Do you crimp for your semi .223?
- Thread starter Brianma65
- Start date
And there is your problem. Precision reloading is all about consistency, and mixing your brass ensures that you won't have that consistency. The wall thickness of the case neck varies from brand to brand, and even among different batches of the same brand. If the case wall thickness is greater, the ID of the sized case neck will be less, and there will be more of an interference fit between the bullet and the case neck. If the case necks are thinner, then there will be less interference between the bullet and the case neck, and the neck tension may be inadequate, resulting in the bullet being loose in the case.
I'll do some resizing tomorrow , separating the cases, by name and lenght. The winchester cases , which are once fired, are rough looking. As a matter of fact they were rough looking when I bought the cartridges new. Win 45g ,50 rnd economy pks,they were cheap.
ok I made a mistake and thought it was the Rem brass that was the problem. Now I see it is the Win brass. not surprizing as I have that lots of guys have been having isuues with it lately. And yes you should only load one type of brass at a time. A load that might be fine in one brand of brass may be over preasure in another brand of brass.
Do yourself a favor. Measure the OD of the case necks of a few sized cases, and then seat the bullets and measure the OD of the case necks again with a bullets seated. You should see a difference of at least .002" for general usage.
LOL. You guys think crimping for an Auto is a waist of time, yet you are seriously suggesting this guy separate his brass by lot number? Have you read the title to the thread?
I swear, F-Classers are like Torontonians - they think the sun rises and sets out their a$$.
Do a favour for the guy coming behind you with the same question.....Don't edit out your post, and ask for the thread to be removed. If you got an answer, someone else likely will have the same question next week.
The simple fact that some of his loads have insufficient neck tension makes it obvious that he has a problem that needs to be resolved. I would simply separate the cases by brand, and if necessary cull the cases with thin necks, rather than ignoring the real problem, and using a band aid fix like crimping. And yes ,I did read the title of the thread. I shoot an ACR in 223 myself, and I have no need to crimp the loads, which are producing 1-1/4 moa for five shot groups.
Hey every one who replyed, I closed this thread by mistake, as I had 3 threads going at once. There's good advice here for me and others , so I wanted to keep this one open. Regards to the crimp or not, I'm new , so I'll base my opinion on what you guys have said and what I've read from my research. I think you shouldn't have to crimp, and my issue is either the brass or an adjustment with my die. I'm going to sort my brass and resize , to all the same lenght. Also there's a test , where you load 3or4 dummy rounds , chamber a couple , then measure the third rnd, to see if there's any setback.
The case length isn't the issue, and chambering a round really doesn't prove much. You would be wise to do as my previous post suggested, and measure the OD of the necks of some sized cases, and then compare them to the OD of the necks of the same cases with bullets seated. That will tell you if you have enough neck tension. You are going to need a difference of at least .002".
A .003" variation in sized neck ODs is way more than there should be. The neck ODs with bullets seated often vary, but the neck ODs of sized cases should be almost the same.
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After resizing and trimming to same lenght:Rem OD 244-245 Win OD 244-245. Hornady OD 246-247.. All. ID is 218-219. I'll seat some projectiles, in awhile, and remeasure. It seems that after trimming to same lenght, the brass was more consistent. And maybe it's just my caliper, it's a bit touchy.
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The fact that you are seeing different measurements after sizing, makes me wonder about the accuracy of your measurements. That lack of accuracy, may render the entire process meaningless.
I would have said 3 thou.
Does your sizing die allow you to take the button off? This would give you maximum neck tension, and would not hurt.
One thing you could do is size as normal, and then run all the brass through the sizer again, with the decapping rod and button removed.
The only time I have had the problem you describe is when the sizing die had worn out in the neck.
FWIW, since I load ball powder in 223, I use a lot of neck tension plus a firm Lee factory crimp to help guarantee 100% ignition and to prevent the bullets getting set back into the case.
