sizing brass and case gauge

[yakmon]

so i just finished neck sizing some fired .270 win brass and when i checked them with the case gauge, the base of the brass is out of spec, poking above the bottom of the gauge. does this mean i need to full length size it or do i need to reject this batch of brass?

[joelogic]

Neck sizing does not bump the shoulder back to read within spec of the case gauge. Neck sizing only is to leave the brass custom fitted to your chamber. Neck sizing only should be only done with your bolt gun as it will probably give semi autos problems.

[bubbapug1]

It means you need to screw your full length sizing die down another 1/4 turn at least. When they say...cam over center, they really should say...hard cam over center, as in, that lever has to have some resistance when it bottoms out that die or your brass is not going to fit in the case gauge.

Great that you found out at home. I found my mistake with 80 rounds of 50 bmg I short stroked because I didn't have a case gage.

Ff you reload rifle you better have a case gauge.

PM me after you screw down your die a bit more and let me know if that fixed your problem. Remember, you want a bit of stiff resistance as the lever cams over center. That will push back the shoulder.

Don't forget the lube.

[yakmon]

ok, ill fl size a few of them and check again, and if still out of spec, screw the fl die down some more. these cases were in spec on the last loading of them. these are used in the same bolt gun, i do have 2 .270win guns, but i do not shoot one of them.

ff in time, i just fl sized 5 of them 4 were good, one is under spec on the neck size i mean on case length, . ill go finish off the other 45 cases and post again lyman manual says trim to length is 2.530, the short one measures 2.518

[bubbapug1]

good job. They grow because your chamber isn't a match chamber and the brass expands to fit the chamber. I have one ar with a chamber so tight I don't have to resize, but if the amoo isn't perfect its a mess.

[yakmon]

just finished resizing the rest of this batch, 46 checked good, 2 were long, and 2 were short. the long ones measured 2.536 the short ones measured 2.517 and 2.520. what about this short ones, is it ok to use or should i reject it?

[yakmon]

i guess im answering my own questions, but i just looked at my hornady book, it give a max case length of 2.540. so i'll leave the long ones alone. now im just wondering about the short ones.

[Munk]

so i just finished neck sizing some fired .270 win brass and when i checked them with the case gauge, the base of the brass is out of spec, poking above the bottom of the gauge. does this mean i need to full length size it or do i need to reject this batch of brass?

Is this a bolt gun you're talking about? If you neck-only, then it leaves the rest of the brass in the exact shape of your chamber, at which point it is unlikely that it will fit your standard case guages. This is great for a bolt gun accuracy.

If you expect to use this ammo in a non-bolt, or if you want to use it with a different gun that it was originally fire-formed with, then FL sizing is the way to go.

And the extra 1/4 turn is, like he said, to get the ABSOLUTE maximum amount out of your sizing process. To see why, do it without the extra turn, and when you bring the arm to full extension, you will probably see a small gap between the shell holder and the base of the die, even if they flushed up when there was no case in the holder. Once you do the extra 1/4-1/3 turn you should see that gap shrink and preferably go away. It took nearly 1/2 turn to get the gap closed on my .30-06.

Semi-related note even though it wasn't brough up. don't expect to take an "improved" and bring it back to reglar. a newbie at my bro's coyote club did that, mangled a bunch of brass trying to do it (i.e. .243 improved doesn't like going back to .243 Win.)

[yakmon]

yes, a bolt gun. there are semi-auto .270 winchesters ? i suppose i could have loaded a dummy round with it before i fl sized it and see if it chambered.

[Munk]

yes, a bolt gun. there are semi-auto .270 winchesters ? i suppose i could have loaded a dummy round with it before i fl sized it and see if it chambered.

are you just neck sizing or full length sizing, you've used both terms. Or are you doing one then the other?

If it's just your bolt gun, the neck size only will be fine, and will keep your brass alive for a very long time, but it isn't likely to fit into a normal case guage, or into another gun.

If you are just doing a full length size, you should max out the depth that it is sized by following the other user's post of getting the extra 1/4 turn of the die into your press. If this is the case and you still aren't getting into the case guage, then you have some problems. Either damaged/incorrect die or case guage.

(and just about anything can be had in a semi-auto format. There're also pump-action rifles and lever action as well)

[yakmon]

i was neck sizing those cases, this time when i checked them with the case gauge after neck sizing and noticed that they protruded, so i asked about it, i suppose they were gtg.
well, now that these cases are fl sized, i suppose i could take out dad's old pre 64 win m70 one more time (yea, i know i'll have to fl size those again before i use em in my main rifle)

i guess i assumed that they would fit the case guage after neck sizing. i did measure how much the stuck up and it was .006 . i'll take this batch out again.

[yakmon]

thanks for the advice guys, i appreciate it.