Necking Down Remington .243 Win Brass

Azazle

Azazle

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
Location
Southern Saskatchewan
I picked up some Remington brass to load up for my Middlestead about a week ago. When I run it through my FL sizer die I'm crushing the body just below the body/shoulder junction. Has anyone else tried to neck down Remington brass and had the same problem? Is the brass to thin near the top to bump the shoulder without crushing the body?

I was just hoping to use something cheaper than my Lapua brass so I don't spend as much time digging through the snow to police my brass...
 
Arre you trying without the decapping rod? It is possible that the brass is thick enough that when it is sized down you are forcing it on the decapping rod.
Otherwise, hard to see what is wrong (pictures?). .243 to .224 is not that big of a step, as I have done .308-.243 in one step.
 
Try pulling everything out of your die then run the 243 brass in it a little at a time. That should get you necked down to the right size without messing up the brass. Kind of like using a form die.
 
I pulled the decapping pin out and watched from above as I ran a piece of brass. After the neck comes through the sizer die, it appears the shoulder stops at the shoulder/neck junction. When I finish the stroke on the press instead of setting the shoulder to a 30 degree angle it just crushes the body below the body/shoulder junction. I won't be able to post pics until I get home again.
 
Sounds to me like you need more lube. The friction is great enough that it instead of the shoulder being pushed in to make the 30 degrees, the case is buckling. Try some more lube and see what happens
 
I've never messed with the Middlestead but I think you will need to fireform to get the shoulder angle. Try just sizing down to the base of the neck and see if it fits in the rifle. I'd then seat a bullet in the empty brass and see if that fits. My guess is that at some stage you may have to outside neck size as they may be too thick. If the dummy round fits then I'd load a couple cases and fireform and see what you get.
 
That a .22-243 Middlestead? You trying to neck it down in one step? 20 thou may be too much in one step. Although the FL sizer may be down too far. The neck likely is too thick as well.
 
Sounds to me like you need more lube.
Click to expand...

I tried using different amounts of lube. First one was minimal, second was what I normally use and third brass was more than enough. I am also using graphite on the necks.

Try just sizing down to the base of the neck and see if it fits in the rifle.
Click to expand...
That a .22-243 Middlestead? You trying to neck it down in one step? 20 thou may be too much in one step. Although the FL sizer may be down too far. The neck likely is too thick as well.
Click to expand...

The brass will not chamber if I only size the neck. The reamer used leaves the body/shoulder junction the same as the factory .243 win but bumps the shoulder/neck junction downward giving me a 30 degree shoulder. It also lengthens the neck in the process. I have ran Lapua brass through the same die and outside neck turned in order to make them chamber, and they work fine. I just wanted to do the same process with the Remington brass so that when I dump them in the snow over winter I'm not so hard pressed to dig for them.
 
Azazle said:
I tried using different amounts of lube. First one was minimal, second was what I normally use and third brass was more than enough. I am also using graphite on the necks.




The brass will not chamber if I only size the neck. The reamer used leaves the body/shoulder junction the same as the factory .243 win but bumps the shoulder/neck junction downward giving me a 30 degree shoulder. It also lengthens the neck in the process. I have ran Lapua brass through the same die and outside neck turned in order to make them chamber, and they work fine. I just wanted to do the same process with the Remington brass so that when I dump them in the snow over winter I'm not so hard pressed to dig for them.
Click to expand...

I think you're right the rp brass is soft so it gives in unlike the lapua....I would try Winchester for a cheap alternative to lapua.
 
I don't mind shelling out to buy the Lapua brass, but it's painful to lose them in the snow especially after all that prep work. If the Win brass is heavier case walled near the shoulder it should work well. I thought about using Nosler Custom as well but it's not much cheaper than the Lapua.
 
I talked to a buddy who's shot a lot through his Middlesteads and said that he had the same problem with Winchester brass. The safest bet is to use Nosler Custom or Lapua and just accept the fact that you're going to lose a few pieces..
 
I got the forming dies from Redding, along with competition bushing and seater dies, plus a FL set. They sent detailed directions on how to use the forming dies,and how to modify the dies by running a chambering reamer through the soft liner.The result was that I could carefully and consistently crush nearly every case that I ran through them.:rolleyes:
In frustration I just tried the full-length die in one pass. Turns out, the low tech approach worked everytime. Go figger.

For what it's worth, I use Norma brass. I also tried some Winchester for fun.
 
I was contemplating ordering a forming die after I crushed my second piece of brass... Now I'm really not...

I was told that if you size in stages with the Winchester/Remington brass it can be done with a minimal ripple below the shoulder on the body.
 
What variation of the Middlestead do you guys shoot? I know there's a few out there so here's a copy of what mine looks like.

MyReamer.jpg


Another variation on the case leaves the shoulder/neck junction in tact and blows the shoulder forward to increase case capacity and leave the standard length neck..

BrandensReamer.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom