When I fire a round, I can re chamber the case, when I neck size I can re chamber the case. When I seat the bullet, the bolt closes, but with resistance. The bullet is not touching the lands. What would cause this? I'm seating .243 70grain Nosler BT, using the Lee Neck Sizing Collet die. I also outside neck turned. Very accurate load, shoots well, just the bolt closes with some resistance.
Neck sizing question
- Thread starter ReloaderRick
- Start date
Chinbullco
Regular
- Location
- NW Alberta
Try chambering a cartridge after neck sizing with collet die. If it chambers without force its a bullet seating problem. Does a bullet drop through neck on fired cartridge? If not case necks are too thick. Check mandrill size on collet die, if its undersized replace die.
MIRAMICHIER
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Miramichi,Nb
You run into this problem when you neck size.The brass stretches after some many times being fired.I purchased a Wilson case gauge in .223 it tells you if the case needs trimming or it has to full resize by way of the case sticking out to far on the bottom of the case gauge.I had the same problem after neck sizing I tried the empty case in my Tikka T3 and the bolt was hard,I full resized my case and it chambered properly.This may be your problem or could be other factors involved.Read the other posts.
I like neck sizing, it skips the lube and cleaning the lube off. I still will have to full length size about every 3rd loading. Depending on caliber. I do have less bullet run out. Accuracy wise, I have yet to see a difference. Probably it's the shooter. Lol.
Rickster66
Regular
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
Even if you neck size, you may still need to "bump" the shoulder to allow it to chamber easily. Try adjusting the die downward 1/4 - 1/8 turns and test the chambering the empty brass until it feels "right". Neck sizing adjusts the diameter for optimal tension but also allows you to bump the shoulder down if needed.
According to post #1, the neck sized cases chamber just fine, there is no issue until a bullet is seated in the case. Therefore the shoulder should not need to be bumped back at all.
Rickster66
Regular
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
apologies, didn't see the first line (long day). seating die might be crushing shoulder slightly. I'd back out the seating die, eliminating any possible issues there, and focus on OAL only. other than that, primer depth but that should be an easy check and the cases may already be primed after sizing, depending on the reload process.
It doesn't appear that the die should be the issue. The die looks as though it may be set at any height on the press. The bullet seat adjustment, on the top of the die, determines the depth at which the bullet will be set. Unless you force the case past the bottom of the die and fully insert it into the die, which would be very difficult to do on a press.
The problem is that you will eventually need to bump the shoulder back, and you can't do that with a neck die. I normally have to push the shoulder back every three to five firings, depending on the cartridge, and load.
It's quite easy to set the seating die, so that it contacts the shoulder and bells it slightly. Quite often people that don't understand , can't figure out why their ammunition won't chamber, and the cause is the shoulder being distorted by an improperly adjusted seating die.
If you are one of those people that don't understand, place a fired case in the shellholder, drop the press handle down all the way, then thread your seating die down into the press until it encounters resistance. Then look to see if there is a gap between the shell holder and the seating die. If there is any gap at all, which there is with all of my dies, the seating die is bottomed on the shoulder of the case.
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The hotter the load the more often you'll be performing more sizing. I've got 8 firings through my brass with medium loads, 2520fps on a 178gr BTHP .308, and I haven;t had any issues. I'm planning on running a FLS on them soon however!
It also depends on how much resistance that you are willing to tolerate when chambering a round. I lam fussier with my big game loads, and when I do use a FL die or a body die, I only size the cases enough to make them chamber easily again. I pretty much partial resize everything, even with a FL or body die.
That is because all of your seating dies are roll crimp seaters. Not every die works this way. Lee dead length seating dies do not crimp and are adjusted to firmly contact the shellholder. They will not cause a bulge in the neck. Forster BR seating dies are another example. There are many others. However the OP mentioned a lot that is being needlessly addressed like shoulder bumping and over crimping. Rounds are not being crimped and brass chambers freely after sizing. Resistance occurs after bullet seating. With 1 thou neck tension and no crimp there wouldn't be much resistance from jamming the bullet. I believe Chinbullco has the real questio to be answered: are case necks too thick?
Slight resistance won't hurt anything, but it's best to eliminate the problem. Start by readjusting your seating die, so the die doesn't touch the case shoulder when you thread the die into the press, with a fired case in the shell holder, and the press handle down all the way.
