X-Reload's once fired .308 brass

stevebc

stevebc

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Bought 3 bags of 100 of this brass, hoping to use in my M305. Opened the first bag, tried them in a Wilson type case gauge before resizing, and every single one sat at least 1/4" above the case gauge, many were 1/2" above.

I suspect these were fired in a machine gun.

I'm not weak, and my press is very strong, but I cannot complete a full stroke of the ram. It stops about 1/2" or so above the base of the cartridge, and nothing I can do will advance it any further.

If I try any harder I'll just end up with a stuck case.

I knew they were once fired, and expected a few that were beyond spec, but this seems ridiculous.

Comments?
 
Do these cases still have the primers in them?
If so do the primers come out when sizing?
What are you using for lube?
Are you lubing the inside of the case necks?
 
I had a few like that in the ones I got from an other supplier on here, but very few. I tried this size as far as you can turn case 1/4 turn and size again keep doing this and you maybe able to get it resized all the way.
NOTE lube case often or you will get it stuck. I decided that due to the fact I only had a few to just chuck them. And I didn't want to take a chance on case head separation.
Drop a email to X-Reload and see what they have to say.
 
...back.
opened a bag and took 3 out.
measured them: between 2.018-2.020.
Lubed them, and FL resized them.
a bit stiffer than usual, but it's the 1st time I use crimped primers 308 brass.
After FL they were 2.020-2.023
I trimmed them to 2.010 and chambered them in one of my 308s, all seems ok.
They are stamped: IVI 10
 
The right lube makes all the difference....Military cases do take a bit more effort though due to heavier brass (usually) and crimped primers. Also, military rifles have larger chambers and cases are expanded more as you found out.
 
I have a Lee classic cast, fairly heavy press, I can size these fine but it does take some extra effort. I use it in all my semi's and one bolt gun.... It's good brass. Definitely from MG's.
Primer pockets are crimped and need to be swaged as well.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Thumper, they do have primers, I used Imperial wax, and got the results above: I can't size them at all at this point.

Tried again with a tad bit more wax, same result. I didn't lube the case necks.

At that point, I gave up for the day, as my head might as well be wood, having woke up to some sort of cold coming on.

Ok- I'll try some Dillon spray lube to see if that makes a difference, thanks for that, and wce323078- thanks for your idea, I'll try that as well.

added: they are mixed date IVI, with the odd Lake City. And 2 IVI .303, which was nice.
 
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I've sized a couple bags of this stuff. It took the most force I have ever had to apply to the press to size but they all sized without anything breaking or getting stuck. I just chalked it up to them being thicker / tougher military brass. I'm using Lee dies in an RCBS Rock Chucker.

As others have mentioned, lube is key. I use something called Leather Lube -- https://www.sofsole.com/product/leather_lube -- (it's essentially lanolin) applied with fingers. It works well but can be tedious to apply. When I found that the press seemed to be getting harder to work I put a bit of lube inside the mouth of the next case to lube up the expander. That helped a lot and would make the next half dozen or so cases easier to work.

I found that all of the cases needed trimming and that quite a bit of material came off during the trimming.

Hope this helps.
 
1/4 inch? 1/2 inch? like 2.520? on the gauge?

unless its a blank round (which requires cutting)...... I would say its done, you will never get that thing back down


It sounds like range pickup that was already reloaded and fired from something like a M305 with bad headspace which left it ballooned.
 
Steve..........in all my wildcatting and forming cases as well as running hundreds of military 308 down to 243, I have used RCBS case lube and have never yet failed to size pretty much anything I have tried. I have found it to have superior lubricity to Imp Sizing wax as well as a couple spray lubes. Nearly stuck a 50 trying out some spray lube or other, went back to the RCBS "slime in a bottle" and the 50s all went through like nothing. Some of these were obviously fired in a MG as well and took more force than others, but went through without excess force nonetheless.
 
LordEvilPepper said:
1/4 inch? 1/2 inch? like 2.520? on the gauge?

unless its a blank round (which requires cutting)...... I would say its done, you will never get that thing back down


It sounds like range pickup that was already reloaded and fired from something like a M305 with bad headspace which left it ballooned.
Click to expand...

I believe that you misunderstood his post.
He is saying that it is not fully dropping into a Dillon case gauge by 1/4" - 1/2" probably due to the diameter expanding not due to stretching by 1/4" - 1/2".
 
Try using a .45 acp carbide die or a 30-06 die and then use a .308 die, this was suggested in our American CMP reloading forum. Military 7.62 brass is harder and thicker in the base than .308 cases, I tried both the .45 acp carbide die and the .30-06 die and the carbide .45 acp die worked the easiest with the least effort with machine gun brass.

I also use the JP Enterprise case gauges for 5.56 and 7.62 cases, these case gauges are made with a finish chamber reamer and check case diameter.

Below the .223/5.56 Wilson and Dillon case gauges do not check case body diameter and just check shoulder location. And the JP Enterprise does check the case diameter on 5.56 and 7.62 brass and as you can see the case does not drop as far into this gauge. I do not use this gauge to check headspace I use the gauge to make sure the once fired and resized case has been reduced enough in diameter and as a final "plop" test of my loaded rounds.

KSB3ZvP.jpg
 
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The IVI 7.62 I weighed was 200-205gr which is more then a lot of 30'06 brass so it is definitely thick and heavy stuff.
 
thump_rrr said:
I believe that you misunderstood his post.
He is saying that it is not fully dropping into a Dillon case gauge by 1/4" - 1/2" probably due to the diameter expanding not due to stretching by 1/4" - 1/2".
Click to expand...

Yes, that is the situation. Here's one of the 100 opened, grabbed at random.

They are ALL that way. Haven't opened the other bags yet.

Like so:

DSCN1595_zpstosozu8m.jpg


I'm home sick today, not up to dealing with this, but I'll drop X-Reload a line soon.
 
stevebc said:
Yes, that is the situation. Here's one of the 100 opened, grabbed at random.

They are ALL that way. Haven't opened the other bags yet.

Like so:

DSCN1595_zpstosozu8m.jpg


I'm home sick today, not up to dealing with this, but I'll drop X-Reload a line soon.
Click to expand...

Sorry, may be slow on the uptake here - primer is still in, so unless you have removed the decapping pin, these haven't been full-length resized yet. Yes, they look a little high in the gauge for non-resized brass. Will likely need to be worked down by resizing more than once, with die set progressively lower? Tough, thick brass, be sure to start loads a bit low, as my IVI and LC mil brass shows pressure signs earlier than other cases.
 
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