223 reloading prob with my AR

T

tdk

New member
Rating - 100%
11   0   0
I am loading 223 55gr speer bullets into winchester brass. The case lenght is 1.755 with an over all lenght of 2.20 seated into the bullet groove with no crimp.
When I manually cycle a round through my LMT, the cartridge is very hard to extract.
I am using RCBS FL dies with the resizing dies touching the shell plate.
Do I need small base dies for my AR?
Any suggestions??
 
Been thru similar issues.. make sure the dies are properly adjusted.. eg Redding says their dies should "cam" on the shell plate, not just touch.. you also need to determine whether it's the case size (which small base dies will help), or the headspace is insufficient.. jamming the cartridge and not allowing the bolt to rotate..(the camming , versus touching adjustment).. And make sure the FL die is sizing the neck all the way down to the shoulder... it should, but check it with a micrometer.. if say the last 20 thou isn't being sized enough, it'll also cause jamming, not allowing the bolt to rotate..
 
You are going to have to find out why the rounds won't extract cleanly. Until you do, everything is just speculation.
 
What reloader are you using?

For a single stage, as prev mentioned, your arm should "cam over" a bit.

If its a progressive, you should really get a case gauge to set your resizing die.

Im assuming that factory round cycle ok. Sounds like you are undersizing a bit.

GC
 
Last edited:
Is it your brass or range brass? Try chambering a resized case with no primer or bullet. If you have problems extracting, try screwing down your sizing die a 1/4 turn. Remember to lube the case before resizing, and wipe it off before chambering. Keep going until (1) it works or (2) the sizing die won't let the press cycle properly. If it does not work, you may need a small base die.
 
I am using my own winchester once fired brass. I am using my dillon 650 with dillon spray lube. I have tried resized unprimed brass and it is still hard to extract. I have went from just touching the shell plate to a camover resize. I think my next step is to pick up a set of RCBS AR15 SB dies and a headspace gauge.
 
Get yourself a 223 case guage. Mine is a Dillon but I am sure other companies make them as well. They are just a small piece of metal with an exact copy of a 223 chamber drilled into it.

After you size your piece of brass try putting it in the case guage. If it goes in with no problems it is sized correctly. If not then it has to be resized more by that I mean the die has to be screwed into the press more.

Then after you have reloaded the case with primer, powder and bullet try it in the case guage again. If it falls into the case guage with no issue then you have done it right.

Now try it in the gun, it should go in and come out just fine. If it does not then you have an issue with the chamber of your gun. An even easier way then that is try some factory ammo in your gun and if that works ok you know for sure that you are doing something wrong.

Graydog
 
You are probably undersizing then. There is alot of flex with a progessive press.

If you set the sizing die touching the shell plate without a case, chances are its not touching the shell plate when you are sizing a case. Plus the tool head shifts up a couple thousands on the 650 when you have cases in the stations.

Take annother look at the sizing die with a case in station #1 and the ram in the up position. I bet its not touching the shell plate. You should really check with a case/bullet in the seating die as well.

Get yourself a case gauge. You probably don't need small base dies, but you might.

GC
 
I've found that on occasion a .223 will dimple slightly at the first taper once the projectile gets seated. These rounds are an absolute devil to extract. Hope your charging handle is tough.

To counter this, I have a spare .223 sizing die with the decapping pin removed. On the rounds where I find the "dimple" I run the complete round part way up that pinless die and it often straightens the case out with 2/3s of a stroke.

I find this is a pretty rare phenomena on properly sized/trimmed brass; if it happens, it'll most likely with > 1F civilian brass, and rare with NATO brass.
 
Gas Can said:
You are probably undersizing then. There is alot of flex with a progessive press.
GC
Click to expand...

:agree:

When I first started .223 for AR's I had same problem. Try to add a extra 1/8 to 1/4 turn to your sizing die.
I used Small base and FL dies saw no difference in the gun, but did saw a difference on the brass life ;).

Do you have a single stage press ? try to made a dummy in the single stage and see if there is a difference using the same die.
 
Problem solved!! I picked up a set of RCBS 223 AR specific sb dies with a taper crimp. I have no problem at all manually cycling now. Thanks to all for your help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom