Brass not sizing to spec

[dreyna14]

I’m prepping some .223 brass and my Lee full-length sizing die is not sizing to spec. Brass will not chamber in one of my ARs, will chamber tightly in another and won’t seat fully in my Lyman case gauge by probably .020”. I’ve tried cleaning the die, removing the decapping/sizing stem, using a different press, and three different shell holders. I have both a single stage press and a progressive.

I haven’t reloaded .223 in several years but I’m just not sure why the heck it just isn’t working. I’ve used this die for at least 3-4K pieces in the past and wouldn’t expect it to have worn or my ability to use it diminished. I keep a couple pieces sized with this die a while back for setup purposes and they measured fine.

Buying a new sizing die is going to be difficult in the current environment so I want to see if anyone has experienced anything like this or has any ideas on what to try next.

[baranski]

If you need another die, PM me.


I think I have another Redding small base sizing die.



Wont fit by .020", have you trimmed it?

[baih777]

Lower the die 1/16th of a turn. Slight overcamming won't hurt.
If this is once fired brass that you bought. You may need a small base die.

[M1NM]

Are you getting the die down far enough? I hold the handle 1-2 inches from bottomed out and screw the die down until it touches the ram. then when I size the brass there is a little cam over feel that tells me it's done.

[dreyna14]

I had the die adjusted for the cam over and tried it a half turn lower, no dice. This is all fired brass and range pickups but that is no different than most everything I've loaded in the past.

[dreyna14]

If you need another die, PM me.


I think I have another Redding small base sizing die.



Wont fit by .020", have you trimmed it?

If I can't figure this out, I might hit you up. Thanks.

[tyler_sti]

Whats you're brass overall length? And are you using different projectiles maybe? Projectiles ogive can differ quite a bit, so using the same setting on a seating die from one will net same overall length but possibly an ogive that's further up preventing full chambering. Just a thought.

[sl0re10]

+1 on are you sure your pulling ALL the way down? Had problems with my tokerov and that was all it was.

[dreyna14]

OAL was right on the money with my dummy test loads using the same bullet. Even unloaded brass doesn’t chamber or fully seat in my Lyman gauge. The occasional one that does chambers fine. I am pulling the press all the way down through cam over and the shell holder/plate is contacting the die. There seems to be a .004” difference between my old dummies and these newly size casings at the shoulder. If push comes to shove I’ll face off some of the die base to try to compensate.

[Txtaxman]

[choprzrul]

Sand/mill/grind 0.025" off the bottom of the die and reset for a strong cam over. Check in your gauge. Repeat until the round goes into that Lyman gauge. At that point, brass/rounds should chamber in all of your rifles.

On a side note, 308 brass that slips into my Lyman gauge is quite snug in my RCBS gauge....they aren't machined exact....so the ultimate test is chambering in your rifles.

.

[tabascoz28]

What changed between old and new. You said you used to load and the die has only 2 to 3k. Is the Lyman gague new? Are the ARs new? And the brass? Maybe it hit the maximum size on brass spring back like how neck sizing only does to brass limited by chambers? Yeah in the time of plenty i just bought or borrowed another die.

Also your type of brass prep, dry or wet tumble, lube used? Maybe if dry it wore the die out?

[tabascoz28]

I was also in a similar situation, old lee die with about 3-4k on an old turret press.

Recently switched to to breech lock pro(similar) and a few new ARs and a lyman orange case gauge. I had an older AR that would load just about anything but the new ARs I thought had tight chambers. Switched to Small base die and it worked, except one AR still had intermittent failure to chambers. Ultimately that bolt was super tight which I think caused the issue.

But possible issues were:

Not pulling all the way down, the way the lees work, it doesn't generate a lot of pressure when all 4 dies are working against you. Especially the crimp die

The die was getting old, I have not used it in a few months.

I was using a lanolin lube, the hornady one shot works much better and feels like butter.

Really dirty chambers in an already tight gun.

But all my loads would pass the gauge.

[baih777]

Brake cleaner and air hose. A granule of sand can cause problems.

Or just.take the die apart and clean it.

[dreyna14]

What changed between old and new. You said you used to load and the die has only 2 to 3k. Is the Lyman gague new? Are the ARs new? And the brass? Maybe it hit the maximum size on brass spring back like how neck sizing only does to brass limited by chambers? Yeah in the time of plenty i just bought or borrowed another die.

Also your type of brass prep, dry or wet tumble, lube used? Maybe if dry it wore the die out?

Only material difference between then and now is the press. Last time I loaded .223 was on a Lee turret. Now I'm sizing on an RCBS Partner (no issues with .270 or 6.5CM). I even set up the die on my LNL and same issue. The Lyman gauge was bought with the die set back in 2008 so I cant see any change there. The AR they dont chamber in is a LaRue PredatAR in .223 Wylde and the AR they do chamber in is an old Rock River. However, I have shot old reloads in the LaRue upper, no problem and old test loads insert into the gauge and gun just fine.

My process is, dry tumble to remove some gunk. Lube casings and size/decap. Trim to 1.750", chamfer, deburr, remove primer crimps, then tumble in walnut until shiny. If they're twice-fired pieces I will run them through my annealed (these ones are once-fired). Literally everything material thing in this process is identical to my old reloads which is driving me nuts.