Help Reloading 308 ammo!!!! Die problems

[nawshiz]

Im having problem reloading my Onced Fire LC 308 brass. The expander ball is expanding the die too much. I already had this problem with Hornady dies and now with RCBS dies. The case gets sized to 7.85-7.90mm and the Berger/ Hornady bullets are at 7.80mm. Is there a way to correct this issue. I tried removing the expander ball an lower the die more to see if it would size it smaller but it doesnt work.

Need some HELP!!!!!!!

[Khromo]

Expander balls cause a lot of problems. Since the expander ball hits the case neck after the die body has resized it, adjusting the die body won't correct the problem. You might try removing the decapping stem and resizing a case to make sure that the die body is not your problem, but you are probably right in blaming the problem on the expander ball.

If you are confident of your measurements, you can try removing the decapping rod assembly and chucking it in a drill. Then use some 1,000 (or so) grit sandpaper to smooth the expander ball down to a more workable size.

Run the drill as slowly as it will go, and stop to check your progress regularly and often. The expander is hardened steel, so it will go slowly, but if you get it too small you will need to buy a new ball and start over.

While you have the drill and the 1,000 grit paper out, and your hands are already dirty, you might want to polish the expanders in all your other dies as well. Get them slick and shiny, and it can solve other resizing problems.

Good luck and have fun. If you don't have any 1,000 grit around the garage, go to a place that caters to the automotive paint trade. Auto parts stores might carry some, but the paint place is your best bet.

[Mike402]

I agree, I had nothing but problems with an expander ball in my Redding dies. Pain in the *****, much more likely to get stuck cases, and causes more runout. If I need to expand the neck for whatever reason, I use the K&M neck turner expander mandrels.

I am in the middle of processing a very large amount of once fired LC 5.56 brass. I resorted to using a full length body die in one station, and a lee collet neck die in another. This eliminates the need for an expander ball, and the problems that come with it.
For my match .308 rounds, I'll expand new brass w/ the K&M mandrel, turn the neck, then size the neck back down w/ a competition neck bushing die.

I've sworn off expander balls for good

[Che762x39]

The problem I had with LC 7.62 NATO brass was it was fired in a M-60.

I had to get an RCBS Small Base sizing die to correct it

[JMP]

Get Redding match dies. If sized properly, the inner diameter of your neck should be ~0.306". The Redding Type S full size die has an expander of ~0.298". The Redding Competition neck size/decapper does not have an expander.

[23's Dad]

Same problem with 2 different die sets?

Have you gotten the same results using commercial (non-LC) brass?

BTW, when you post dimensions in millimeters most of us don't relate.

[J-cat]

Im having problem reloading my Onced Fire LC 308 brass. The expander ball is expanding the die too much. I already had this problem with Hornady dies and now with RCBS dies. The case gets sized to 7.85-7.90mm and the Berger/ Hornady bullets are at 7.80mm. Is there a way to correct this issue. I tried removing the expander ball an lower the die more to see if it would size it smaller but it doesnt work.

Need some HELP!!!!!!!

I highly doubt your numbers are correct.

[CSACANNONEER]

Pull the expander ball and get rid of it. Get an expandiron and add another step to your brass prep process. It is much easier on the brass and gives a very consistent neck ID.

[krwada]

I concur

I highly doubt your numbers are correct.

Those numbers posted by the OP are HIGHLY suspicious.

Whenever I measure the diameter of the projectile ... the numbers I get are NOWHERE near what the OP posted!

[thenodnarb]

Maybe the rod is bent, causing the expander ball to come through sideways slightly. This will open up the diameter in an oblong way. It might be so slight that you can't see it.

I've never had a problem with expander balls being the wrong size. If I was having serious problems like that, I'd probably switch to lee dies. They use a mandrel.

[huckberry668]

I already had this problem with Hornady dies and now with RCBS dies. The case gets sized to 7.85-7.90mm and the Berger/ Hornady bullets are at 7.80mm. Is there a way to correct this issue. I tried removing the expander ball an lower the die more to see if it would size it smaller but it doesnt work.

Need some HELP!!!!!!!

I'm not sure I see a 'reloading problem' here. Are you having measurement problems or loading problems? Does the bullet seat so loosely that it falls in? or is it just caliper measurements don't seem right?

using caliper to measure ID (I assume 7.85-7.90mm is inside diameter) of case neck may be different than measuring the OD of the bullet. some calipers are not calibrated properly (examples: my RCBS, Harbor Freight).

Also, are you lubing the inside of the neck before you size? What's the OD of the expander ball? brass flexes about .002" when sized. So your neck ID 'would' be about .002" less than the OD of expander ball.