing die down until it touches the shell holder with the ram all-the-way-to-the-top. That's good for most applications, BUT some tight chambers need a little more.

Because there's some flex in most presses, when you actually have a shell in the process of being full-length resized, the shell holder does NOT actually touch the die. Notice the next time you size some shells, take a strong light, look at the space under the die between the die and shell holder. I'll bet there's a gap there. Now screw the die down so that it touches the shell holder WITH A SHELL ACTUALLY BEING RESIZED. Just what Amamnn said, just more of an explanation, sorry to nit pick!

mrawesome22 · February 13, 2007, 05:39 PM

Turn the die down until it touches the shellholder. Then lower the ram and turn the die in 1/4 turn more. These will chamber in every .223Rem ever made. If you're using a bolt gun, I would recommend just switching to neck dies. But having two .223Rem's, you'd have to be very careful about keeping your brass separated.

okiedokie · February 13, 2007, 08:18 PM

Thanks alot for the info fellas, problem is solved die was not scewed down enough to work right. AGAIN THANKS

I also would really like to THANK Mike for his on going concern and help. THANKS MIKE

February 11, 2007, 10:40 PM	#1
okiedokie Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Posts: 5	223 brass ? I have 2-223 rifles and I reload , when I full length resize them and trim them some of the shells are really hard to get the bolt shut on the rifle, and the gun shut on a crackdown rifle ,is there something I'm not doing right in reloading these ? I have encountered the same problem with my 22-250 . I really would appreciate any help that I can get on this prob. THANKS

February 12, 2007, 12:26 AM	#4
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	It sounds as if you are not setting the shoulders back sufficiently. Your dies may be just on the border of proper adjustment. If so, then the difference in ram pressure and/or lubrication may be enough to make some cases ok and some not. Also, dirty dies will cause the same problem. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal

February 13, 2007, 02:06 AM	#7
amamnn Senior Member Join Date: May 13, 2006 Location: WA, the left armpit of the USA Posts: 1,323	It does sound as if your dies are not adjusted quite right since you're having the same problem using two different calibers. It's a pretty common problem that can be traced back to the sizing die most often. Generally, the die maker's instructions are the way to go-- be sure you follow them exactly. If that does not work, sometimes you do need to screw the die down a half turn or so more than what they call for. I would not go much further than that at this point. __________________ "If the enemy is in range, so are you." - Infantry Journal

February 11, 2007, 10:51 PM	#2
CHAINSAW Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 1999 Posts: 201	Could your dies be not properly set to resize adequately. (too much or too little)? Could your chambers be somewhat lubed up? This will also cause ejection problems. Too much lube on case when resizing will cause bulging of case when resizing. Try the cases in your rifles just after resizing and see if the cases fit well then. If so you have a bullet seating problem. Start from the beginning and work all the way through. I did have problems with two different die sets from Redding though. I won't go into it here as they make good products and I got two sets of lemons.

February 11, 2007, 11:00 PM	#3
okiedokie Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Posts: 5	Thanks for the info Chainsaw, could you please explain about the die not being set to resize adequately ? what do you mean to much or to little ?

February 12, 2007, 12:30 AM	#5
hoghunting Senior Member Join Date: March 27, 2006 Posts: 1,559	Or you could be crimping the bullet too much and it is pushing the neck down and flaring the shoulder. If this is the case, lighten up on the crimp.

February 12, 2007, 01:06 AM	#6
okiedokie Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Posts: 5	What is the proper procedure in adjusting the dies right ? how do I set the shoulders back more as you say

February 13, 2007, 05:39 PM	#9
mrawesome22 Senior Member Join Date: November 9, 2005 Location: Ohio, Appalachia's foothills. Posts: 3,779	Turn the die down until it touches the shellholder. Then lower the ram and turn the die in 1/4 turn more. These will chamber in every .223Rem ever made. If you're using a bolt gun, I would recommend just switching to neck dies. But having two .223Rem's, you'd have to be very careful about keeping your brass separated.

February 13, 2007, 08:18 PM	#10
okiedokie Junior Member Join Date: February 11, 2007 Posts: 5	Thanks alot for the info fellas, problem is solved die was not scewed down enough to work right. AGAIN THANKS I also would really like to THANK Mike for his on going concern and help. THANKS MIKE