223 Reloading

someone mentioned crimping as causing shoulder buldge. I did this when using a taper crimp die. Once I figured out what the issue was, I ditched those cases, and went to a Lee factory crimp die. Power trimmer is a must.
And as someone else mentioned.. with all the time invested in case prep, I too have wondered if reloading .223 is worth my time.
 
OP, with your feedding issue/extraction, you can start by resetting your sizing die, but first get yourself a Gauge- Hornaday Head Space Gauge and or Sinclair Headspace gauge, these gauges will give you the NUMBERS you need to shoulder bump your fired case.
Measured at least 5 Fired Cases ( fired from your rifle)and take the Average.For a gas gun, the recommended shoulder bump .003"-.006, for bolt action-..001-.002.
I am sure you can goggle ( 223 rem resizing, shoulder bump) this topic and how to use these gauges.
I am using both gauges and they are not expensive, you might as well get the Sinclair Overall LENGHTgaige which allow you to measure FROM the OGIVE of the bullet rather than the tip.
A short cut, measure the factory ammo that your been using which are 100% reliable, resize and bump your shoulder as the same as the factory round.
Although most of the ammo are sized to the max(shoulder) you can start from there . Just remember too much bump is not recommended, it means to much headspace, head case separation is something to consider.
 
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I miked the bases of some Federal cases before and after sizing ....

Both were between .373" and .375". The Speer book says the spec for that measurement is .3759". No worries .....
 
Just thought I'd update this thread as I finally got a chance to look at it this weekend.

I lowered the sizing die down further, resized the cases. Checked again for proper length and seated the projectile. Same case length of 1.750 and same OAL of 2.260. Round now ejects no problem. The OAL is "just" enough to fit in a PMag, so I'll probably end up shortening slightly. Glad to know I just needed to tweak one die though. FYI these are Dillon dies on a 650XL.
 
We live in a plus or minus manufacturing world, meaning not all dies of the same caliber will size your cases exactly the same when set up the same way. When reloading for semi-autos I would highly advise getting the Hornady Cartridge Case Headspace gauge.

Below a fired case from my AR15 and my Hornady gauge.

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Below the same case full length resized with .003 shoulder bump.

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Below on the right is a standard RCBS shell holder, on the left is a competition shell holder that sizes and pushes the shoulder back .004 less than the standard RCBS shell holder. There are five shell holders in this set of competition shell holders and allows me to adjust the shoulder bump from plus .002 to .010 "without" touching the resizing die. I have been reloading for over 46 years with the same RCBS Rockchucker press with it reaching "camover" or "HARD" contact with the shell holder with "NO" ill effects to this press.

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Below is a illustration of what happens during sizing, as you can see it is possible to make the case "longer" than its fired length, and also much shorter. Look at the red, blue and green dotted lines and the location of the cases shoulder. This is the "control" you have when adjusting your dies for shoulder setback and "HOW" the case fits your chamber.

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I have two AR15 rifles and a Savage .223 bolt action and each chamber and die set is different and requires adjusting for each rifle. I only use the small base die when I buy once fired or range pickup brass to return the brass to minimum dimensions. Thereafter a standard die is used for my AR15 rifles, it is important to remember the military type chambers are .002 larger in diameter which makes the standard .223 die a "small base die".

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Since I got a 223 case gauge I've never looked back.

I used to wing it and never had any issues, but now I setup the Dillon to size and trim on round 1 (checked with case gauge), then I give er hell. I can prep some serious in-spec ammo.

But yeah to answer your question get a good case gauge and set your dies to make the right size brass. Done deal.
 
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