Help a new reloader

[trfcrugby]

So I started reloading .223 awhile back, and it seemed to be going fine. After a few initial lessons, I loaded about 1000 rounds.

But, I've had a few problems with some of the rounds. When the round is chambered, the bolt doesn't close all the way. When I try to pull the charging handle to eject the round, it's stuck. Using a good amount of force, I can get the bolt to open, and round will eject. What causes the round to stick is the shoulder of the case is smashed, or mushroomed to be more precise.

What am I doing wrong? The OAL of the rounds is good, I checked.

Thanks for the help.

[herbrock]

do you fully resize your casing after each reload?

[trfcrugby]

I would assume I did, but if the shoulder is too high, that would cause it smash in the chamber. Is there a way to check/measure?

When working the press, how far does the case go into the resizing die to me considered completely resized?

Thanks.

[.22guy]

I had some cases where the neck was bulged, just slightly. You could barely see it with the naked eye, but they wouldn't chamber in my savage bolt gun.

[kurac]

Sounds like you are not sizing them enough. On a bolt gun you have better leverage and its not a problem but on autoloaders its a different story.

Here is what I had to do to get my garand to work right.

I took the bolt apart so I could get the extractor and ejector out. Next I sized an empty and then tried to chamber it in my rifle with the dissassembled bolt. It was too tight to close so I went ahead and cranked my sizing die down a quarter of a turn, sized the same piece of brass and tried to chamber it again. ( I hope you can see where this is going)

At any rate, I found a sizing die position that allowed the bolt to close with little to no resistance so I went ahead and tightened it down and that is where it will stay. I would also like to mention that if I were to raise the ram on my press, the shell holder will contact the bottom of the die before it reaches top dead center but when I am sizing an actual case there may be 0.002" -0.003" of clearance.

I hope this helps

[Rob P.]

When you resize in a full length die, you must run the cartridge all the way into the die. (sounds obvious but...) The bottom of the die should just touch the shell plate/holder. Some dies only size the neck so you should be sure that your die is a full length resizer.

What it sounds like to me is that you are crushing the cartridge when seating the bullet or crimping. Not being there I can't say if this is happening or not. However, if you're only neck sizing or your resizing die isn't adjusted properly then the case mouth might not be enlarged enough to easily accept the bullet. A poor chamfer may also cause this.

If the case mouth isn't big enough then you could "smash or crush" the shoulder when seating the round. OAL won't be affected since the die will just seat the bullet the same distance from the shell holder regardless of the final length or shape of the brass case.

I would resize a few sample cases (couple dozen or so) and then check to see if the case mouth is properly prepared. It takes time but you will know where the problem lies. Also check the chamfer. If it's proper you should be able to "almost" insert a bullet into the case by hand. Certainly you should be able to "start" the bullet into the case by hand without a problem.

[herbrock]

I would assume I did, but if the shoulder is too high, that would cause it smash in the chamber. Is there a way to check/measure?

When working the press, how far does the case go into the resizing die to me considered completely resized?

Thanks.

i dont think its the shoulder that is high . its the case body itself that is expanded from last firing. check your faulty cartridge and see if they are same sizing.

i believe each dies have each own setting so check your manual

[dw1784]

you can try guestimating by screwing the die in a little further or read this article by Ocabj about using a headspace gage.

it's no biggie, I've done the same and pulled a few live rounds. Search the forum, lots of people have done the same. Get a collet puller if you're going to pull the entire 1k. Faster and cleaner than a kinetic puller. Good luck and have fun

[Fjold]

When you set up your sizing die, screw the die in until you contact the shell holder and then lower the ram and screw the sizing die in another quarter of a turn.

When you adjust the seating die, put a shell in the shellholder and raise the ram all the way. Screw the seating die in until you feel it touch the cartridge case and then screw it out at least a quarter turn. If the seating die contacts the case mouth when you seat the bullet it will push the case neck back into the shoulder and cause the shoulder to bulge out. This is a very common error for new reloaders.

[PistolPete75]

you are definitely not fullsizing correctly. turn that die all the way down till it almost hits your shellplate. once you get the die set up, take 1 piece of brass, fullsize it, and then chamber it in your rifle. if all is well, you should have no issues closing the bolt.

[Prc329]

If you don't have them already, get a set of lock rings for your dies. Once you have them set and tightened down it is much easier to return to where you were the next time.

[ar15barrels]

Get a chamber gauge like this:

http://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23612/catid/3/_223_Dillon_Stainless_Steel_Case_Gage

It will allow you to check if the ammo is within spec before you get it stuck in the gun.