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Posted: 2/17/2009 2:48:08 PM EDT
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I just tried some of my reloads that I've had around for a while. When I chambered it in my AR, and then tried to eject the round manually it was stuck. It took a really hard pull to get it open and the round out.
This happened one other time to me and I screwed the sizing die down a little and they worked again...easy chambering and unloading. Both times I locked the ring in place. I don't see how I wouldn't be getting the sizer die back in the same place with the ring locked and I screw it into the press firmly. I was pretty sure that I had checked a few random rounds out of that batch to make sure that they worked, but maybe not since the rounds (earlier reloads using the same bullet and everything) in my magazine worked fine. I checked the OAL and it is fine, so I'm guessing that the shoulder didn't get bumped down enough. My rifle is a little dirty, but since the other rounds worked, I don't think the crud had anything to do with it. Can someone tell me what's happening and why? |
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Sounds like your not sizing your cases correctly..
If you don't have a CASE GAUGE, get one ASAP so you can properly set your dies.. You can do it W/Out the gauge just be sure to test a few cases in your chamber before you start loading.. Once you are GTG with that then lock your die down.. |
Okey, I'll bite. Not knowing if your AR is a 223 or 5.56mm chambered weapon doesn't help. Also, what bullet are you loading? If the ogive of the bullet doesn't fit the cartridge chamber, the round will stick in the chamber. Also, in a semiauto, failure to fully size the case will cause stuck rounds. Check your reloaded measurements of the reloaded case, carefully. Make a "dummy round" with a fully sized case, and a FIRED primer, the selected bullet. and WITHOUT GUNPOWDER. Keep adjusting the seating depth of the bullet that has been colored with a "Sharpie." Chamber the inert dummy round in your rifle, pointing it in a same direction. Does it chamber easiy?Keep the dummy round in your die case as a sample for the respective bullet. Regards
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.223 BM Varmint Special. 60gr V-Max.
I checked the OAL and it is exactly where it needs to be. I've reloaded rounds for it before. I didn't change anything since then. The ones that I reloaded a month or so ago work fine, still. The ones I just did are sticking. I have already successfully reloaded for it using the same everything. |
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Quoted:
+ 1 to a sizing problem My ARs would not let me manually eject rounds and intermittently would fail to extract. I was using Hornady dies. I switch to Lee dies and the problem is gone. I did not otherwise change anything. It wasn't the dies, it was how the dies were adjusted. 
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Quoted:
Okey, I'll bite. Not knowing if your AR is a 223 or 5.56mm chambered weapon doesn't help. Also, what bullet are you loading? If the ogive of the bullet doesn't fit the cartridge chamber, the round will stick in the chamber. Also, in a semiauto, failure to fully size the case will cause stuck rounds. Check your reloaded measurements of the reloaded case, carefully. Make a "dummy round" with a fully sized case, and a FIRED primer, the selected bullet. and WITHOUT GUNPOWDER. Keep adjusting the seating depth of the bullet that has been colored with a "Sharpie." Chamber the inert dummy round in your rifle, pointing it in a same direction. Does it chamber easiy?Keep the dummy round in your die case as a sample for the respective bullet. Regards There's almost zero odds that the bullet is the problem in a rack grade AR; every gun I've handled has a throat so long that a miracle would be required to touch the lands with an 80 grain bullet, let alone a magazine length load. All bets are off if the gun has a custom barrel and chamber, anything is possible in that case. Likewise the difference in the chambers; the difference lies in the throat, not in the case body. The problem has already been described, the case body is a little too long and needs to be sized with a little headspace. Also, the FAQ's have the procedure for extracting a case stuck like this. Don't bash the charging handle, read the FAQ. |
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Did anyone notice that the last time the problem occurred he just scewed the sizer down a couple threads to fix the problem? Aparrently the die isn't always set to full length size the case, (which is what is normally recommended for all semi-autos). In order to full length size your cases most die manufacturers instruct you to adjust the sizer all the way down to cantact the shellholder when cycled. If full length sized I wouldn't worry too much about a case guage except that you MUST have someway to measure the OAL of the cases so you'll know when to trim them. The sizer die contacting the shellholder should be sufficient to insure other dimensions are O'K'. It seems a little hard to imagine that any decent full length sizer screwed all the way down to the shellholder and locked would cause such a problem. I do a lot of neck-sizing only with full length sizers for my bolt actions and occasionally have the same problem with extraction, (and sometimes even difficulty chambering a round).
With that said, I'm having a similar extraction problem with a used upper I bought here on EE shooting new factory ammo, (cheap PMC bronze 55 gr fmj's). When I first got it, it failed to extract empties on every single shot so I changed the extractor and spring and cleaned the chamber really good. Now it cycles fine every time i fire a round,,, except when I tried to extract the final live round from the chamber to store the rifle it was very difficult to draw the handle back. When I got the round out, the exterior of the case was stained with black gases or unburnt powder or burnt oil or something. So I'm guessing the chamber may still be a little dirty. I'm also planning to get some of them little star cleaner thingies to clean the lugs in the chamber. I'm using alot of CLP oil so could it maybe be blowing oil back into the chamber? Or is that some extra "dirty" ammo or something else maybe? Forget all that, check out this post instead: Possible answer to most function problems with handloads??? |
| Assuming a properly adjusted sizing die, different headstamp cases (manufacturers) will come out of the sizer with different headspace, based on my own experience. This can be a problem with mixed headstamps and is why I sort brass and use a case gage on all cases after sizing. I usually have to change the sizing die setting when sizing LC vs FC vs WCC cases |
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+1 on the sizing problem. I actually bottomed my sizer die out against the shellholder, and that still wasn't enough. When compared to a factory round (Winchester), the shoulder on my resized brass was still about 0.005" too far out. I put the shellholder in a lathe and shaved 0.010". This gave me enough adjustment to get the should back far enough.
As stated above, each headstamp will give slightly different HTC length with the same die setting. Use the lock ring to tighten things down, but don't use it for a permanent setting......check it each time you set up. I set mine back about 0.005-0.007" when compared to fired rounds out of my chamber. That far back might shorten case life some, but it guarantees easy feeding and extraction. Good luck. |
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Something that I didn't read in any of the responses. If the locking ring is an adjustable type ring and is fairly loose and you tighten it it will raise the die slightly as it takes up the slack in the threads. The slack will be in both the press threads and the locking ring. Tighten the locking ring to remove most of the slack. This will also help with the slack in the press threads. Re-set the die and tighten. Double check the seating with a couple more cases. Then remove the die completely and re-seat it and check again. It all depends on just how loose the thread tolerances actually are. If both threads are at minimum spec here is room for a bunch of slack.
ETA: Re-read the last sentence and I misstated it. It would be minimum on od threads and maximum on id threads. |
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Just last night, I was doing a batch of 100 LC '99's. All sized down to +.001 on a Precision Mic (or so I thought) with a typical variance of +/- .001.
As I was seating bullets, found two cases that did not look right. One was +.010 and one was +.007. Both these cases appeared to have slightly concave shoulders. I think I need a bit more lube for the expander or I just failed to completely work the handle during re-zing. It happens. Live and learn. |
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