Brass is hard to chamber after full-length resize

[MT6.5PRC]

I'm reloading 6.5 PRC Hornady brass. Factory ammo chambers fine. After resizing the brass using a Hornady match full-length resize die, the brass barely chambers—the bolt is sticky loading and unloading the brass. I have the die set so the case goes as far into the die as possible (shell holder hits the bottom of the die and cams over). Hornady customer services says it's because the match-grade dies only bump the shoulder .002" and the custom dies will bump the shoulder farther back.

Does anyone know if this is true? Let's be honest, there's a ton of misinformation in the guns/ammo/reloading world, and I've learned not to trust something just because someone who should know what they're talking about says it (because a lot of them don't actually know, even though they should).

Seems to me that bumping the shoulder even .002" should be enough for it chamber without the bolt getting sticky. I'm suspicious that the resizing die I got is out-of-spec (happened before w/ a Hornady .308 custom die and the problem resolved when I got a .308 match die).

Should I just get another resizing die, this time not a Hornady, and see if that fixes the issue? Dillon doesn't make 6.5 PRC dies yet, so I'd have to get Forster, RCBS, or Redding. Recommendations on which one to get?

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Is there a space between the die and the shellholder when its under the pressure of resizing? I'm guessing that you need to lower the sizing die a bit more to accommodate for the flex in your press.

The other thing that may cause this is pulling the neck up slightly when dragging the expander ball up through the neck. You can't see this but it happens. Always use an adequate amount of neck lube.

Two ideas worth exploring.

 

[backwoodsshooter]

best thing to do, is measure all the cases

Measure the shoulder on-

unfired factory ammo

fired factory

your resized case

your resized fired case.

i don't use hornady dies so someone probably will chime in that does.

 

[BoomFlop]

Here ya go:

The PRC die "problem"

There are a number of people experiencing sizing issues with the PRC case. When designing a chamber, brass, and resize die there is no one size fits all. We want good hard case brass, but its harder to size. We dont want sloppy chambers either. I have experience with designing reamers with...

www.longrangehunting.com

Good luck
Steve

 

[Dmagna]

I am pretty sure you didn't bump the shoulder enough

 

[SteveBurton]

Here is a long thread on another forum discussing the "potential" problem you have.

PRC Dies Not Sizing Enough

 

[bassassassin104]

You might double check the case length. Could be too long and need to be trimmed. Shouldn't be after 1 loading, but it's possible.

 

[martinakl]

Maybe try removing the expander ball. I've had hornady dies stretch my brass out as the expander comes back through the brass. Neck too tight or maybe not enough lube, I'm not sure of exact cause (it was many years ago). If that fixes it, you can try to polish the expander ball and/or more lube inside the neck.

 

[MT6.5PRC]

In response to all of the above:

1. The die is literally as low as it goes, I'm getting full contact between the shell holder and the sizing die.

2. Not using an expander ball (I checked what the bench rest guys are doing, and they don't use them) and I trimmed all cases to trim length. Definitely not a neck-length issue.

3. Quite possible the shoulder isn't getting bumped back enough, but the question is why? Equipment I'm using cannot bump the shoulder more than it already is—which is why I'm wondering if it might be an equipment issue.

4. That LRO forum had the answer! SteveBurton with the win. Seems to be a common issue with 6.5 PRC resizing dies (Hornady and Forster) not sizing far enough down the case. Just measured the base of the cases and the bases of the factory are .528" at the base and the fired and resized are .530". Lots of reloaders experiencing this and trying to get the manufacturers to change the die specs to correct the issue.

 

[MT6.5PRC]

Here is a long thread on another forum discussing the "potential" problem you have.

PRC Dies Not Sizing Enough

There's the answer!!! It totally is the dies. Thanks, Steve! Really appreciate that.

Correction: Not the dies, that was the early suspicion, but custom dies did not fix the issue. Chambers are too tight, have to ream them out and that resolves the issue.

 

[Dmagna]

Did you measure your shoulder bump just to make sure? .530 is in spec

 

[MT6.5PRC]

In response to all of the above:

1. The die is literally as low as it goes, I'm getting full contact between the shell holder and the sizing die.

2. Not using an expander ball (I checked what the bench rest guys are doing, and they don't use them) and I trimmed all cases to trim length. Definitely not a neck-length issue.

3. Quite possible the shoulder isn't getting bumped back enough, but the question is why? Equipment I'm using cannot bump the shoulder more than it already is—which is why I'm wondering if it might be an equipment issue.

4. That LRO forum had the answer! SteveBurton with the win. Common 6.5 PRC issue. Initially thought to be a problem with the dies, but turns out to be a problem with the chamber dimensions. Resolves when you ream the chamber.

 

[BoomFlop]

Exactly what I linked in post 4. Common issue with the PRC.

 

[Mikecr]

I doubt it's a chamber too tight. That fired cases expanded 2thou near webs, at least, tells me you have plenty of clearance.
Opening the chamber further will just allow even more growth & kill case life.

If near webs are left in interference fit with the chamber then you likely have weak breech support for the cartridge & load.
If your die doesn't counter that, then the die may be right -but no good for you.
Personally, I'd have a custom die made from fired cases.