Problem With Redding Shoulder Resizing Die

[robrob]

I think my .223 to 300/221 brass has too thick of a neck. When I try to neck size only the Redding die is crushing the brass. If I pull the sizing ball out of the die I can fit the ball into the mouth of the once-fired brass but it won't fit into the shoulder resizing die without being damaged. I guess I need to do some neck turning.

[glocker17]

Might contact Redding, I have used virtually every headstamp of donor brass and I have not had that problem. What make of brass are you trying?

[robrob]

It's Winchester .223 brass that's been full length sized then fired once in my rifle.

[fasttwist]

Make sure the expander ball is not in the neck area of the die. First the ball expands the neck and then the die brings it back again during the stroke. Does the shoulder resizing die = Full Length size die or is it a shoulder bump die?

[robrob]

The neck die is a shoulder bump die. With the expander ball removed it's easy to insert the case by hand all the way to the shoulder bump. The expander ball has a de-capping pin so the expander ball depth is adjusted just like a full length die, by setting the de-capping pin 3/16" below the die.

I normally use a dedicated de-capping die to de-cap before I clean my brass so I could remove the de-capping pin from the neck die and adjust the expander ball lower so it's not in the case mouth when the shoulder is bumped in. I'll give that a try.

[robrob]

I removed the decapping pin and lowered the sizing ball so it wasn't in the throat when the shoulder was compressed and it now works like a champ. I'm thinking the decapping pin wasn't fully seated into the sizing ball. It may have been sticking out too far and when I adjusted the sizing ball/decapping pin to 3/16 of an inch below the die the sizing ball was too high.

Thanks for the help guys,

Rob