.223 reloading newb ? FTF and FTB

[shade1]

i did my first batch of reloads for my ar which is brand new, heres my problem. When i single load the 223 rounds into the rifle it shoots great but when i load up the mag i get a failure to go into battery and it would accur at random positions first round 3rd round 9th round etc..and when i pulled the trigger my weapon would not fire then i realized that it wasnt into battery all the way then i would hit the forward assist and that would screw me even more cause now its down right stuck i had no choice today at the range but to use the rubber end of my hammer to give the charging handle a slight tap to release the bolt..im positive this is noit good for the gun or the chatging handle one bit but i had no choice...my firearm thus repeated the same problem every time i loaded a magazine oh and by the way the rounds by themselves chambered and fired fine with no mag in the gun. any insight would be great also if theres anyone that could steer me some advice via telephone i would be more than happy

[USN CHIEF]

So you have not shot your new ar with factory ammo yet? You went strait to reloads? Bro, It is going to be very hard to tell you what is wrong if you have not try shooting it with factory ammo first. If the factory ammo does the same thing, then we can try to determine what is wrong with your reloads.

Post the way you are reloading your stuff, from cleaning to finish product, step by step, detailed.

[Fjold]

There are so many things that could be wrong that it would be hard to list all the possible solutions.

If you are not a very, very experienced reloader you have to do like Bill says and check that your gun functions with factory ammo first. After it functions flawlessly with 200 rounds it will be broken in and you can rule out the gun related causes.

Saying that, none of my ARs and most of my centerfire bolt rifles have ever fired a factory loaded round but I have been reloading for 27 years.

[shade1]

first and foremost i should have mentioned this the gun is new but i shot it last week with pmc and federal tactical with no malfunctions to break in the new barrel about 200 rounds no malfunctions....heres my setup

---the rifle---
mega lower
bcm m4 upper
dez arms 16" heavy weight fluted m4 feed ramps bcarbine gas system
larue bcg
Stag lo pro gas block
Midwest 10" FF handgaurd
stag lpk
vltor emod stock kit
pmag magazine
heavily lubed with clp

----the recipe----
mixed brass
winchester 55 grn fmj
cci 400 sm rfl primers
imr 3031 powder 23.5 grns

----the setup---
lee classic turet press
lee dies
lyman case trimmer
lyman tumbler


1.tumble brass
2.lube brass with dillon lube including brushing inside neck with brush thats lubed
3.decap resize brass
4.trim brass at 1.760
5.decamfer brass / clean primer pocket / clean and lube inside neck
6.prime brass
7.powder charge brass with rcbs powder disspensor
8.insert bullet into top of brass run it up the die to seat
9.insert round into LEE FCD
10.tumble again to get off the case lube and any crap i dont want in my chamber

i did set up the dies per lee instructions as i am not a newb to reloading been doing it since i was 12 now im 27
but all my reloading has been straight walled pistol from shooting cowboy at sass matches


here is a picture of the rounds
1 prepped brass...1.76 oal
2 my reload that got stuck today measured at 2.223 oal and 1.76 to neck
3 federal xm193 tactical 2.248 oal 1.751 to neck
4 lake city surplus 2.225 oal 1.768 to neck

thanks for all your help maybe this can narrow it down

[anyracoon]

Have you tried a different mag yet?

[shade1]

not yet due to me not having any other mags lol gotta love panic now its a tad hard to find any my buddy has a 10/20 pro mag that ill give a try in a few weeks but till then this is all i got

[markw]

Which die set? Is the die a full length, or neck sizing? How did you adjust the de-capping/sizing die? Did you put the ram all the way up, hold pressure against it, then screw the die down, then back the ram off and take 1/4 to 1/2 an extra turn? On the bullet seater, did you run it down to the shell plate then back it off a full turn? You should be doing full case resizing with a semi auto. I'm suspecting your cases have a slight bulge at the base and weren't resized properly. Where you at in Cali? Maybe get with a local.

[shade1]

honestly i couldnt tell ya what i did, i do know i followed lee's instructions when setting it up but as allways operator error can be a factor i will never claim that my sh%% dont stink... they are the pace setter series dies which are full length
as far as 1/4 turn or half turn im not shure.

Im in southern California in Covina which is near burro cyn range and 20 min from pasadena

i dont think its the mag cause pmc and federal worked great last week no hick ups

[foxtrotuniformlima]

The sizing die needs to be set using a case gauge. I use a Wilson.

The cases are resized to fit the gauge then trimmed.

Check your PM.

[Fjold]

Check that your FL sizing die is set correctly. The shell holder should hit the bottom of the die and the handle should have another 2" or so of travel left to "cam over"

Check that your seating die is set correctly. Take the seating plug out of the die, then loosen the locking ring on the die and unscrew it about 2 turns. Now run an empty case into the die until the press handle bottoms out. Screw the seating die down until you feel it touch the mouth of the empty case. Now unscrew the seating die one full turn and tighten the locking ring. Re-install the seating plug to get the desired overall length.

Now your dies should be adjusted correctly and that will rule out dimensional problems with your loaded rounds.

[goober]

The sizing die needs to be set using a case gauge. I use a Wilson.

The cases are resized to fit the gauge then trimmed.

Check your PM.

was going to suggest a case gauge myself.

[markw]

When the shell goes into the FL sizing die you shouldn't be able to see a gap between the shell plate and the bottom of the die. If you see a gap, your case isn't being sized properly. Lee says 1/4 to 1/2 turn after you bottom the sizing die. FJold is right on the bullet seater too. If you don't have that set right, you'll buckle the case. Feel the case for a bulge at either the base area or where it necks down. I'm guessing you didn't get the round fed all the way into the sizing die. I just did my first 120 rounds on a loadmaster without issues, all fed and fired fine.
Check out this site for more Lee stuff. http://www.loadmastervideos.com there's forums there where you can ask lee specific stuff.

[shade1]

thank you guys for the suggestions and the help the calguns.net community is second to none and a powerfull force to not be underestimated...


oh and any other suggestions well welcomed but i think you guys are right the dies are not set up properly im going to fidget with them tonite and tomarrow i just made a dummy round right now that works great after tweaking both sizing and seater dies so we'll see

[diginit]

I been told many times that 223 brass should be trimmed to 1.750. That's also what the factory cases I've measured mic. to.

[markw]

AFAIK, 1.760" is MAX length, I trim to 1.75.