Sizing Brass/ Reliability

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Sizing Brass/ Reliability

Posted: 10/3/2011 6:46:55 AM EDT

There is a current discussion about sizing brass going on here right now. Many here bump back the shoulders just a bit back to keep the brass from being overworked and extending its life.
How does this minimal sizing reflect upon the reliability of Ar15. Assuming that the shoulder was only bumped back .005 inches, would it have problems with feeding ammo?

Posted: 10/3/2011 7:15:53 AM EDT

[#1]

From experience, you can usually get away with neck sizing .223 for an AR once. After that you will need to bump the shoulder back to get it to feed reliably.

I don't bump the shoulder .005", I shoot for .002". That's all that's needed, and any more just works the brass unnecessarily.

This works for a single rifle. If you reload for more than 1 AR, you'll have to work with the one that has the shortest chamber, or keep the brass separated for each rifle.

Posted: 10/3/2011 7:30:43 AM EDT

[#2]

You should only use this technique for bolt guns. Gas gun requires full length resize for reliable operation.

Posted: 10/3/2011 9:46:43 AM EDT

[#3]

I never set the shoulder back more than 0.003 inches on brass for an AR, and generally shoot for 0.002 inches. I've never had one shot that malfunctioned in any way when the brass was sized this way.

I don't size .223 Rem brass for case life since the primer pockets are going to give up first.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Sizing Brass/ Reliability

Armory » Reloading

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