Neck sizing and case getting harder to pull out?

[Heavyiron]

When was the last you trimmed your brass?

 

[Rich Coyle]

From there working about 1/8 of a turn or less at a time repeat until you're as close to zero bolt pressure chambering as possible.

You don't want to overdo it either .

1/8 turn is way too much! 1/8 of a turn is about .009".

 

[tbrice23]

Get a (Hornady or similar) Headspace comparator tool for your calipers.
Indispensable tool for reloading.

 

[nmbarta]

1/8 turn is way too much! 1/8 of a turn is about .009".

I'm sure most of you have this, but for those that don't.

14 threads per inch on your sizing die
1.000/14= .0714 per turn
.0714/360 degrees=.00019 (.0002 for this)
.0002x10=.002
10 degrees is about .002
360/10=36
1 36th of a turn = .002
.0714/8=.0089 1/8 turn=.009 as mentioned.

There are some slight variables here but it'll get you pretty close.

handy stuff

 

[jasent]

Yeah that^^^^ I've always used the 1 hour on a clock is .006"

 

[WildRose]

1/8 turn is way too much! 1/8 of a turn is about .009".

My original MOS was mortars so I'm naturally inclined to bracket.

 

[WildRose]

Yeah that^^^^ I've always used the 1 hour on a clock is .006"

I like that, never really thought to work it out. Very helpful.

Thats why I value this site so much. No matter how long one has been doing this stuff you can pick up a good tip here every day if you read enough threads.

Thanks.

 

[ehryk]

A Redding Body Die is beautiful for this. I set mine to bump shoulders back about .002 and it also gives a slight squeeze to the body too. Since it ignores necks, you can run a loaded round that won't chamber through it so that round is off and running again.

 

[WildRose]

A Redding Body Die is beautiful for this. I set mine to bump shoulders back about .002 and it also gives a slight squeeze to the body too. Since it ignores necks, you can run a loaded round that won't chamber through it so that round is off and running again.

Hmm, never thought of that. Didn't realize they were completely open on the top end. Good info

 

[Berry228]

I'm going to go a different route from where everyone else is. I agree that you should FL size your cases after a few firings, but I also had the same problem that you had. The solution....There was oil in my chamber. If you have oil in your chamber, it will cause hard extraction.

 

[WildBillG]

I will ask the question also have the cases ever been trimmed. With that I will ask are you using the silver nickel coated or what ever it is brass. That stuff is terrible for being tight in the chamber. It goes through the sizers nice but always seems sticky when chambering. Even after only one neck sizing.

 

[ronedog]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies...the hunt ended and I had to get back to work, so sorry I didn't respond sooner. Let me see if I can answer a few questions and update you on what I've done.

I purchased the hornady headspace comparator and the Anvil to make my readings more precise. I cleaned my gun...after I cleaned my gun the bullets chambered better...so I shot more of the same loads that were getting harder to pull out after a shot...and viola...they extracted easier...I think the initial problem may have been dust from the hunt in the chamber.

But now that I have the headspace comparator, it has lead me down another rabbit hole, I don't understand why my brass isn't being bumped back.

I've decided I like the idea of getting all the brass to read the same headspace length using the comparator tool.

my fired brass has a headspace reading of 1.742 (3 pieces of brass), 1.741 (5 pieces of brass), 1.743 (2 pieces of brass).

So taking some advice in this thread I thought I'd bump the shoulders back .002

I set up my FL Die and screwed it down until it touched the shell plate. Then screwed it down another 1/4 turn...ran the shell through the die and checked the headspace measurement and now shell grew in length to 1.744...now I'm scratching my head. The shell got longer??? So, I screwed in the die another 1/4 turn...ran the same shell through...came out the same? So I turned the die another 1/4 turn...now I know the die was being pushed down further because I checked that too..ran another shell and got same 1.744. Am I missing something? how does a fired case grow from 1.741 to 1.744 after going through my die that I thought was pushing the shoulders down to make the brass headspace shorter? When I pull the shell out from the die it sticks a bit and I have to push the lever harder than I do when I neck size. Logically, I thought when I pull out the shell its stuck to the mandrel and is stretching on its way out...so I lubed up the case mouth with more lube (I had lube all around the inside mouth)...tried 3 different pieces of brass...all 3 of them stretched out when I used the comparator (I measured all of them before and after). I was assuming I could push the shoulders back to get a headspace reading of 1.738?

My equipment is:
Lee Press
Lee FL Die
Lee Hand Turned Trimmer

The process I've been following is as follows:
1. Brass into tumbler
2. Anneal, 2 to 3 seconds over torch, then put in water
3. Lube case
4. Run case into FL die (I used to be doing neck sizing, but for this test I full length sized hoping to bump back shoulders)
5. Clean primer pocket
6. Trim Brass using Lee Trimmer (hand tool)
7. Chamfer case mouth inside and out.
8. seat bullet.

Any guidance is appreciated...thanks guys!

 

[WildRose]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies...the hunt ended and I had to get back to work, so sorry I didn't respond sooner. Let me see if I can answer a few questions and update you on what I've done.

I purchased the hornady headspace comparator and the Anvil to make my readings more precise. I cleaned my gun...after I cleaned my gun the bullets chambered better...so I shot more of the same loads that were getting harder to pull out after a shot...and viola...they extracted easier...I think the initial problem may have been dust from the hunt in the chamber.

But now that I have the headspace comparator, it has lead me down another rabbit hole, I don't understand why my brass isn't being bumped back.

I've decided I like the idea of getting all the brass to read the same headspace length using the comparator tool.

my fired brass has a headspace reading of 1.742 (3 pieces of brass), 1.741 (5 pieces of brass), 1.743 (2 pieces of brass).

So taking some advice in this thread I thought I'd bump the shoulders back .002

I set up my FL Die and screwed it down until it touched the shell plate. Then screwed it down another 1/4 turn...ran the shell through the die and checked the headspace measurement and now shell grew in length to 1.744...now I'm scratching my head. The shell got longer??? So, I screwed in the die another 1/4 turn...ran the same shell through...came out the same? So I turned the die another 1/4 turn...now I know the die was being pushed down further because I checked that too..ran another shell and got same 1.744. Am I missing something? how does a fired case grow from 1.741 to 1.744 after going through my die that I thought was pushing the shoulders down to make the brass headspace shorter? When I pull the shell out from the die it sticks a bit and I have to push the lever harder than I do when I neck size. Logically, I thought when I pull out the shell its stuck to the mandrel and is stretching on its way out...so I lubed up the case mouth with more lube (I had lube all around the inside mouth)...tried 3 different pieces of brass...all 3 of them stretched out when I used the comparator (I measured all of them before and after). I was assuming I could push the shoulders back to get a headspace reading of 1.738?

My equipment is:
Lee Press
Lee FL Die
Lee Hand Turned Trimmer

The process I've been following is as follows:
1. Brass into tumbler
2. Anneal, 2 to 3 seconds over torch, then put in water
3. Lube case
4. Run case into FL die (I used to be doing neck sizing, but for this test I full length sized hoping to bump back shoulders)
5. Clean primer pocket
6. Trim Brass using Lee Trimmer (hand tool)
7. Chamfer case mouth inside and out.
8. seat bullet.

Any guidance is appreciated...thanks guys!

You're on the right track, you're just not quite there yet. You may need to buy some shell holders that are a bit thinner than the one you are currently using in order to push the shoulder back enough to suit you.

That it's taking more pressure to full length resize the case is to be expected because there's a lot more metal coming in contact with the die.

Be sure you're working only properly lubed cases and that your die is clean internally.

Brass, like water flows in the path of least resistance and right now that's lengthening your base to shoulder measurement rather than reducing it due to remaining space between the shell and the shoulder/case juction.

If your die hasn't bottomed out completely then keep slowly screwing it down till you see your shoulder being bumped back but not so far as to cause a donut to form which you can easily feel.

I'd also check your overall case length before proceding further as you may need to trim the necks a bit if it's grown on you which could also create issues when resizing.

 

[Hatrick]

You're on the right track, you're just not quite there yet. You may need to buy some shell holders that are a bit thinner than the one you are currently using in order to push the shoulder back enough to suit you.

That it's taking more pressure to full length resize the case is to be expected because there's a lot more metal coming in contact with the die.

Be sure you're working only properly lubed cases and that your die is clean internally.

Brass, like water flows in the path of least resistance and right now that's lengthening your base to shoulder measurement rather than reducing it due to remaining space between the shell and the shoulder/case juction.

If your die hasn't bottomed out completely then keep slowly screwing it down till you see your shoulder being bumped back but not so far as to cause a donut to form which you can easily feel.

I'd also check your overall case length before proceding further as you may need to trim the necks a bit if it's grown on you which could also create issues when resizing.

Like Rose said, your not there yet. You could also grind carefully the bottom of the die to get your headspace where you want it. That would let you lower the die instead of looking for a thinner shell holder. You could also grind the shell holder and leave it with those dies for that cartridge only. I don't like making the shell holder thinner. Tom