Redding Re-sizing issues?

[robrob]

I agree on the short-stroking. Changing powder, opening the gas port, using a lighter buffer and buffer spring will all help.

[rumlover]

OK, I went back and reworked the brass, trimmed them to 1.348", and loaded 8 rounds. 4 got stuck, 4 chambered. When I pulled them out and compared, I found that those that got stuck had gouges in the brass from the shoulder to about 1/8-3/16" above the case head. The marks were all the way around the case.

SO...I measured the case at the point where the marks stopped. The cases that chambered were 0.373", the ones that didn't were 0.375". All the cases were the same just behind the shoulder at 0.362".

Also, I loaded each of these with 220 SMKs at 2.09"...0.1" longer than the previous loads where I thought the bullet was hitting the lands and causing the stoppages. Now I know that isn't the case. All the bullets from these 8 had no gouges from the lands.

It appears I'll need to pick up a small base die, switch to a different brand of brass, or have the chamber cut a little wider/polished.

Also, on the short stroking, I'm thinking that the additional pressure needed to push the BCG back may be the cause v/s the charge.

Any thoughts on my conclusion? Is there anything I'm not considering?

[N310toN170]

I'm assuming the use of a .223 small base body sizing die may help in this case, any thoughts?

I have a M1S upper that seems to eat most anything and a Noveske that's pretty fickle. I had just always made the assumption that it was due to neck thickness issues.

I'll be keeping a closer eye on this thread, if anyone could chime in on the use of the small base sizing dies.

As always, much appreciated!

[Scalce]

Originally Posted by N310toN170

I'll be keeping a closer eye on this thread, if anyone could chime in on the use of the small base sizing dies.

We already have chimed in and it does help in alot of chambers.

Try to borrow a SB die from someone or just buy one and see if it helps on your Noveske.

If it doesn't, you can always sell the die.

[rumlover]

223 small base dies inbound from Midway USA.

If I shove the 300 all the way into the 223 die, will the case mouth get jammed into the 223 neck and shrink the mouth?

[Scalce]

Originally Posted by rumlover

223 small base dies inbound from Midway USA.

If I shove the 300 all the way into the 223 die, will the case mouth get jammed into the 223 neck and shrink the mouth?

No

I can have my RCBS 223 SB die screwed down to make my Rock Chucker cam over and it still does not deform the mouth.

The brass is trimmed to 1.355" and the case holder is RCBS also.

I will just do an initial size using the SB die on my future 223 cases before forming and trimming.

[rumlover]

OK, so while I was waiting on the small base dies, I took some trimmed, re-sized cases, put them in the chamber, and let the BCG fly. Almost all extracted. Those that extracted easily were then loaded and taken to the range this afternoon.

The rifle cycled fine for the first 6 rounds, the last 5, not so much. When I cleared the chamber, I noticed a lot of brown soot on the YHM handguard. As I inspected further, there was a lot of oil on the barrel around the gas block and the gas block was no longer seated in the same place. It had moved forward about 1/16".

SO.... It appears the problem is 2 fold. First, the cycling issue is probably a combination of a misaligned or improperly fitted/pinned gas block and the extra pressure needed to extract regularly sized brass. Second, the chambering issue seemed to go away once I sized the brass by allowing the BCG to fall on the empty brass (only talking about 0.001-0.003" at the base). This will likely go away with the small base dies. If it doesn't, then I'll look for the die dimensions on newer 300/221, 300 Whisper, 300 Fireball, or 300 BLK offerings and compare it to freshly fired brass dimensions.

Thoughts?

[rumlover]

Got the 223 small base dies in today and ran some brass through it. If I had checked the case length before loading, I think it would have solved the problem. Unfortunately, in my haste I ran the brass through the 223 SB die and then loaded up 8 rounds. 6 chambered and ejected fairly easily (but not as easily as I expected compared to my other ARs). the other 2 didn't chamber completely, but still came out easier that in the past. When I measured the cases that had been run through the 223 SB dies, but not loaded, they had all extended from 1.348" to 1.360-1.365". I should have checked that before loading up those 8.

OH well...

On a side note. Although I bought this upper second hand from a guy on the hide, it was built by Spook here on QB. From the first questions I sent him 'til now, he has been very helpful and consistently offered to fix the issues if I'd send the upper to him. It's not often that someone will stand by their product like that. It says a lot about his character both as a craftsman and a person. I hope you guys take that into account when you look for a new toy.

I'll check back in on this thread after I get the upper back from Spook and post some pics if you guys are interested...nothing special, just another ar.

Out here...Rum