resized .243 hard to chamber...hmmm

Alleycat

Alleycat

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Well I finally got my first two batches of .243 reloaded. 58gr V-max, 40.9 and 43 grains of N-140 in once fired fed brass, 2.610 COL.
The good news is it was as accurate as I could shoot…I really need to get a better rest set-up.

Unfortunately I must have done something wrong during the resizing process as all my resized brass was hard to chamber. When I pushed the bolt closed it almost felt as if I finishing off the resizing process.
When I got home I checked some of my other resized brass and had he same problem. This is with brand new Horandy FL dies that I originally adjusted by hornadys manual. I tried adjusting the die further in and out but not much difference and the shell holder is making contact with the die so it's not like I could get the case into the die any deeper than I was.
One thing I did notice is that when removing the case from the die there is a good amount of resistance when passing back over the expander.

Have you experienced reloaders encountered this before? I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong...
 
Sounds like the case needs to be sized more, is the shell holder contacting the die when a case is being sized? - there can be a surprising amount of spring back.

If there is resistance passing back over the expander the inside of the neck generally need more lube but that shouldn't affect the sizing.

Dan
 
Dan B said:
Sounds like the case needs to be sized more, is the shell holder contacting the die when a case is being sized? - there can be a surprising amount of spring back.

If there is resistance passing back over the expander the inside of the neck generally need more lube but that shouldn't affect the sizing.

Dan
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Dan. Yes the shell holder in contacting the die. I have read where some have sanded a little of the top of the shell holder to allow the case to travel into the die further. As you mention it feels like it's not going into the die far enough. I'll have to play with it a little tonight...
 
Did you try chambering a sized brass after it went through the press?
Just the sized brass only.
If it falls in and falls out, the problem occurred after this step?
 
kamlooky said:
Did you try chambering a sized brass after it went through the press?
Just the sized brass only.
If it falls in and falls out, the problem occurred after this step?
Click to expand...

Yes I did when I got back home and it's the resized brass, no bullet, that is tight.
Is it possible that if there is too much friction, lack of lube or whatever, that the shoulder angle could be stretched out when passing downword over the expander?
Maybe I'll pull the expander out tonight to rule it and size a few, see if it makes a diff.
 
You could also try sizing one case without the decapping pin and expander button in the die.
If the case then chambers easily, your expander is the problem.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
Have you removed all play in the press during the up stroke. You may need to adjust the die down a bit more. Have a look at the shell holder die when you have resized the case fully. if there is a gap between the shell holder and die then you are not fully sizing the case. Adjust the die down a bit more until you can just chamber the case without any resistance. Did that do it?
 
Some possibilities: You COAL is too long, you have crimped (by accident) and bulged the shoulder a bit due to the set-up of the seater die (I did this once with either Hornady or Lee dies), the necks are too thick on the brass (take a fired, unsized brass and try to slip a bullet into the neck - it should go right in. If not, the neck is too thick and needs to be turned) and finally you may need to take a small amount of material off your shellholder so you can push the shell deeper into the die. The last method was suggested by John Barsness, but I can't remember where I read it and how much to take off the shell holder.
 
When I first started loading, I had a 270 Mod 70 and was using Lyman FL dies.. Worked O.K., no problems.
When my new custom M-98 was in the process of being finished, my gunsmith asked for some brass & my dies.
Reloads wouldn't chamber. His brand new Clymer reamer was measured carefully ... but no problem there.
New set of R.C.B.S. FL dies ... problem solved.
The Lymans were promptly dropped into the garbage can, never to be seen again !
Have never since had a problem with probably 25+ rifles and 20+ R.C.B.S. die sets.
 
Try what Eagleye mentioned, i use powdered graphite on a brush and run it in the case mouth. Some use case lube but this can contaminate the powder if your unlucky and use to much I would also take a small amount off the top of the shell holderas you mentioned or get a new holder, cheapest thing before running out and buying new dies.
 
"...some have sanded..." That'd be people who don't know any better. It's a waste of time. Like Dan says, the bottom of the die should just kiss the top of the shell holder with the ram all the way up. Check the lengths of your cases too.
"...good amount of resistance when..." Perfectly normal. That's when most of the expansion happens. Sticking the case mouth into your lube pad every tenth or so case makes it easier.
"...seems they need a special sizing die. At least the semi auto does..." Nope. FL sizing for any semi. Nothing special.
 
OK guys I'm all set. Seems the biggest problem was the nut on the end of the handle...me!
After some adjusting and relubing, I was so scared of over lubing as warned in many manuals, I was a little too sparing with the lube.
As I re-resize my brass and put a little more muscle into that final bit of travel I can feel them travel about another 1/64th or so and they now chamber easily!

I feel pretty dam stupid and I guess I should have tinkered at it a little more before posting.

Thank you
 
Don't be too hard on yourself; the only reason the rest of us know is that we have all had similar problems.
Trial and error is ok but it is also nice to get other opinions, albeit several conflicting ones.

Dan
 
Alleycat said:
Thanks for the reply Dan. Yes the shell holder in contacting the die. I have read where some have sanded a little of the top of the shell holder to allow the case to travel into the die further. As you mention it feels like it's not going into the die far enough. I'll have to play with it a little tonight...
Click to expand...

sunray said:
"...some have sanded..." That'd be people who don't know any better. It's a waste of time. Like Dan says, the bottom of the die should just kiss the top of the shell holder with the ram all the way up.
Click to expand...

How can you have over 16,000 posts and not understand we live in a plus and minus world? If you have a chamber near minimum headspace or the GO gauge and a resizing die on the plus side of this the shoulder of the case will not be bumped back far enough to properly chamber a round.

Go to SavageShooters.com and read the posts where people have changed their own barrel and set the headspace too tight and their resized rounds will not chamber.

Now go to AccurateShooter.com and read how knowledgeable competitive shooters either remove a few thousandths off the bottom of the die or the top of the shell holder for the same problem.

The reason I'm writing this is because I had a custom made .270 Winchester and my RCBS die would not push the shoulder back far enough. I contacted RCBS and they gave me two choices, send the die back with three fired cases "OR" lap the shell holder and remove .002 or .003. This was in 1976 and I didn't want to wait for RCBS to get the work done so I lapped the top of the shell holder because "I KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING".

Since your from Londinium I will show you the plus and minus world we live in with your .303 British cartridge.

Below a new unfired Remington case in a Wilson case gauge.



Below a fired case in the Wilson case gauge.



Sometimes answers in forums come up short of the facts and I shouldn't let it bother me..............
BUT your answer DID bother me because not all chambers are the same size and not all resizing dies are the same size................
We live in a plus and minus world and your answer came up short.
 
sunray said:
"...seems they need a special sizing die. At least the semi auto does..." Nope. FL sizing for any semi. Nothing special.
Click to expand...

I bought 500 once fired 5.56x45 Lake City military cases and some had been fired in a M249 machine gun with a larger diameter chamber. These cases were to be used in my two AR15 rifles and my bolt action .223 and they needed "special" attention. Below one of these cases is in a Wilson case gauge, the reason the case is sticking above the top of the gauge is because the base of the case is larger than the diameter of the SAAMI civilian gauge.



All 500 of these once fired cases military cases were resized with a small base die to bring them back to minimum factory dimensions. The small base die only made the base of the case .0005 smaller than a standard full length die, the major difference is the small base die sizes further down the case.

Sometimes you need to do something "special" to make things work in our plus and minus world when you know what your talking about on the subject.
 
Last edited:
Dan B said:
Sounds like the case needs to be sized more...
If there is resistance passing back over the expander the inside of the neck generally need more lube but that shouldn't affect the sizing.
Dan
Click to expand...
Dan B has you on the right track as do the other 17 or 18 posters too.
But, I will add just a bit more info for you to digest.
When seating the die into the press(before locking ring is secured) do you compress the shell holder a tad more or do you just allow the lip of die to touch the shell holder?
When I was reloading (RCBS Gear) I would let the die lip rest on the shell holder and then give another 1/16 of a turn on seating the die before securing the locking ring.
Test it by stroking the ram up and down a few times( no shells ) and watch the movement in the shell holder...
Does this make any sense?
Tight Groups,
Rob
 
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