Ok I have been loading for my rem 700 in a 243 and my marlin 336 in a 30-30 anf I have noticed that after sizing the casings and such the bolt/lever has a hard time closing all the way, its not impossible to close but offers a stiff resistance, It seems that once the bolt is closed and I attempt to move it down to lock it into place is when it happens, I used an empyied resized case to test it with and I noticed near the bottom of the casing there were several scratches that hadnt been there before.....any ideas???
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Rifle case prep, what am I doing wrong?
- Thread starter Spike_351
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The scratches are probably from sizing the case. It sounds like you need to crank your sizing die down a little
shibumiseeker
Grandmaster
Are you full length resizing or neck sizing?
Im using a lee die set amd a full length sizer, I make sure the entire case enters the sizer, I basicly keep the lever fully extended and adjust yhe sizing die down until ot touches the shell holder as described in the set up instructions.i guesd I should have.mentioned im using a single stage press.
I'm guessing like Vette said that you need to crank down your die more. Sounds to me like you are not bumping back the shoulder enough. The scratches could be coming from grit in your sizing die. Have you checked your brass in a case gauge?
I've ran into the same problem with lee dies, mine were in 222, and 35 rem, The Lee dies don't get the base, the last 1/8 of inch before case head.
To fix this I've used the hornady dimension dies, Dillon and RCBS small base dies to fix this,
If your using a single stage, take your shell holder and while keeping it flat on a flat stone grind a .001 or more as need and keep grinding until it works
To fix this I've used the hornady dimension dies, Dillon and RCBS small base dies to fix this,
If your using a single stage, take your shell holder and while keeping it flat on a flat stone grind a .001 or more as need and keep grinding until it works
You size the neck, after case sizing? Huh, that's a new one on me.
Single-stage presses are usually designed to "cam-over". This means you adjust the die as you said above, and then screw it in just a little more, so that there is a bit of resistance at the top of travel for the ram. This is not specific to any given manufacturer of dies...I've seen the same thing from RCBS and Hornady dies.
Single-stage presses are usually designed to "cam-over". This means you adjust the die as you said above, and then screw it in just a little more, so that there is a bit of resistance at the top of travel for the ram. This is not specific to any given manufacturer of dies...I've seen the same thing from RCBS and Hornady dies.
JonProphet
Sharpshooter
I've noticed that my .308 and my lee die (full sizer) are not getting the very bottom of the case either. I've not had any issues with my 700 but my wife Savage 10FP does have issues loading some cases. Some go in fine, others jammed the bolt.
Good thread.
Good thread.
Yea, I do things a little backwards I guess, but either way I usually get the same results no matter which one I do first, once everything is sized I trim, chamfer, and tumble ( I do the tumbling last to help keep shavings out of the case after trimming should they happen to fall into the casing.)
Standard FL dies purposely don't get 'the very bottom of the case', whether you cam them over against the shell holder or not. Needing to change the case diameter below the web suggests a problem. Small base dies will do it but you need to understand why it is happening first.
Where'd you get the brass and what headstamp?
I don't know Lee dies other than to chuck them in the trash, but do their neck dies constrict neck tighter than their FL?
Where'd you get the brass and what headstamp?
I don't know Lee dies other than to chuck them in the trash, but do their neck dies constrict neck tighter than their FL?
One of the few rifles for which I MUST cam-over the press to size the brass sufficiently, is my son's Savage 10 FLP in 308 Win. However, the dies in question are RCBS, not Lee.
As Yeah has alluded to, the source of your brass, and case head expansion, are more likely causes for concern than the dies used for resizing.
Once you have full-length resized a case, what would you gain from later neck-sizing? If that is what you're doing, and I'm not misunderstanding, then you're working the neck area twice which will result in the brass getting hard and splitting sooner than normal. If you have cases that do not exceed the maximum length, and they will chamber freely without any resizing, then neck-sizing can help extend case life. If you are going to full-length resize to get the brass back into the chamber, also neck-sizing is very much a redundant process that serves no purpose whatsoever.
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I'm still using the first press I ever bought, a RCBS Jr. After many years I just set the FL die to meet the shell holder snug and have no problems. I had a friend of mine who owns a machine shop level out my two shell holders and use them for my bolt guns, which sets the shoulder back .004 while using a neck sizer with no ball. Keep in mind that I have brass for each rifle, so the cases are custom fire formed for each rifle. For my M1A, I use X-dies for the work, with no problems, but use an unmodified shell holder as it came from the factory. It was a major PITA initially to set up 1000 LC90 cases for the X-die, but I did them during the winter time to have something to do inside where it was warm. I come across 400 cases the other day that was ready to load [out of sight at the back of a cabinet] and got them primed with some #34's that I bought a good while back. Found the invoice and the primers came out to cost $0.01855 per primer, and some pull down powder [CMR-100] that I bought 50 lbs. worth, that was a little over 10 bucks a lb. to my door [only 4-8lb. jugs left now]. Using some 173 gr. FMJBT M1 bullets that I got in bulk, and spent one winter separating them by ogive, so I will have the equivalent of the old M118 load for a pretty cheap price. Not good enough for Camp Perry, but when I had a scope on the M1A, this load gave 1.5 inch groups, and 2/2.5 groups with Match iron sights [wrong side of 60]. That's the fun of hand loading, being cheap and lazy amounts to never having to worry about having ammo to shoot. Will have a lot of fun this summer trying to ring a dinger I have set up at 500 yds. Neck sizing does have it's attributes, but only under certain circumstances. Also, the last few years I have been using the 3 step method of bullet seating, seems to help accuracy with my style of loading. YMMV
One of the few rifles for which I MUST cam-over the press to size the brass sufficiently, is my son's Savage 10 FLP in 308 Win. However, the dies in question are RCBS, not Lee.
As Yeah has alluded to, the source of your brass, and case head expansion, are more likely causes for concern than the dies used for resizing.
Once you have full-length resized a case, what would you gain from later neck-sizing? If that is what you're doing, and I'm not misunderstanding, then you're working the neck area twice which will result in the brass getting hard and splitting sooner than normal. If you have cases that do not exceed the maximum length, and they will chamber freely without any resizing, then neck-sizing can help extend case life. If you are going to full-length resize to get the brass back into the chamber, also neck-sizing is very much a redundant process that serves no purpose whatsoever.
I was not aware of this, even though I orignally suspected it. Im still a newb when it comes to loading rifle rounds.
Thnk you
be sure and check case OAL. If you're resizing for the same bolt action rifle, neck sizing often proves to be sufficient and often makes for more accurate ammo.
It's not exactly another quarter turn, but maybe 1/8th of a turn...enough so that you feel some resistance as it cams over to force the brass snugly into the die as far as possible. Be cautious as you make this adjustment to avoid damaging your die. If it doesn't feel like you can complete the movement of the press handle w/o undue force, back the die out a little.
It should be noted that I do not follow this practice with all of my dies; in fact I only do this when the brass and chamber I'm working with demands it. Most of the time I set up bottle-necked dies to leave the thickness of a dime between the shellholder and mouth of the die, with the ram all the way up. If this "partial full-length" resizing is sufficient, meaning brass chambers freely, then that is what I stick with. This is for cases that I'm not using a neck-sizing die on.
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