On 6.5 creedmoor cases that I've shot a few times and full length sized each time, there is slight resistance when closing the bolt. I can feel the difference rotating the bolt. If I compare a case that I shot a few times and full length sized vs a once fired case that hasn't been sized at all I can feel the difference when rotating the bolt closed and when opening. I am using hornady custom grade dies and a lee loadmaster press. Brass is hornady.

You aren’t bumping the shoulder back far enough. The die needs to be screwed down further to get additional shoulder bump.

You may want to get a Hornady case comparator set so you can measure the bump. 2-3 thou is usually good for a bolt gun.

Measure the headspace on the fired unsized case and the full length sized case.  Get back to us with the results of those measurements.  There is a fair chance that the sized case has a headspace length a few thousandths longer than the unsized case.

Thank you. Problem solved. I had been following the instructions and setting the die to meet the shellplate when at the top. I tried screwing the die in an additional half turn and that fixed the problem.

Trim your brass to the correct length.

The directions to screw down the die to a raised press ram don’t account for the press stiffness and deflection.

There can be enough force required to run the case into the size die that the ram doesn’t close up on the bottom of the die when adjusted that way.

Many times you will hear the term “cam over”, which means adjusting the empty die to preload beyond the first contact to the raised ram, and take it to the point where the press slightly toggles over, but not so far that the lever cannot go to the bottom of the press stroke. So, there is an indicator of the press stiffness by studying the difference between the die just touching the shell holder, versus the point where the press handle becomes raised by screwing the die in too far. Somewhere in between these points, the press handle can “toggle over” or “cam over” on its own stiffness. In theory, there is enough preload in this cam over zone to insure that when there is a case being sized, the shell holder will touch the ram and then some.

If you take the instructions literally there is a chance that the force of the case being sized prevents the ram from toughing the shell holder. This can introduce a distribution of outcomes where some cases get fully sized and some do not.

Let’s see what happens if you get the process under control by touching the shell holder to the ram with the cases being included. This will necessarily over size the case. Later, you will learn to just bump the shoulders enough for reliable function and no more. For the first steps, we should just debug the question at hand.

If your headspace was 2 or 3 thousandths too long, 1/2 of a turn is WAY too much of a decrease (if you care about your case life).  If you decide to leave the 1/2 turn in place, learn how to check cases for incipient case head separation and check every reloading cycle.

I believe this is exactly what happened. Thanks for the detailed reply. Great info.

I have a hornady bullet comparitor kit. The largest bushing in that kit will fit over the neck of a 6.5 creedmoor case and allowed me to get kind of a hack job measurement of the headspace. Not exactly idea but a way to measure with what I had on hand at the moment. You are correct, the 1/2 turn did shorten the headspace (or whatever you want to call my improvised measurement) about 15 thousands more then my once fired, unsized cases. I may buy the bushing to properly measure the headsapce the next time I order stuff but for now I think for the next batch of cases to be resized I will just turn the die 1/4 turn past where it meets the shellpate.

Btw. This is my first venture into loading for precision and I have already gotten a .8" group at 100 yds. I'm pretty happy with that being that I'm still figuring stuff out.

I use 2 tools to monitor headspace >>>

The RCBS Predision mic and the Hornady headspace comparitor.  The Hornady instrument I use to get to an actual linear measurement.  The RCBS instrument I use to give me "relative information" and it is the instrument that I use the most and it is the only instrument I use when I am actually sizing cases at my loading bench.  When I say "relative information", I mean that I know what reading on the RCBS gauge is my target...  when I measure a sized case, I know its status relative to the benchmark - i.e. it is 0.002 too long or too short or whatever.  This allows me to make appropriate adjustments.  Once everything is adjusted, I can use the RCBS instrument (measuring random cases while sizing) to make sure consistency is being maintained throughout the run of cases.

If/when you get tired of adjusting your sizing die, getting a set of Redding Competition Shellholders will make your life easier!