Headspace and Military Brass

[Butthead]

So I have a few thousands pieces of once fired military brass that I am ready to process for the first time. I want to get them sized properly and ready for trimming but I am not quite sure how to proceed.

I have some factory ammo brass fired in my rifle and I measured it with the headspace gauge and setup the FL sizing die to push the shoulder back about .002. The setup ended up having the die all the way down on the case holder plus about 1/8th of a turn (over cammed I believe is the term).

When I initially measured the military brass it was about .002 - .006 longer then the factory brass. I FL sized it leaving the die at its current setting (over cammed) and after measuring it, it is about the size of my factory once fired before sizing it. So it definetly set the shoulder back but it is still about .002 or .003 longer then the factory brass fired in my rifle after sizing.

So I am not sure what to do at this point. How do you resize your military brass?

[gau17]

Set your die up so when you size the once fired military brass they measure ok on the headspace gauge. Verify a few times then go to town.

I'm assuming you are referring to 223/556. If so take a look at the Dillon Case gauge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vvpUzVmD60

[Butthead]

The die is already sitting on the case holder plus 1/8 turn. I dont think going any further is going to make enough difference.

[gau17]

you might need a small base die or change out your shell holder

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/466853/redding-small-base-full-length-sizer-die-223-remington

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/359546/redding-competition-shellholder-set-10-17-remington-204-ruger-223-remington

[ocabj]

Keep turning the die in 1/8 turns. Trust me.

When you run the ram up and then thread the die down so it's hitting the shell holder, you can probably turn the die down another 1 to 1-1/2 turn (you'll need to bring the ram down) and still get more sizing in the shoulder.

[Slide Stop]

223 resizing

Sounds like Im having the same issue, I check the brass over it then gets sprayed lubed and dumped into the Dillon case feeder. I continue to get about three or four out of 100 that fit high into the gauge. Currently I have the Dillons FLSD touching the shell plate plus 1/8 turn. I try 1/8 turns until I get the results I need.
thanks in advance
Dillon 650/all Dillon Dies except for the last stage which is a Lee Factory Crimp Die

[Munk]

Here's the real question... Does it chamber?

Remember, sizing dies and trim measurements are designed to bring the brass down BELOW the size of your chamber, so that it can freely feed from a mag, up a ramp, and down into the hole.

Generally a FL die will be sitting on your shellholder anyway. Cam-over is generally fine to a point with regular steel dies, but NOT with carbide dies (This includes the RCBS Black Cased dies, or so I'm told).

If you DO wind up with brass that's improperly shouldered, then you might want to get the small-base that the others recommend, or you can just ditch the brass for recycling and buy some other brass.