Problem resizing - help wanted from people who reload 300 wsm

VinnyQC

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So here's the deal: I bought a lot of once-fired brass (actually Nickel, some FC but most are Winchester) for my rifle on the EE (Tikka T3 - 300WSM). I resized 50 of them using my Lee FL sizing die, but now they don't fit in the chamber. On some of them, I can't close the bolt at all, on some others I can close the bolt, but it's very difficult. Factory ammos and snap caps are totally fine.

First culprit was the OAL, so I pushed the bullet further, until it made no sense. Then I just pushed the bullet all the way in the case(bullet was seated in a case without powder or primer so wasn't a problem), so I was actually trying to load a casing at that point. Still impossible to close the bolt.

Then I thought I had not trimmed them short enough, so I re-trimmed a few of them to 2.090 (trim-to-length is 2.090, and max trim length is 2.100). Still wouldn't fit. So I trimmed one of them to a complete nonsense of 1.97, and it still wouldn't fit. But at least at this point it's 100% clear that nether the OAL or the trim length are the problem.

At this point I was almost completely out of ideas, so I just used a blue marker and I completely painted one of the casing that would let the bolt close if I forced it, and see where the paint would chip. Turns out there seems to be some kind of bulge on the casings. About 0.337 inches from the bottom of the casing, I measure a diameter of 0.555'' with a caliper, while the factory ammos are 0.545'' at the same place.

Turns out that 0.555'' is SAAMI's base diameter for a 300WSM, so in theory the re-sized brass should fit in a rifle. In practice though I suppose my chamber is tight as a virgin, and the dies are not re-sizing sufficiently, while factory ammos are sized to fit into everything.

So can anyone who reloads 300wsm measure the diameter of the brass after resizing just 0.337 inches above the bottom and tell me what they get, and which type of dies you use? If anyone measures something in the 0.545'' area I'll be totally happy to buy the same brand of dies, at least on FL die.

Or if anyone has a more clever idea than buying new dies, I'm all ears.
 
How far down are you sizing the case ? Are you bottoming out the shell holder against the bottom of the die ? Some shell holders have a thicker rim than others, think the distance from where the head of the case sits in the shell holder to the top of the shell holder, try using a different shell holder and see if that helps.

See here for custom shell holders. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/5...set-1-308-winchester-30-06-springfield-45-acp

EDIT:
Dirtdigger beat me to it, what he said ......
 
I tried the Lee shellholder that came with my set and a lyman shellholder. Both are exactly 0.125'' from base to top of shellholder. I was gonna order an RCBS from amazon (cause, you know, free shipping), or sand one of mine, but I fail to see how a slightly thinner shellholder would solve my problem. The bulge is about 0.34'' from the bottom of the case, is sanding a few mils gonna make a difference?

I don't think the shoulder of the case ever comes into contact with the chamber. I think the bulge that's in the body stops it before that.
 
You're problem is the brass needs to be pushed further up into the die. This is an age old problem with some chambers, at minimum sami spects. So to accomplish you should shorten the die approx .020 or reduce the shell holder height. The simple method of proving this, is to shim using a .010 shim on the shell holder under the case should be donut shaped to allow the deprimer to go through and run the brass through the die again. This will allow the brass to be a closer fit in the chamber. If this shows a closer fit, then shorten your die 0.020. I have never had a rifle that this cure wouldn't work.
 
what brand is your factory ammo?

did you check the dimensions to compare with the one once fired?

do you know in which rifle they were shot?

Factory ammo is winchester SuperX, casings are made of brass.

As I said, if I measure with a caliper 0.337'' from the bottom of the casing, the factory ammo has a diameter of 0.545'' and the once-fired then resized is 0.555''. That's where the blue marker shows some wearing off (Note: I also inserted another 1fired/resized casing after the blue one that, and some blue marker ink transfered to that casing at the same place).

I have no clue in which rifle they were shot. Bought them on the EE from a guy in Yukon, they took forever to get to me. They don't look beaten up or anything, so I guess they really are once fired, but they could be 100-fired and I wouldn't know. :(
 
Try gauging your cases. If they are the correct length, you may need a small base die. Not all chambers are exactly to SAAMI specifications and neither are all dies. A chamber at the small end of tolerances matched to a die at the large end of tolerances will result in what you are experiencing. Most commercial ammo manufacturers use small base dies so that their ammo fits the widest range of chambers.

Note that most case gauges only measure case length but not case diameter. So even if the sized cases show "OK" in the case gauge, they still may be too tight (diameter-wise) for your chamber. As far as I know only JP Rifles and Sheridan Engineering offer gauges that measure both length and width.
 
I had a custom rifle built for a 6.5 x55
had the same problem it was the brass case thickness
not the length . To this day still have the same problem if I try and run laupa brass
Winchester will run all day long .

Check brass case thickness
 
Ok, so b72471 gave me an idea. I don't have anything good to shim here and it's 23:00, so stores are closed. So what I tried is to place an offending case in the sizing die, and push it in as much as I can with the press. Just to make it clear, the casing was on top of the shellholder, not in it. I was like 90% sure the case would get stuck and I wouldn't even have access to the grove to extract it, but it didn't go any further with the case on top of the shellholder than it did with the case correctly placed in the shellholder.

I'm fairly certain the die is a lemon. That coupled with a tight chamber on the verge of tolerance. That's the only explanation I see.
 
I had a custom rifle built for a 6.5 x55
had the same problem it was the brass case thickness
not the length . To this day still have the same problem if I try and run laupa brass
Winchester will run all day long .

Check brass case thickness

How do I check that? And how thick is my brass supposed to be?
 
I have the opposite problem; my 300WSM won't chamber (bolt wont close) factory rounds until I pull bullets and FL resize! Snap caps chamber perfectly. You coud try casting your chamber as well
 
I have the opposite problem; my 300WSM won't chamber (bolt wont close) factory rounds until I pull bullets and FL resize! Snap caps chamber perfectly. You coud try casting your chamber as well

I suppose if our rifles mated their offspring would be totally normal rifles.

How does one "cast" a chamber?
 
Make sure your press is set with a hard cam over and that there's no light between the shell holder and base of your die at full at the top of your stroke. I've hade the same issue before.
 
Make sure your press is set with a hard cam over and that there's no light between the shell holder and base of your die at full at the top of your stroke. I've hade the same issue before.

Tried that. Then I tried pushing the casing with the top of the shellholder, which is like giving it another 0.125'' of camming.
 
how can the brass go in another .125 and not reform the shoulder back or mess the brass, its hard enough to get the brass out after sizing how do you get it out pushed in deeper and on top of shell holder
 
how can the brass go in another .125 and not reform the shoulder back or mess the brass

That's my point, it doesn't go in any further when it's on top of the shellholder. So it's of no use.

And before you ask: I've pushed hard enough to see my reloading bench bend a little.
 
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