Thanks for your informative answer
Do dies really wear out?
- Thread starter Craig0ry
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Thanks for your informative answer
you will still need to full length resize every few reloads as the brass will slowly stretch
Yea bought it brand new from wholesale when they were new and I was suckered in, But its been a great rifle so far, starting to reach out to the 1000m mark, upgrades include a trigger 20moa rail and a dbm kit, Despite some bad reviews I quite like it.
Craig, from your original question, it is apparent that you do not own a reloading manual. I checked ALL of the manuals I own, and each one gives the same instructions regarding setting up the die for full length resizing. It would have been in the instructions that came with your dies as well, but I see you bought them used.
Buy once, cry once. You get what you paid for, and you got a bunch of heart ache trying to learn how to full length re-size 'cause you didn't buy new, c/w instructions. Saved a few bucks, but ruined a few nights frustration trying to figure out what the manufacturer told the original buyer. Oh, and get a manual. Or, read the one you have. As you can see from all of the off-base responses you got to your simple problem, the wondernet is no source for critical info!
Buy once, cry once. You get what you paid for, and you got a bunch of heart ache trying to learn how to full length re-size 'cause you didn't buy new, c/w instructions. Saved a few bucks, but ruined a few nights frustration trying to figure out what the manufacturer told the original buyer. Oh, and get a manual. Or, read the one you have. As you can see from all of the off-base responses you got to your simple problem, the wondernet is no source for critical info!
My answer is : No.
What's the issue? No, dies dont "wear out" unless you are a commercial ammo factory or something (and even then).
If they still dont fit, then headspace is too long. Reduce accordingly with a gauge.
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When you neck size your cartridges, its not a bad idea to run them through your action to ensure they'll chamber without resistance, meaning your should not have to fight the bolt to chamber the cartridge. Should a cartridge not chamber easily, you'll know you have to full length resize. Should an empty cartridge chamber easily, but resist chambering a loaded round, check to ensure your bullet is seated deeply enough; this is not an issue of overall cartridge length, but the length from the base of the cartridge to the ogive of the bullet. Should you discover that a loaded round does not chamber, even with the bullet seated correctly, you can either pull the bullet, and dump the powder, then full length resize the case, or you can get a Redding body die which will allow you to bump back the shoulder of a loaded round. Apparently an RCBS trim die will do likewise.
The more I learn about reloading the more sense this fella makes 
He's also the reason I bought a headspace gauge!!
He's also the reason I bought a headspace gauge!!The majority of military 7.62 ammunition is fired in machine guns, these machine guns have chambers at least .002 larger in diameter and much longer headspace settings than commercial SAAMI chambers.
When you fire a cartridge case the chamber pressure causes the brass cartridge case to stretch to the chamber dimensions. As the bullet exits the barrel the chamber pressure dorps to zero and the case tries to spring back to its original dimensions. The now smaller case exits the chamber and is slightly larger than before it was fired.
When the case is full length resized the brass is compressed to factory dimensions "inside the die" and when the case is removed from the die the brass can spring back larger (fatter and longer) than the internal dimensions of the resizing die (brass spring back or memory)
When I buy "ANY" once fired military 5.56 or 7.62 I resize it the first time with a small base die to bring the case back to "minimum" factory dimensions. This is because the are fired in longer and fatter chambers and the brass has a memory and wants to spring back to its original size.
This is why they make micrometers and vernier calipers and people can measure their fired cases and their resized cases and see what they are doing.
I have a bolt action .223 and two AR15 rifles and the headspacing setting are not the same with the AR15s having longer headspace settings. I have a Lee .223 die that if the die is set up to make hard contact with the shell holder and cam over it will make the cases .010 shorter than their fired length. This is over resizing these cases and why they make case gauges, below is the best gauge going. With just one Hornady cartridge case headspace gauge you can measure every caliber cartridge you have.
You simply measure your fired length and bump the shoulder .001 to .002 for a bolt action and .003 to .004 for a semiauto. You do not follow the dies directions for this and you start high and work down to get the correct shoulder bump. At a minimum a full length resizing die that cams over will make your cases .002 shorter than the GO gauge or minimum headspace. This resized cartridge case headspace length will vary with each die and shell holder so die setup is critical for longer case life and preventing case head separations.
OP, you state in your post that your dies are RCBS SB dies, you do not need SB dies for your 700 and will be working the brass excessively. You say you have bought a neck die, which is good but you also buy a normal FL sizing die and save the SB for semi autos or sell it to someone who needs it. You will suffer accuracy problems if you use a SB die all the time, as this makes the brass actually smaller in the web than SAAMI min spec and to facilitate chambering in rifles with very low camming power like semis and pumps etc. How ever it does make the cartridge quite sloppy in the chamber and isn't conducive to the finest accuracy.
The OP is reloading once fired 7.62 NATO cases to shoot in his Remington 700, this means he needs his small base dies to resize these military cases fired in a M14 or a machine gun with a much larger chamber. After resizing once with a small base die he then can use a standard full length resizing die.
A military M14 has a chamber diameter .002 larger than a civilian SAAMI .308 chamber, and a machine gun has a chamber even larger in diemeter than the M14 rifle. Resizing military 7.62 brass fired in a military chamber will try and "spring back" to its fired size and unless a small base die is used the cartridge may not fit in a smaller SAAMI chamber.
I have small base dies for the 5.56 and 7.62 once fired brass to return them to minimum SAAMI dimensions. Normally after firing these cases in a civilian SAAMI chamber a standard full length die can be used after using the small base die the first time. A small base die will only make the cases the same diameter as a new unfired cartridge case.
Again my small base dies only make the case .0005 (1/2 thousandths) smaller in diameter but size further down the case than a normal full length resizing die.
Bottom line any once fired military brass should be resized "once" with a small base die to return the case to "normal" civilian SAAMI diameter.
Sorry, but I don't agree.
Regardless of the size of the chamber originally fired in, a die will reduce the case to the proper size. A SB die might be required for, eg. a semi-auto rifle, but for a quality bolt-action such as the OP has, there is simply no need. Frankly, I must agree with c-fbmi when he says that a SB will only work the brass to no end.
Regardless of the size of the chamber originally fired in, a die will reduce the case to the proper size. A SB die might be required for, eg. a semi-auto rifle, but for a quality bolt-action such as the OP has, there is simply no need. Frankly, I must agree with c-fbmi when he says that a SB will only work the brass to no end.
Then you need to study more about brass "spring back" and how military cartridge cases are made. Small base dies are designed for oversized chambers to compensate for the case springing back after sizing. On top of this military cases are made of higher quality and harder brass.
I have been reloading for over 46 years and never need small base dies until buying once fired military brass. And the chances are the 7.62 cartridges were fired in a machine gun with a much larger chamber. "IF" these cases were originally fired in a smaller SAAMI commercial chamber you would be correct and standard dies would be enough.
The M14 chamber is .0025 larger in diameter than a standard SAAMI chamber and a machine gun chamber is larger in diameter than the M14 rifle. You have to compensate for brass spring back for cases fired in larger diameter chambers.
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Over the years I too have reloaded a great deal of reclaimed military brass, and at one time I also thought small base dies would be an advantage . . . they weren't. At the time I was was converting 5.56X45 brass (of which I had sandbags full) to .222 and was having trouble getting the resized brass to easily chamber in my .222 M-700 Remington. Using a small base die did not solve my problem, but reducing the thickness of my shell holder did. So today I limit my use of small base dies to resizing brass for semi-auto rifles.
This thread was answered in posts 7&8. Yours was post 20. Obviously did not read that far in your haste to get that post count up.
See above. Already solved before your vast store of knowledge was needed.
BAH-HAHAHAHAHA.... SUNRAY, JR. LMAO!!!
Then you need to study more about brass "spring back" and how military cartridge cases are made. Small base dies are designed for oversized chambers to compensate for the case springing back after sizing. On top of this military cases are made of higher quality and harder brass.
I have been reloading for over 46 years and never need small base dies until buying once fired military brass. And the chances are the 7.62 cartridges were fired in a machine gun with a much larger chamber. "IF" these cases were originally fired in a smaller SAAMI commercial chamber you would be correct and standard dies would be enough.
The M14 chamber is .0025 larger in diameter than a standard SAAMI chamber and a machine gun chamber is larger in diameter than the M14 rifle. You have to compensate for brass spring back for cases fired in larger diameter chambers.
Sorry, Ed. I gotta go with Atom, Boomer, and c-fbmi. I, too, have reloaded more than my share of re-claimed military brass. All of it fired from an FN C2 or a C6, GPMG. I do not even HAVE any SB dies. I have never had a problem reloading for either of my civilian SAAMI-chambered rifles.
