over pressure and no idea why? need help
- Thread starter tylerbeck
- Start date
No it hasn’t. The problem still exists, whatever it is. You have just pushed it forward about 5 reloads, just like Jerry said...
I get between 18 (PPU 300WM and Hornady 6.5CM) to around 23 (Lapua 6.5CM and Lapua .308Win [LRP, not Palma]), and 30 reloads (PPU and Lapua .223Rem). Once I find a load my rifle likes I stay with it. I never shoot hot loads, in my opinion it just wastes the barrel, the brass, and powder. I keep track of full length sizing, trimming, neck sizing, and shoulder bumping, keeping 50 or 100 round lots of brass together from first to last reload. I cull all 50 or 100 brass when it starts to show significant signs of primer pocket loosening.
I never anneal. My brass always seems to die from loose primer pockets and annealing doesn't do a thing to help that. I trim to length then neck turn around the second or third reload once the brass is fully fireformed to my chamber. I neck size & shoulder bump every reload once I have turned the necks. I full length body size every third to fifth reload prior to neck sizing. The brass tells me when it needs it by getting a tiny bit tight to extract or some light stiffness in bolt lift. I check to see if the brass requires trimming after full length resizing. Yes, the brass of the neck hardens over time but I just drop down a neck bushing size to compensate for the springback, usually twice during the lifetime of the brass. I removed the expander balls from the dies I use regularly.
edit ---> That is my routine. I forgot to mention that I use the Lee collet neck die for the first couple of reloads before I turn the necks. There is absolutely no reason you could not continue to use such instead of going through all the steps I do, never mind the cost involved in setting up my press with all the relevant dies to do so. You can make perfectly good rifle ammo with a Lee die set consisting of the Lee full length sizer/decapper, the Lee neck collet die, and the Lee seating die. You will need to trim the brass to length at some point though and it is probably around reload #4 or #5 . . .
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You should be able to get at least 10 firings from Lapua 6.5 brass. Even up to 15 firings or more possibly.
Neck wall thickness has been mentioned a few times but you have not responed to that unless I missed it. It's a known fact Lapua brass is thick and can cause your issue.
Have you done any measurements or tried sliding a bullet into a fired case yet to check clearance? You're question may have been answered on page 1 a few days ago.
Also, measure the outside neck diameter with a loaded round seated into the case. Then measure a fired case outside neck diameter. See what the difference is to get an idea of adequate neck clearance in the chamber.
Doing the same measurements on your old brass you have had problems with will really help narrow down what is happening.
That's exactly what you need to do next...
Neck wall thickness has been mentioned a few times but you have not responed to that unless I missed it. It's a known fact Lapua brass is thick and can cause your issue.
Have you done any measurements or tried sliding a bullet into a fired case yet to check clearance? You're question may have been answered on page 1 a few days ago.
Also, measure the outside neck diameter with a loaded round seated into the case. Then measure a fired case outside neck diameter. See what the difference is to get an idea of adequate neck clearance in the chamber.
Doing the same measurements on your old brass you have had problems with will really help narrow down what is happening.
That's exactly what you need to do next...
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I have tried sliding a bullet in, and real issue. I get a tiny bit of friction, but nothing much. Its about the same as the new brass.
I dont have a neck thickness gage, but just measuring loaded rounds as you suggest Im getting about 14 thou on my neck thickness.
All are measuring 1.912-1.914 in length.
Same as new brass? New brass is always as small as it will ever be. I have never seen new brass, at least for the calibers I reload, and that is quite a few, ever let a properly sized bullet slide into the case; never, ever. Neck tension as always pretty high with new brass indicating how small it is. Some people actually use an expander ball or mandrel on it to get it to 0.002" instead of the 0.004" or more undersize for the bullet before they load it up for the first time. I don't bother as long as it hasn't been dented out of round visually. First few reloads are basically fire-forming to my chamber anyway.
So, what does that mean for you? If your bullets are dropping right inside brand new never fired brass, there is very likely something wrong with the bullets!
If the bullet doesn't freely drop into your FIRED brass, you then have a chamber that has a tight neck - assuming it (chamber) is not caked with crud (that can be removed with cleaning), or rust, and is truly cut 'tight', then you may need to trim the necks of the brass.
If you clean the chamber, make SURE you get any/all of the oil/grease out of the chamber!!!
If you clean the chamber, make SURE you get any/all of the oil/grease out of the chamber!!!
