help with why my brass wont work

[lovdasnow]

guys, thanks again for your help, and the generous offer for other brass.

ok, i have adjusted the sizing die all over the place. from it touching the shell holder to having it adjusted too high and everywhere in between.

nothing worked. i sharpied the brass and it looks like it's rubbing right in the middle of the case. not sure what to do from here, except buy new brass and get rid of this. it seems a lot of the brass i bought was mixed military headstamped, and that is causing the problem.

thanks guys. does anyone want to trade 200 of these for 100 of the same headstamp, commercial brass? ;)

thanks

[Artful]

Do you have 223 small base die or 222 reloading die or know someone who does? how about 380?

223 die should reduce from .377 base to .350 at shoulder 1.44 inches from base. -

222 die should reduce from .377 base to .358 at shoulder 1.25 inches from base

221 fireball die should be .377 base to .361 at shoulder 1.07 inches from base.

380 ACP will do a reduction to .372.

can you do some measurements exactly how far from the base your brass is bulged and by how much?

[Hoser]

I have some brass I will send you.

PM sent.

[lovdasnow]

artful, i don't have any of the dies you mentioned, so I don't believe that I will be able to go that route.

hoser, wow, what an offer, thanks a lot, and pm replied to. thanks .

I'll keep you guys posted when i get it figured out.

[Hoser]

Originally Posted by lovdasnow

artful, i don't have any of the dies you mentioned, so I don't believe that I will be able to go that route.

hoser, wow, what an offer, thanks a lot, and pm replied to. thanks .

I'll keep you guys posted when i get it figured out.

So that brass worked out well and the gun is running 100% now?

[Scalce]

You sure it is not the shoulder?

I have an issue with some mill brass where it doesn't want to chamber when it is first formed because the shoulder is more of a radius than a steep shoulder.

It doesn't matter if you undersize or oversize with your FL dies as the radius will still stop it from chambering.

At one point I oversized so much that the extractor was slipping off and it still wouldn't chamber right.

I can now get most to chamber the first time and fire so the shoulder is created.

I don't have issues after that.

Both tp555 and Marty from Teppu Jutsu have mentioned this to me or posted about it here.

[thehouseproduct]

Originally Posted by Scalce

You sure it is not the shoulder?

I have an issue with some mill brass where it doesn't want to chamber when it is first formed because the shoulder is more of a radius than a steep shoulder.

It doesn't matter if you undersize or oversize with your FL dies as the radius will still stop it from chambering.

At one point I oversized so much that the extractor was slipping off and it still wouldn't chamber right.

I can now get most to chamber the first time and fire so the shoulder is created.

I don't have issues after that.

Both tp555 and Marty from Teppu Jutsu have mentioned this to me or posted about it here.

So how do you address that issue?

[Scalce]

Originally Posted by thehouseproduct

So how do you address that issue?

I changed a few things about my initial forming process.

1. I started using only Imperial Sizing Wax to form the cases.
2. I found the sweet spot of where commercial brass chambers properly in my chamber gauge and I stick with that setting even for milsurp.
3. I changed my forming steps to:
a. initially FL size the 223/556 brass with the decapping/expander rod removed instead of the neck sizing die and then I chop off the top of the case.
b. setup my neck sizing die to only resize 90% of the neck which also knocks out the primer in the process.
5. then trim to 1.355" and do all my case prep steps as necessary.

I have found that this allows me to chamber LC brass but it is still tight in the shoulder area. I had maybe 2 out of 100 that did not chamber completely so I need to pull those down and see what the deal is.

Once I have fire formed the brass, the following sizing and chambering are just as smooth as using commercial brass.

[Hoser]

Originally Posted by Scalce

You sure it is not the shoulder?

I have an issue with some mill brass where it doesn't want to chamber when it is first formed because the shoulder is more of a radius than a steep shoulder.

I think that is the first time I have ever heard the whisper as being described as having a steep shoulder.

I must be lucky, I have not had any issues forming brass from 221, 222, 223 and 5.56. I use the Redding dies and CH4D die for the Dillon trimmer.

[Scalce]

Originally Posted by Hoser

I think that is the first time I have ever heard the whisper as being described as having a steep shoulder.

I must be lucky, I have not had any issues forming brass from 221, 222, 223 and 5.56. I use the Redding dies and CH4D die for the Dillon trimmer.

Sorry I meant more sharp at the edge and not steep as in the angle.

Brainfart

What barrel do you have and what reamer was used on it?