Clearing Live Rounds...

[ThePunisher]

I have just taken up reloading, and I am using a Lee Challenger press kit. I currently am reloading .223, using 24.5grains of IMR4895. My bullets are Hornady 53 grain HP match, and I am using CCI small rifle primers. So far, I have loaded about 100 rounds, and my COL is 2.20" (as per the guideline, and I have been trimming my brass to 1.75"-1.76" after resizing and depriming). I have chamfered both the inside and outside of the mouth, and I also gave it a quick shot with steel wool. All my brass has also been through a tumbler prior to depriming.

I have had zero problems with my rounds - they cycle my AR perfectly, have pretty decent accuracy, and I have had no stoppages, no FTF's and no FTE's. However, I have noticed once or twice that when I clear the rifle with a round in the chamber, it can be very hard to pull the bolt back. It can be done, but considerable force is required. What would cause this? I must admit, this has only happened with some of my first rounds I loaded, and I did not use steel wool to clean this brass, and I did notice there was a little bit of black residue on the neck of the cartridge. With factory ammo, I have never had an issue clearing rounds.

Oh yeah, the AR is an 11.5" regular profile barrel with an M16 BCG sitting in a keyhole forge flattop upper. Any thoughts?

 

[zthou]

Are you using small base dies? If the bolt closes on a resized cartridge without failure I don't think you have too much to worry about.

 

[ThePunisher]

I am using Lee Pacesetter .223 dies - not sure how to tell if they are small base dies?? I have never had any issues with the bolt closing on my resized brass - just the odd time it was hard ejecting a chambered (but unfired) live round.

 

[tgt40]

Small base dies are a must - they'll be marked 'small base' or SB sometimes............. how does a fired case feed and extract?

 

[tgt40]

Oh, and from Lee's website:


Small Base die explanation

If you have the Lee Pacesetter die set with a full length-sizing die, you shouldn't need a small base die. Other manufacturers make small base dies on the premise that semi-autos require cases sized to the minimum allowable case dimension for reliable feeding, but in reality most semi-autos have chambers cut on the large side for that same purpose. The result is overworked brass and shortened case life. If you have any chambering problems with ammunition that has been sized with a Lee full length sizing die, return the die and a couple fired cases to the factory for free adjustment.

Our address is;

Lee Precision Inc,
4275 Hwy. U,
Hartford, WI 53027."

 

[ThePunisher]

Small base dies are a must - they'll be marked 'small base' or SB sometimes............. how does a fired case feed and extract?

No problems at all - out of 60 rounds fired, no problems feeding or extracting. I only noticed this issue when I cleared a live round (we had stopped shooting, and I had to show safe - had a hard time moving the bolt).

 

[Suputin]

It could be a headspace issue. Have you measured the headspace of a fired case and compared it to a sized case?