303 reloading
- Thread starter Kirk1701
- Start date
Is this reparable? Or have these cases had it?
Mean Steak
CGN Regular
- Location
- Central Alberta
If it were me I would fire form them as long as they chamber easy. Oh and ease up on the lube and clean out your die. LOL
Cheers
Cheers
There is a tiny hole drilled through FL size dies to bleed off trapped air as the case is forced in.
It is located in the upper portion of the threaded shank, through the threads.
Very hard to see/find!.
They'll be fine. The dent will disappear on firing.
.
If you have the sizing die just touching the shell holder, you are full length sizing the cases. This puts a lot of stretching on the cases and your brass will not last very long. It will also cause the brass to seperate, and you will get a broken case stuck in the chamber.
Most of us who shoot .303 keep our cases segregated for individual rifles, and we neck size our cases only. This gives a minimum working of the brass and the cases last MUCH longer. Try your cases in your rifle, and if they fit, then do not full length size them.
What you have on your cases is a typical "lube dent" where excess lubricant inside your sizing die is forced up against the walls of the die and has no place to go, except to the weaker brass case. As mentioned, clean out the inside of the resizing die, then lubricate sparingly. Use a proper reloading sizing lubricant, not oil, or other compounds.
If you have the sizing die just touching the shell holder, you are full length sizing the cases. This puts a lot of stretching on the cases and your brass will not last very long. It will also cause the brass to seperate, and you will get a broken case stuck in the chamber.
Most of us who shoot .303 keep our cases segregated for individual rifles, and we neck size our cases only. This gives a minimum working of the brass and the cases last MUCH longer. Try your cases in your rifle, and if they fit, then do not full length size them.
What you have on your cases is a typical "lube dent" where excess lubricant inside your sizing die is forced up against the walls of the die and has no place to go, except to the weaker brass case. As mentioned, clean out the inside of the resizing die, then lubricate sparingly. Use a proper reloading sizing lubricant, not oil, or other compounds.
Alright, where should the die stop to just neck size?
I'm using the Lee reloading lubricant, but likely far too much. I've never had to use any before, since my other dies are carbide.
To neck size, there should be about 1/10 inch space. Go to a auto parts store, or a farm supplier and get a BRASS spacer washer, about 100 thousands of an inch thick with a 7/8 inch hole in it. Simply put it on the threaded portion of the die, and screw the die into the press. That way, it lifts the die up to provide a bit of space and you can neck size easily. When you get some range pick up brass or brass that will not fit into your chamber, you take off the washer and screw down the sizing die to full length resize. This way, you do not have to change the ring up or down, but merely use the washer of do not use the washer depending upon what type of sizing you wish to do.
Also, military .303 rifles are usually generous with their headspace. You can put a small rubber "O" ring on a brass case just ahead of the rim, close the bolt and fire the round. The rubber "O" ring will keep the rim back against the face of the bolt, and when the case expands to fill YOUR CHAMBER, you then have cases that are perfectly formed to fit YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIFLE and these cases will headspace against the shoulders of YOUR chamber. You can then neck size only enough to hold the bullet in place.
LEE sizing lubricant is a good one to use. But, use it sparingly - just a small dab then rotate the case while holding your fingers on it to spread it around. A ery thin film is all you need. This LEE lubricant is actually a lubricant that the metal industry uses to form metal parts with and not give a lot of friction.
Also, military .303 rifles are usually generous with their headspace. You can put a small rubber "O" ring on a brass case just ahead of the rim, close the bolt and fire the round. The rubber "O" ring will keep the rim back against the face of the bolt, and when the case expands to fill YOUR CHAMBER, you then have cases that are perfectly formed to fit YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIFLE and these cases will headspace against the shoulders of YOUR chamber. You can then neck size only enough to hold the bullet in place.
LEE sizing lubricant is a good one to use. But, use it sparingly - just a small dab then rotate the case while holding your fingers on it to spread it around. A ery thin film is all you need. This LEE lubricant is actually a lubricant that the metal industry uses to form metal parts with and not give a lot of friction.
Excellent advice. Will report upon success.
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I use the Lee lube on my cast boolits, but use Redding case lube for my brass.
This stuff is amazing. A tiny bit on the finger, then rotate smear onto the case &
the ease of resizing is a lot better.
A little bit worked into a Q-Tip is ideal for lubing the inside of the case neck to
ensure the expander don't drag when you pull the press lever back up.
This stuff is amazing. A tiny bit on the finger, then rotate smear onto the case &
the ease of resizing is a lot better.
A little bit worked into a Q-Tip is ideal for lubing the inside of the case neck to
ensure the expander don't drag when you pull the press lever back up.
I use Dillion lube from a mist / spray type bottle. Stand the brass up in the rack ( all together of course) and give it a shot from above & off to the side...say 45 degrees looking down. Give it a shot from all 4 sides and proceed.
It's worked well for me.
Good luck.
Oh and if you are running low on projectiles and want to continue; try a faster powder and 7.62 X 39 ( and 54R I suppose) bullets ripped out of crap FSU surplus. Ad-hoc coyote load in our clan, fmj's don't require as much stitching on the hides.
It's worked well for me.
Good luck.
Oh and if you are running low on projectiles and want to continue; try a faster powder and 7.62 X 39 ( and 54R I suppose) bullets ripped out of crap FSU surplus. Ad-hoc coyote load in our clan, fmj's don't require as much stitching on the hides.
Below is a British .303 cartridge resting on its shoulder in a Wilson case gauge, the amount the case is sticking above the top of the gauge is how much longer the military chamber is. If you full length resize your cases you will push the shoulder back at least this much and you will end up with case head separations. I'm not a international money expert but I think if you use a Canadian Nickle (five cent piece) as a spacer between the shell holder and the resizing die the gap should be enough to prevent pushing the shoulder back. If your unsure just add a one cent piece on top of the Nickle. (don't be afraid to spend a little money to fix the problem)
When you neck size only the .303 case will headspace on the shoulder of the case and not the rim. By doing this the base of the case will be held against the bolt face and the case will not stretch.
When the case gets hard to chamber you can use a .303 case forming die as a shoulder bump die and just push the shoulder back .001 or .002.
Below is a case forming die and my finger is keeping the fired case from falling out of the die. Meaning this die will only touch the shoulder of the case and not size the body of the case or the neck.
When you neck size only the .303 case will headspace on the shoulder of the case and not the rim. By doing this the base of the case will be held against the bolt face and the case will not stretch.
When the case gets hard to chamber you can use a .303 case forming die as a shoulder bump die and just push the shoulder back .001 or .002.
Below is a case forming die and my finger is keeping the fired case from falling out of the die. Meaning this die will only touch the shoulder of the case and not size the body of the case or the neck.
ipscgraz
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
All good advice given, but back to your original question, you may find that some of the cases crack right above where the dent was. I had this problem on a 7X57 a few times when I was starting off.
All you can do is fire them and see how lucky you are; no big deal.
All you can do is fire them and see how lucky you are; no big deal.
lots of good advice in the replies.
1) lee collect dies resize the neck only so the brass will last longer.
http://leeprecision.com/collet-dies-303b.html
2) i shoot 303 with cast 185 gn and load them individually using this kit
http://leeprecision.com/lee-loader-303-british.html
the brass lasts a very long time when reloaded this way using either method
1) lee collect dies resize the neck only so the brass will last longer.
http://leeprecision.com/collet-dies-303b.html
2) i shoot 303 with cast 185 gn and load them individually using this kit
http://leeprecision.com/lee-loader-303-british.html
the brass lasts a very long time when reloaded this way using either method
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All very sound advice here.
Using the above method I'm on 15-16 firings on a single lot of federal brass. Might I add that Federal .303 brass IMHO is far from Mil spec and is usually the first to get head separations when FL sized repeatedly.
As for lube I really love the Lee case lube but if I'm doing several hundred rounds in a day I now use RCBS case lube that is sprayed on.
Using the above method I'm on 15-16 firings on a single lot of federal brass. Might I add that Federal .303 brass IMHO is far from Mil spec and is usually the first to get head separations when FL sized repeatedly.
As for lube I really love the Lee case lube but if I'm doing several hundred rounds in a day I now use RCBS case lube that is sprayed on.
i have been lucky enough to get several thousand once fired ww2 303 brass with 42/43/44 dated headstamps in the early 90's and have been using that over the last 20 years. just reload and reload and reload the same batch of 50 brass by neck sizing untll a ring shows on the casings, throw them out, and then move on to the next 50.
Below is a British .303 cartridge resting on its shoulder in a Wilson case gauge, the amount the case is sticking above the top of the gauge is how much longer the military chamber is. If you full length resize your cases you will push the shoulder back at least this much and you will end up with case head separations. I'm not a international money expert but I think if you use a Canadian Nickle (five cent piece) as a spacer between the shell holder and the resizing die the gap should be enough to prevent pushing the shoulder back. If your unsure just add a one cent piece on top of the Nickle. (don't be afraid to spend a little money to fix the problem)
a solution that makes cents
