New to reloading...issue with FL RCBS die

[Bigeclipse]

First thing I would do is call RCBS and see what they say. You might get it figured pretty quick.

In the mean time if you want to load up a few rounds by camming over to size, it should be a big deal, depnding on how far you have to cam over. It sounds like you are close since the factory ammo fits.

Actually, from what I've read, Brownings can be a bit of a PITA to work on. Machining back the bottom of a die is one of the simplest of shop functions to do. Just chuck the body square into a lathe, then take a cutter across it. Same as squaring the face of a barrel or action. Any maching shop shop should be able to do it.

When I get home...I will cam over a little to see if it helps. If it does, then obviously something is up. I will give RCBS a call. How can I determine if it is ultimately the die or the rifle that is the culprit?

 

[MontanaRifleman]

When I get home...I will cam over a little to see if it helps. If it does, then obviously something is up. I will give RCBS a call. How can I determine if it is ultimately the die or the rifle that is the culprit?

No real cheap way to to tell that I know of. Maybe someone here knows and could chime in. There are chamber gauges you could get. A good smith should be able to determine if your chamber is in spec.

 

[Bigeclipse]

No real cheap way to to tell that I know of. Maybe someone here knows and could chime in. There are chamber gauges you could get. A good smith should be able to determine if your chamber is in spec.

thank you for the advice. I know the gun shop I got the rifle before has gauges to measure brass as I brought them a few 300wsm factory ammo that werent chambering in my rifle(this was before I got into reloading). They measured those shell shoulders some how and agreed they werent right so they gave me another box of ammo. Maybe I can bring them some resized empty cases and see if they could measure those...or maybe I should just bring my rifle to them (since I bought it from them) or maybe both haha...I know what you said about factory tolerances in earlier posts...but whats the chance that it could still be my rifle sincef 80 rounds of factory ammo all chambered fine...or is factory ammo really that conservative that it would chamber even in a out of spec small chamber

 

[live2huntmt]

Is the brass being resized fired out of that particular rifle? How many times fired? Once fired brass, fired from that rifle, should chamber with NO problems after being only NECK sized (unless it is too long and needs trimmed). Can you tell where the case is hanging up? IE: the shoulder area or can you see an area close to the base that is bulged out causing a "shiny" spot when trying to chamber?

 

[Bigeclipse]

Is the brass being resized fired out of that particular rifle? How many times fired? Once fired brass, fired from that rifle, should chamber with NO problems after being only NECK sized (unless it is too long and needs trimmed). Can you tell where the case is hanging up? IE: the shoulder area or can you see an area close to the base that is bulged out causing a "shiny" spot when trying to chamber?

This is brass that was fired from a friends rifle. He wasnt sure how many times he reloaded them but he said definitely not more than 3 times and most likely only once or twice fired. There is a shiny ring near the base where you can see it bulged after being fired...however after resizing...this obviously pressed that bulg back down...obviously my eye cannot tell if it resized it all the way or not. I know this is the area where case separation can happen but it does not look like some of those extreme wear marks ive seen online so I am not worried about that right now.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

thank you for the advice. I know the gun shop I got the rifle before has gauges to measure brass as I brought them a few 300wsm factory ammo that werent chambering in my rifle(this was before I got into reloading). They measured those shell shoulders some how and agreed they werent right so they gave me another box of ammo. Maybe I can bring them some resized empty cases and see if they could measure those...or maybe I should just bring my rifle to them (since I bought it from them) or maybe both haha...I know what you said about factory tolerances in earlier posts...but whats the chance that it could still be my rifle sincef 80 rounds of factory ammo all chambered fine...or is factory ammo really that conservative that it would chamber even in a out of spec small chamber

That sounds like a good idea.

One other thing to rule out is case OAL. Measure the lengths of your cases to make sure they haven't stretched longer than spec.

 

[Bigeclipse]

That sounds like a good idea.

One other thing to rule out is case OAL. Measure the lengths of your cases to make sure they haven't stretched longer than spec.

that I already do and trim if needed. However, on a side note I do have a question about that...if max case length is say 1.325...how far below that will you try to keep your cases? My friend said as long as they are below that then you are ok...even if the case is 1.323...then you are fine. Maybe my calipers are off which would suck even more. I could try an experiment though to definitely rule that out...take one of these case...shorten it a bit and see if it will chamber better...if so then that is the issue and my calipers are off.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

that I already do and trim if needed. However, on a side note I do have a question about that...if max case length is say 1.325...how far below that will you try to keep your cases? My friend said as long as they are below that then you are ok...even if the case is 1.323...then you are fine. Maybe my calipers are off which would suck even more. I could try an experiment though to definitely rule that out...take one of these case...shorten it a bit and see if it will chamber better...if so then that is the issue and my calipers are off.

I would think that if you trimmed to spec, you should be fine. You could trim maybe .005 shorter, but once again, a factory reamed chamber should allow for a good bit of play and stretch. My custom match reamers, which are typically much tighter than factory, allow for .005 - .008 longer than spec'd case OAL

 

[Bigeclipse]

Is the brass being resized fired out of that particular rifle? How many times fired? Once fired brass, fired from that rifle, should chamber with NO problems after being only NECK sized (unless it is too long and needs trimmed). Can you tell where the case is hanging up? IE: the shoulder area or can you see an area close to the base that is bulged out causing a "shiny" spot when trying to chamber?

I think I could sharpy marker the shoulder of one of the problem cases and see if it is indeed rubbing there...if not I will then sharpy around the shiny area you are talking about to see if it is rubbing there too...

 

[live2huntmt]

I trim mine to .010" under max case length. Since this is fired out of a different rifle, try the following: Run your sizing die all the way until it touches the shell holder, then lower the ram and turn the die another half turn. Lock it down, lube a case (be sure to also lube the neck so it doesn't pull the shoulder back out) and re-size it. You should feel your press cam over very hard....then you know you have taken the case down to as small as the die will make it. Trim to .010" under max case length and try chambering in your rifle. If this does not work, try it again on another piece of brass. If this repeatedly does not work you may have rifle problems. If this works on some of the brass but not others....you have brass issues.

 

[Bigeclipse]

I trim mine to .010" under max case length. Since this is fired out of a different rifle, try the following: Run your sizing die all the way until it touches the shell holder, then lower the ram and turn the die another half turn. Lock it down, lube a case (be sure to also lube the neck so it doesn't pull the shoulder back out) and re-size it. You should feel your press cam over very hard....then you know you have taken the case down to as small as the die will make it. Trim to .010" under max case length and try chambering in your rifle. If this does not work, try it again on another piece of brass. If this repeatedly does not work you may have rifle problems. If this works on some of the brass but not others....you have brass issues.

would this indicate brass issues or the sizing die may not be up to specs? If it really could be brass issues...what would be the issue?

 

[live2huntmt]

would this indicate brass issues or the sizing die may not be up to specs? If it really could be brass issues...what would be the issue?

If some of the brass chambers and some does not....it is the brass. Your FL Die does not change, making it the constant....if you are not getting constant results it must be the brass. If no brass chambers it is either the die or your rifle

 

[Bigeclipse]

If some of the brass chambers and some does not....it is the brass. Your FL Die does not change, making it the constant....if you are not getting constant results it must be the brass. If no brass chambers it is either the die or your rifle

I am not exactly sure how much brass I have resized but it is definitely in the ball park of 25-35. Out of that 7 wouldnt chamber "properly"...2 of those wouldnt chamber at all, the other 5 would chamber but the bolt required a decent amount of force to close.

 

[live2huntmt]

I am not exactly sure how much brass I have resized but it is definitely in the ball park of 25-35. Out of that 7 wouldnt chamber "properly"...2 of those wouldnt chamber at all, the other 5 would chamber but the bolt required a decent amount of force to close.

Set up the dies as I stated above and start over