Lee loader 223 problem

[NOTABIKER]

My first purchase to start re loading was to try a hand operated Lee loader all in one kit. reviews were good. My problem is after resizing cases exactly as required bullets will not chamber properly in my Savage 223 bolt rifle. they get stuck and it it difficult to open the bolt even if i do not force closing the bolt. I
again resized three cases making sure the case seats 100 % in the die and two chambered properly and one stuck so bad i could not close the bolt and had to smack the bolt open.I am ready to move on and get proper dies now that i have a good bench press but i am perplexed why the hand loader did not resize the cases good enough.One problem for sure is some of the brass is out of my mini 14 and some are range pick ups. I did check case length and total length loaded. It is hard to believe using the hand loader properly is not good enough to chamber any 223 case no matter what gun it was first used in ?.

[boyguan]

Trim?

[rmelton]

From the Lee site= The Lee Loader neck sizes only, use only with brass fired through your gun.

[stand125]

Agree with above. You must first fire quality ammo thru your gun to fire form your cases to your chamber and then use the Lee Loader. I love my Lee Classic Loaders. They make very accurate ammo

[rsrocket1]

Correct,
You will be able to use those cases, just pull the bullets, use the full length sizing die in your press and they will chamber properly. You can probably use the Lee loader for the next few shots through your bolt rifle until you need to bump the shoulders back again with the full length sizing die.

[Don the savage]

I had the same issue with .308 in my rem 5r. The autoloader brass i had would not chamber in the bolt action.
As stated either fireform brass in your rifle or move up to a press and a small base die to size those cases to work in your bolt gun.

[boyguan]

Are you full length resize or just neck only?

[stand125]

Are you full length resize or just neck only?

The classic loader only neck sizes. It is basically made to load in the field after you shoot ammo from your gun and want to shoot more. My WSHTF bag has one in 45acp and 223

[tonyjr]

You need to should bump the cases .
I have the lee hand loader for every caliber I have except the 32 ACP . [ my nephew loaded it out and the guy said he lost it - have not found another one and lee stopped making them . ]
Anyway , Lee makes a hand press that does the job and is just a little slower than a single stage .
The Lee hand loader is for the field - to reload brass from your gun . I use at range to make test loads - but now I make ladder loads at home [ Ladder loads are 5 reloads with X amount of powder - I will start my loads at the middle of what book says and add / subtract powder ]
Congrats on reloading and more for asking " Y " .
The chances of you ever meeting someone from this site is a little better than winning the lottery . Don't worry about weather a question is dumb / stupid - just ask

[NOTABIKER]

good info thanks. I thought as long as i shot it in a bolt rifle i was good to go with used brass out of any 223 rifle. Live and learn.
Question if the length of my brass is at the maximum speck would it help to trim the brass to the minimum speck or someplace in the middle.

[wxl]

Another issue may be the crimp. If you are crimping after seating the bullet, this can cause the shoulder to bulge out and cause the problem you described. I don't crimp my 223 at all any more and have had no problems for 25 years. On the trimming, I don't trim my 223 brass at all. I find 223 doesn't grow that much even after 6 or 7 times and by then they start splitting at the neck and it's time to throw them away. I've never had 223 grow to the point where it's at the maximum, at least that's my experience. But I also have a Mini 14 so the chamber is good for 556 and may be more forgiving than one strictly chambered for 223. I sometimes trim it just to chamfer it to get rid of the sharp edge when I use flat base bullets, but normally I use boat tail bullets so I don't trim it then.

[stand125]

The lyman ez trim is the best value trimmer in my opinion. Way better than the LEE, which tends spin cases off the shell holder. You definately need to trim your range pickups to be safe.

[Redemption]

good info thanks. I thought as long as i shot it in a bolt rifle i was good to go with used brass out of any 223 rifle. Live and learn.
Question if the length of my brass is at the maximum speck would it help to trim the brass to the minimum speck or someplace in the middle.

I had this problem a long long time ago on 30-06. here is what I did to solve it. Full length sizing die.

The answer to your question is always the minimum amount necessary to make your brass chamber comfortably. Here is the thing about min and max spec. your rifle will be somewhere within min and max spec, so will the other rifle...but where? Was the brass firefromed in an AR platform that had its Headspace out of wack? Was the rifle it was shot out of made from Milspec parts or cheaper parts?

There are few factors taking place.

1. Geometry and angle of the shoulder (the angled part of the brass)
2. LOA (length overall)
3. projectile seating depth (how much distance to the lands) (you would see marks on the projectile from this)

a great way to check this is to take a sharpie, color in the whole shoulder on 1 empty brass that you have run through the press, try your best to chamber that empty without getting it stuck and without breaking your rifle, if it chambers easily then you have a different problem. if it doesnt you can pull the brass and anywhere that the sharpie marks are gone, is where your brass is wrong.

I went and dug up the photo for you so you can see what it looked like after I did this. I know it seems like an odd thing to do but if you do this, it will eliminate one possibility. Though my best guess would be LOA



now you can see I was having even contact all around the case, but my bolt was difficult to close. Turned out my problem was partially due to this, but also because of the die I was using.

All possible reasons for chambering issues

1. LOA is too long
2. projectile not seated deep enough and hanging up on the lands. (not common from my understanding)
3. If an AR platform / semi auto platform, better check your headspace and timing.
4. different geometry in the chamber of the weapon that the brass was just used in.
5. bulged neck
6. Geometry on the shoulder of the brass is wrong and the shoulder needs to be bumped via a full length die
7. bad die (this was the problem for me. Turned out my die was a neck only die that had been altered or damaged)

etc etc etc.

[logibear1daddy]

Rcbs small base resizing die those are the best dies for sizing and pick up a SHERIDAN case gauge

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