308 resizing question

[problemchild]

I have a dillon 650 and dillon 3 piece carbide dies. I have the carbide resizer die all the way in and its just touching the shell plate when the ram is all the way to the top. Its still not enough. My resized brass wont drop into my chamber on my rifle like factory ammo will. I had a couple failure to return to battery after picking up a reload from the magazine. The bullets would not go all the way in. I also dropped the reloads into a case checker and they are not as tight as the factory ammo.

What am I missing here? I mean the die is as far as it can go.

[polygunner]

"Just touching" is not far enough.
Give it another 1/4 to 1/2 turn and check.
You need a case guage or head space comparitor.
On my presses I always feel resistance at the top of the stroke with no brass in the die.
The shell plate is bumping the die, more than just touching.
Trial and error is your best bet if you don't have a way to measure your sized brass.
pg

[bruceflinch]

Have you checked the OAL on the cases? Do they need trimming? Was this brass fired from a machine gun? You need a case gauge.

[Beelzy]

Yep, you need to give the sizing die another half turn.

Apparently your gun's chamber requires Full Length Sizing in a big way.

[problemchild]

FIXED IT!

The dillon die was down so much it was moving the tool head up and smashing the die into the shell plate. That is too far!

The solution was to buy a "Small Base" RCBS die and run my brass through a second resize process. I can now drop an empty brass into my chamber and it hits home. The guys at my local Gun Store knew exactly what the problem was. They said on certain semi-autos you have to resize with a small base die. It take the last 1/4 inch of the brass near the rim and sizes it a bit smaller. My only problem is its not carbide and there is NO WAY IN HELL your going to run the non-resized lubed brass through it. I put near 100 pounds pressure on the non-sized brass and it only went in half way. I decided to pull it out before I got it stuck. I then resized in my dillon carbide and then a second resize in the rcbs "Small Base" die and it went up and down smoothly.

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

[polygunner]

Cool, glad you solved the problem.
Resizing the brass twice for every reload will be a pain and shorten the life of the brass but if thats what it takes so be it.
What kind of gun are you useing this brass in?
pg

[ar15barrels]

The dillon die was down so much it was moving the tool head up and smashing the die into the shell plate.
That is too far!

That is NOT too far.
That is normal.
You have to take up all the slack as well as account for some press frame flex during sizing.
The same thing happens on single stage presses.
You adjust the sizing die down until it touches, then maybe 1/4 of a turn more.

[popeye4]

I also believe that Dillon dies ARE small base dies. You need to get measuring tools to determine how far you need to screw the die in (but you will need to go farther than "just touching").

[ar15barrels]

I also believe that Dillon dies ARE small base dies.

Almost ANY full length sizing dies made after the late 80's are small base dies.

[popeye4]

Almost ANY full length sizing dies made after the late 80's are small base dies.

Really!? I believe I just paid extra for a small base Redding S die (and had to wait for it), did I waste my money?

[ar15barrels]

Really!? I believe I just paid extra for a small base Redding S die (and had to wait for it), did I waste my money?

Probably.
No worries though as the S die is a nice upgrade.
The S die won't come with a bushing though so make sure you figure out what sizes you need and order those too.

[30Cal]

You need the ability to measure or at least gage where the shoulder is at. Get either a gage, case mic, or my preference, the comparitor. Everybody who uses an FL gage needs to have one. Your shoulders my be set back by 0.002" or maybe 0.012". Without the gage, you simply do not know.

It's nice to know that you're doing it right before you start tearing case heads off in the chamber long before they should. Very cheap too, especially if you weigh it against the cost of replacing all your cases.

The fact that you're running them through two dies which were both set in the blind makes it a pretty good bet that you're creating an excessive headspace issue.

Use one die. Use a gage. Use a good lube (Imperial Case Wax is the stuff you want for heavy duty).


FWIW, my Dillon carbide die is "not quite" SB. I had to buy a real SB die when the time came to replace the barrel on my Supermatch.

[problemchild]

Im not sure how to do that? I have a comparitor. What next?

You need the ability to measure or at least gage where the shoulder is at. Get either a gage, case mic, or my preference, the comparitor. Everybody who uses an FL gage needs to have one. Your shoulders my be set back by 0.002" or maybe 0.012". Without the gage, you simply do not know.

It's nice to know that you're doing it right before you start tearing case heads off in the chamber long before they should. Very cheap too, especially if you weigh it against the cost of replacing all your cases.

The fact that you're running them through two dies which were both set in the blind makes it a pretty good bet that you're creating an excessive headspace issue.

Use one die. Use a gage. Use a good lube (Imperial Case Wax is the stuff you want for heavy duty).


FWIW, my Dillon carbide die is "not quite" SB. I had to buy a real SB die when the time came to replace the barrel on my Supermatch.

[30Cal]

Take a handful of brass fired from the rifle you're loading for and measure. When they come out of your resizing die, they should be 0.002-0.004" shorter (on average--there will be some variability).

If you're pushing more than say 0.006" on average, you're overworking the brass.

Note: the expander ball can pull the shoulder forward (if you hear a squeal as the case comes out, this is a sure sign). If you're getting nowhere by threading the die further down, try using a pencil to lube the inside of the case neck on every 2nd or 3rd case.

Also, the carbide expander ball from your Dillon die will probably work in your other die, which is VERY NICE and I highly recommend doing that if possible--it's nice a slick and doesn't need lube.