Posted: 4/21/2015 4:41:21 AM EDT
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You guys gave great advice with my first problem, so I'm hoping I can't get some help with another...
I'm working on reloading some more precise round for a bolt action 308 I recently bought. I am using only LC brass and am up to the point where i have fl resized the brass and trimmed it. I tried chambering a piece of brass into my rifle, it took a little more effort than factory ammo and was incredibly difficult to remove. I have bumped the shoulder back .003" from a piece of fired brass and the headspace measurement is very close to the factory ammo. I also used a case length gauge to determine the correct trim length and am well short of that. Any ideas on what would cause the brass to be so hard to remove from the chamber?? The weird part is the case that I trimmed very short to use with the case length gauge chambers just fine, but the headspace measurement is the same as the rest of the brass. |
| Full length size the first time, and then if you're only using it in one rifle neck size afterwards. Do yourself a favor and pick up a Wilson headspace gauge. Worth its weight in gold when it comes to loading up ammo to ensure it will chamber appropriately before you get to the range.... |
| You just need to adjust your FL die down some more. I would and do use calipers to determine a trim to length, not a gauge. Remember that not all chambers are cut the same. You are setting fired brass back .003 at the shoulder, the problem is that there is another point on the brass that's not been sized enough to make things easy. Your measurement is just a reference and i'm fairly certain that there is not an issue with your rifle or chamber. You also need to use a new stick of fired brass each time you make an adjustment on your FL dies to make sure things are really moving like you think they are for best results. I also suspect that the LC brass was fired in another rifle or MG and its been blown way out of proportion. So if you are really using LC brass fired in another rifle, and or you are having trouble closing the bolt, don't force things, just adjust your FL die down a little more and keep your brass trimmed to the proper length after you FL size it. Remember to lube the cases on the outside and inside the neck for best results, if you don't lube the inside of the neck that expander ball on that think LC brass can pull the shoulder forward at the neck/shoulder juncture. |
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Quoted:
You bumped it back .003 from brass fired out of this rifle or just a random LC once fired case? It should be fired from the gun you're sizing for. How are you measuring headspace of the case, a Hornady type comparator or the like? I had some brass that was fired out of the same rifle I used to measure headspace....I bumped it .003 back from this measurement, but the fired brass was Remington head stamped. Not sure if this would make a difference?? And yes, I'm using a Sinclair comparator body with the Hornady inserts. |
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Quoted:
You just need to adjust your FL die down some more. I would and do use calipers to determine a trim to length, not a gauge. Remember that not all chambers are cut the same. You are setting fired brass back .003 at the shoulder, the problem is that there is another point on the brass that's not been sized enough to make things easy. Your measurement is just a reference and i'm fairly certain that there is not an issue with your rifle or chamber. You also need to use a new stick of fired brass each time you make an adjustment on your FL dies to make sure things are really moving like you think they are for best results. I also suspect that the LC brass was fired in another rifle or MG and its been blown way out of proportion. So if you are really using LC brass fired in another rifle, and or you are having trouble closing the bolt, don't force things, just adjust your FL die down a little more and keep your brass trimmed to the proper length after you FL size it. Remember to lube the cases on the outside and inside the neck for best results, if you don't lube the inside of the neck that expander ball on that think LC brass can pull the shoulder forward at the neck/shoulder juncture. I guess that makes sense....I'll give that a try and see if I can get a round to chamber. I'm using a Sinclair case length gauge....the type that sits in a case that is trimmed very far back in order to measure my rifles specific chamber length. That's what I thought was weird too, why would the case that was trimmed very short chamber just fine but the others with the same headspace measurement not?? It definitely could be something I'm not measuring right. Thanks for the info so far guys! I'll update when I try these things out.... |
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Quoted: It's for a Savage 10 FCP....by tight around the neck do you mean probably a resizing issue?? or like trim length?? Quoted: Quoted: What rifle? To me, it sounds like it may be tight around the neck. It's for a Savage 10 FCP....by tight around the neck do you mean probably a resizing issue?? or like trim length?? Outside diameter of the neck. I said tight, but I meant snug if it actually chambers. A while back, I processed a few different brands of .308 brass for my Palma 95 chambered Mauser. Hornadys and Noslers behaved similarly to what you describe. Unless the springback of the shoulder was different due to their alloy being different, I figured the necks were thicker. However, I don't remember measuring them to confirm.  I'd take a case and cover it in Dykem or Sharpie, chamber it, and see where it rubs. |
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Quoted:
Outside diameter of the neck. I said tight, but I meant snug if it actually chambers. A while back, I processed a few different brands of .308 brass for my Palma 95 chambered Mauser. Hornadys and Noslers behaved similarly to what you describe. Unless the springback of the shoulder was different due to their alloy being different, I figured the necks were thicker. However, I don't remember measuring them to confirm.
I'd take a case and cover it in Dykem or Sharpie, chamber it, and see where it rubs. Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
What rifle? To me, it sounds like it may be tight around the neck. It's for a Savage 10 FCP....by tight around the neck do you mean probably a resizing issue?? or like trim length?? Outside diameter of the neck. I said tight, but I meant snug if it actually chambers. A while back, I processed a few different brands of .308 brass for my Palma 95 chambered Mauser. Hornadys and Noslers behaved similarly to what you describe. Unless the springback of the shoulder was different due to their alloy being different, I figured the necks were thicker. However, I don't remember measuring them to confirm.
I'd take a case and cover it in Dykem or Sharpie, chamber it, and see where it rubs. The sharpie idea sounds like a good plan...I just measured the headspace again and it's actually bumped a few thousandths of an inch further back then the factory stuff that chambers just fine, go figure. 
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| I finally got a chance to resize my brass again and problem solved! Maybe had to do with the way I setup the die the first time....I am now getting a 1.620" measurement from base to shoulder with my headspace gauge. Is this too short or should I be good to go? I'll remeasure once these cases are fired and bump back just short of them next time. |
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Quoted:
What rifle? To me, it sounds like it may be tight around the neck. lc308 brass is thicker and heavier than all other brass out there. It should also be down loaded because of this. I'm with the tight neck theory as well. you need to neck turn your brass. |
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Quoted:
I finally got a chance to resize my brass again and problem solved! Maybe had to do with the way I setup the die the first time....I am now getting a 1.620" measurement from base to shoulder with my headspace gauge. Is this too short or should I be good to go? I'll remeasure once these cases are fired and bump back just short of them next time. Mason2245: Your resized brass measures 1.620. How does this measurment compare to factory loaded ammo?? |
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Quoted:
I finally got a chance to resize my brass again and problem solved! Maybe had to do with the way I setup the die the first time....I am now getting a 1.620" measurement from base to shoulder with my headspace gauge. Is this too short or should I be good to go? I'll remeasure once these cases are fired and bump back just short of them next time. You need to fire a few rounds and measure before resizing. When you have THAT number, adjust your resizing die until what comes out is 0.003" shorter. |
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Quoted:
I am using only LC brass and am up to the point where i have fl resized the brass and trimmed it. I tried chambering a piece of brass into my rifle, it took a little more effort than factory ammo and was incredibly difficult to remove. I have bumped the shoulder back .003" from a piece of fired brass and the headspace measurement is very close to the factory ammo. Recently, I took the time to measure all of the 120 rounds of 7.62*51 I bought along with all of the WB 7.62 Winchester I bought in another. All of the 7.62*51 Win WB measured -0.002 through -0.0045, while all of the other measured -0.0017 through -0.0058. So the same factory was targeting -0.003 with a window of +/- 0.0012 for the first kind of ammo and -0.004 with a window of -0.0027 for the other. I happen to know that my bolt gun (M40 VNC) measures 0.000,0 +/- 0.0003 on this gauge and that this chamber closes on the SAMMI go Gauge but fails to close on the SAMMI no go gauge. My point, here, is that one wants the shoulder at a particular measurement, but one does not achieve this goal by simply moving the shoulder any particular number. One achieves that goal by sizing and measuring until the shoulder is at the correct position, not by pushing it back by a given number. What would cause the brass to be hard to remove from the chamber: a) Too much pressure b) Too little sizing c) it is unlikely that the trim length has anything to do with the issue. |