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Reloading Thread?

5,112 Views | 54 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by Charismatic Megafauna
WP69
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AG
I load .270, 7mm-08, 6.8SPC, 6.5CR, and .30 carbine. To answer an upthread question, I wet stainless steel tumble brass. I don't enjoy brass prep and a Giraud trimmer is well worth the cost. The Giraud is one of the few that can trim a lot of .30 carbine brass quickly.
AstroAggie15
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AG
308 AR 10 loaders:

I sized my brass in a RCBS FL die
trimmed to length of 2.010
set OAL to 2.75 per Sierra book (using 165g game kings)

Rifle chambers, fires, & cycles fine...but if there is a round chambered and I want to take it out, i have to pull on the charging handle as hard as I possibly can to break it loose.

What am I doing wrong?
AggiePetro07
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AG
AstroAggie15 said:

308 AR 10 loaders:

I sized my brass in a RCBS FL die
trimmed to length of 2.010
set OAL to 2.75 per Sierra book (using 165g game kings)

Rifle chambers, fires, & cycles fine...but if there is a round chambered and I want to take it out, i have to pull on the charging handle as hard as I possibly can to break it loose.

What am I doing wrong?
Do you have a comparator to determine how much you're bumping the shoulder? Does it happen with factory ammo?
AstroAggie15
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AggiePetro07 said:

AstroAggie15 said:

308 AR 10 loaders:

I sized my brass in a RCBS FL die
trimmed to length of 2.010
set OAL to 2.75 per Sierra book (using 165g game kings)

Rifle chambers, fires, & cycles fine...but if there is a round chambered and I want to take it out, i have to pull on the charging handle as hard as I possibly can to break it loose.

What am I doing wrong?
Do you have a comparator to determine how much you're bumping the shoulder? Does it happen with factory ammo?


No & no.
AggiePetro07
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AG
You may not be setting the shoulder back enough, allowing the bolt to close and go into battery, but allowing the excess rearward force of the chambered round to make the lugs hard to disengage by pulling on the charging handle.

Try screwing your die down in small increments and see if that helps.

I hope I wrote that in a way that makes sense.
Charismatic Megafauna
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AG
I'd suspect the base. Measure diameter of base of a factory round and a reload, or take a sharpie and mark up the base of a factory round and a reload, chamber and extract and see if the marks on the reload are scuffed up worse than the factory round. That's why they have small base dies right?
schmellba99
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AG
May need a small base die
Boots over Delaware
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Doc Hayworth said:

I've been reloading 22 hornet, 218 bee, 222 mag AI, 6mm-223, 7-30 waters, 300 savage, 45 ACP, 44 mag, 45-70, 375JDJ, 6mm Remington, 7mag, 30-338 for 30+ years and still have all my fingers.


Someone has a few Contender barrels.
GSS
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AstroAggie15 said:

308 AR 10 loaders:

I sized my brass in a RCBS FL die
trimmed to length of 2.010
set OAL to 2.75 per Sierra book (using 165g game kings)

Rifle chambers, fires, & cycles fine...but if there is a round chambered and I want to take it out, i have to pull on the charging handle as hard as I possibly can to break it loose.

What am I doing wrong?


Is the brass from ammo fired in this rifle?
I had a very similar (same?) problem, and the advice of incrementally turning in the sizing die was the solution, via the additional shoulder setback. That scenario seems to happen be more often, than the need for a SB die.
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Charismatic Megafauna
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If you're full length sizing there should not be any room for adjustment in the die, a properly adjusted fl die should contact the shell holder at the top of the stroke. If it doesn't then you're not fl sizing, you're neck sizing using a fl die
GSS
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There's FL sizing (just touching the shellholder), and there's the debated "cam-over", at another 1/8 to 1/4 turn-in of the die. This skeptic saw that work in several situations.
Another possible option is to remove a few thousandths off of the shellholder (custom ones are also available), to allow for that needed bump.
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TSRA Life
jpistolero02
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It's really hard to full length size without one of those comparator tools to measure how far back you are bumping the shoulder. I use a Forster co-ax press and most of my dies need to cam over to bump back the proper amount. I normally do .002" on bolt action and .004" for auto loaders.
slammerag
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I use a wilson case gauge micrometer and with specific case gauge. Have dies setup to bump back shoulder .002 for fired brass in bolt guns.
Charismatic Megafauna
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interesting, seems like the inside dimensions of a FL die should be SAAMI (or a thou or 2 less) so if you get the shell stuffed in there it should come out SAAMI spec, but like you I've run into plenty of cases in reloading where theory doesn't match practice. Seems like tight chambers are coming into play here as well
Tx-Ag2010
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How are you cleaning your brass? I had a similar issue a few months back. It turned out that the wet tumbling was peening the mouth of my brass ever so slightly and making it several thousanths too large.
rab79
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AG
Started out with a .243 Lee handloader where your press is a mallet. Do small numbers of .243 for hunting, 32-20 for pistol and rifle shooting, 9mm, 30-06 for the garand and .223 for the mini-14. Recently acquired a 25-06 and dies but haven't loaded anything yet. Just started casting bullets for the 32-20 so we will see how that goes. Also do a little 12 and 20 gauge shotshell loading. Vibratory tumbler and single stage press work for me.
NO AMNESTY!

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tcc66
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I've loaded for several different .308's and have great success with Varget. All the rifles were bolt guns.

My current rifle absolutely loves 48gr Varget, 150gr GMX's, 0.050" off the lands.

Brass prep is my least favorite part of reloading. I shoot Lapua brass in all my rifles that it's offered in. It doesn't stretch much or get loose primer pocket like the softer stuff does. I've run 10+ charges through some of my 6.5CM brass and haven't had to trim it. I'm shooting some stiff R26 loads in the 6.5.

Good luck getting it dialed in.
schmellba99
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NRD09 said:

interesting, seems like the inside dimensions of a FL die should be SAAMI (or a thou or 2 less) so if you get the shell stuffed in there it should come out SAAMI spec, but like you I've run into plenty of cases in reloading where theory doesn't match practice. Seems like tight chambers are coming into play here as well
In theory, that's true. But you are talking about mass produced tools that have a tolerance. Combine that with the fact that you have mass produced barrels that also have a tolerance and you run into a littany of probabilities on where on each tolerance scale the die and the barrel lies.

Additionally, the chemistry of the brass comes into play and whether or not you actually have the dies set up properly. Most dies don't truly full length resize - they get close to the base and terminate. If you have a larger base on your brass or your brass is towards the end of its life and is experiencing fatigue or flow, you can get that extra couple of thousands that make a sticky case.
Charismatic Megafauna
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hence my comment
Quote:

but like you I've run into plenty of cases in reloading where theory doesn't match practice. Seems like tight chambers are coming into play here as well
Eliminatus
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AG
So my love for reloading has me eyeing another whole new adventure for me. Machining. Getting a wild hair about making some of my own dies for swaging. I have zero equipment and experience with machining.

This rabbit hole just doesn't stop....
Charismatic Megafauna
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that's on my "when I retire" list, though a benchtop combo mill/lathe seems to have quite a few applications for light gunsmithing and brass prep OCDness
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