I purchased 100 pieces of new Winchester brass for my .243 and after loading some up and going to the range I had 3 rounds that I could not close the bolt on and several that the bolt was tight to close. Should I resize new brass, would that have prevented this? All I did to prep it was deburr the primer flash hole and the case mouth.
Question about new .243 brass and tight bolt closing
- Thread starter Lefty Trigger
- Start date
Yes its a good idea to full length resize, even new brass.
Full length resizing would have prevented this
Full length resizing would have prevented this
FL sizing should prevent it.
If a new barrel was installed with a smaller than normal head space, even FL sized brass may not chamber.
Some have used new brass to set head space on Savage barrels, causing problems.
No, its a new gun. I will go through my brass and look for a tight one and try resizing it. I also just went a purchased a hundred new Remington brass I'll check those as well. Thanks for the input....
DirtySteve
Gold $$ Contributor
Check the brass to see if it is in need of trimming.
Did you check the cases before loading? Many reloaders seat the bullet without backing the seating die out. It is a bad habit to seat and crimp on the same station. I prefer to seat bottle neck cases without crimping. I am the only reloaders that wants all the bullet hold he can get, crimping can lesson bullet hold.
If you are a reloader that uses tension you will have to find a reloaders that has a tension gage that measures tension.
F. Guffey
Meaning, the seating die does not have case support, if the neck is crimped at the same time the bullet is seated the neck moves down with the bullet, one more time, the seating die does not have case support so when the neck moves down with the bullet the case body/shoulder juncture starts to bulge. A bulge at the case body/shoulder juncture is a bad thing.
If you are a reloader that uses tension you will have to find a reloaders that has a tension gage that measures tension.
F. Guffey
Meaning, the seating die does not have case support, if the neck is crimped at the same time the bullet is seated the neck moves down with the bullet, one more time, the seating die does not have case support so when the neck moves down with the bullet the case body/shoulder juncture starts to bulge. A bulge at the case body/shoulder juncture is a bad thing.
Many reloaders use arbor presses and custom reamed/ LE Wilson and other dies that do not screw in a press so they can't do this.
Many reloaders can't do this because........see above comment!
Me too, as do MANY reloaders!
Good for you! MANY reloaders like to get consistent seating PRESSURE as measured by their arbor presses, often times in the 30 to 50 PSI range. Different than your "all the bullet hold he can get"
Again.......MANY reloaders have PRESSURE gauges while seating their bullets........completely different than your set up! After all you're THE ONLY ONE!
Not true.....MANY reloaders have cut custom seating dies with the same reamer their chambers were cut. If they are using an arbor press as above, how is the case not supported?
Nope......impossible to crimp a bullet with the set up I'm describing to you that MANY reloaders use! Don't expect you to understand because you are the ONLY RELOADER that doesn't
One more time........yes it does if you cut your seating die with the same reamer as the chamber and use an arbor press! I'm TRULEY sorry you won't understand this because you are the ONLY RELOADER that knows everything and the rest of us are ignorant, as you post so often in your dribble!
Sorry guys and gals......I couldn't resist
To the OP. You already received the answer from several. Size new brass and trim to length before loading and your problem is solved.
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Shynloco
You can lead a horse to water, but ........
IMHO, Iif it were Lapua Brass, I'd say no to resizing unfired Brass. And you probably wouldn't experiencing what you've run into. But because it's Winchester brass, you have just experienced one of the differences in the quality of the two brass makers. Take the loaded Winchester Brass rounds apart (if you have any) and resize the brass in your die. You mow know why I quit buying Winchester Brass several years ago. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for.
Alex
I am currently running 100 pieces of Winchester brass and 50 pieces of Lapua brass in my .243 win. The Winchester brass is on its 9th firing cycle and still going strong. I shoot the 105g Berger Hybrid at 3150 fps so they are seeing some pressure but holding up well. My Lapua cases are on there 4th firing cycle and holding up as well. I did not resize the Winchester or the Lapua brass when they were new, only ran than over an expander mandrel to round out the necks. Both makes of brass shoot there designated loads accurately with the edge going to the Winchester brass but that could be due to it being a better tuned load. You will hear a lot of people on her bash Winchester brass and sing the virtues of Lapua and both of them are right at times. But don't take anyone's word for it without testing yourself.
Shynloco
You can lead a horse to water, but ........
I didn't take anyone's word for it. I've tested all brass on the market since I've been reloading. And I quit using Winchester Brass because it couldn't compete in the long haul. You are in the infants stages of loading that brass. Tell me how good your Winchester Brass holds when you've reloaded that brass 20 or 30 times, which my Lapua brass does in several calibers. And I also don't see any national records being set using Winchester Brass. Care to explain why??? So think what you want. I have proven to myself the merits of using Lapua Brass over Winchester. Only time will tell for you.
Alex
I was addressing that to the op. Only quoted your post because you stated Winchester brass was a waste of time. Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I don't know about national records but I would say Winchester brass has won a match or two.
^^^^^
Check for 'the bulge' on the cartridges that would not chamber...look at the forward end of the body just at/below the shoulder. I have seen this happen recently when a fellow shooter did not have his seater die adjusted properly.
I only checked them for length but did not resize them. I have my bullet seating die backed out as to not crimp at all.
XTR
F-TR obssessed shooting junkie
Take one or two of the tight ones, measure the shoulder, and compare it to the fired brass. If the shoulder on your unfired brass is longer then you have a short chamber.
Take of the tight ones, put it in your sizing die, I am willing to bet it will go down with no resistance. Once upon a time I used to FL size new brass, I quit when I figured out it was a waste of time, they die wasn't touching the case, I just had to clean off lube.
Are you loading 105s by any chance?
I'm betting in new brass you have about 6thou neck tension, or more, and the factory freebore is short and you're jamming the heck out of some of them.
Take of the tight ones, put it in your sizing die, I am willing to bet it will go down with no resistance. Once upon a time I used to FL size new brass, I quit when I figured out it was a waste of time, they die wasn't touching the case, I just had to clean off lube.
Are you loading 105s by any chance?
I'm betting in new brass you have about 6thou neck tension, or more, and the factory freebore is short and you're jamming the heck out of some of them.
What you have is a wonderful opportunity to find out exactly what your chamber dimensions are. I say wonderful because you don't have to wait until you have fire formed the brass several times before getting a case that presents a tight bolt close.
I would sort all the un-shot brass by chambering and find the one(s) that chamber with a slightly stiff bolt close. Save that case and mark it with a sharpie as "max headspace" length ( I know, Fguffey is going to rant..
and use it to calibrate your gages for that particular chamber.
I make a line drawing of the cartridge and put measured dimensions at critical points such as base to mouth OAL, base to shoulder and gage used, and then post it on my reloading room wall for quick reference. This assumes you have the tools to measure base to shoulder and base to ogive.
Knowing your max chamber dimension, you can now set up your reloading dies to bump your brass only enough to chamber easily. Saves brass life if you work it only as much as you have to.
Be aware that 243 brass has a tendency to grow substantially after each resizing, and you need to keep a careful eye on over all length. I have seen what happens when a round with a too long case is chambered, the case mouth pinches the bullet in the throat, and then the trigger is pulled. You don't want to go there.
For trimming brass to OAL, I prefer the Worlds Finest Trimmer, or when the budget is tight, the Worlds Cheapest Trimmer. Both are fast and accurate.
I would sort all the un-shot brass by chambering and find the one(s) that chamber with a slightly stiff bolt close. Save that case and mark it with a sharpie as "max headspace" length ( I know, Fguffey is going to rant..
and use it to calibrate your gages for that particular chamber.I make a line drawing of the cartridge and put measured dimensions at critical points such as base to mouth OAL, base to shoulder and gage used, and then post it on my reloading room wall for quick reference. This assumes you have the tools to measure base to shoulder and base to ogive.
Knowing your max chamber dimension, you can now set up your reloading dies to bump your brass only enough to chamber easily. Saves brass life if you work it only as much as you have to.
Be aware that 243 brass has a tendency to grow substantially after each resizing, and you need to keep a careful eye on over all length. I have seen what happens when a round with a too long case is chambered, the case mouth pinches the bullet in the throat, and then the trigger is pulled. You don't want to go there.
For trimming brass to OAL, I prefer the Worlds Finest Trimmer, or when the budget is tight, the Worlds Cheapest Trimmer. Both are fast and accurate.
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I'm currently waiting on the tools to measure the fired brass as well as the new brass. Brown santa should have them to me in a couple of days. I have been reading up on measuring brass and setting up my FL die to just bump back the shoulder about .002. That's a really good idea to use a tight piece of new brass to check.What you have is a wonderful opportunity to find out exactly what your chamber dimensions are. I say wonderful because you don't have to wait until you have fire formed the brass several times before getting a case that presents a tight bolt close.
I would sort all the un-shot brass by chambering and find the one(s) that chamber with a slightly stiff bolt close. Save that case and mark it with a sharpie as "max headspace" length ( I know, Fguffey is going to rant..
I make a line drawing of the cartridge and put measured dimensions at critical points such as base to mouth OAL, base to shoulder and gage used, and then post it on my reloading room wall for quick reference. This assumes you have the tools to measure base to shoulder and base to ogive.
Knowing your max chamber dimension, you can now set up your reloading dies to bump your brass only enough to chamber easily. Saves brass life if you work it only as much as you have to.
Be aware that 243 brass has a tendency to grow substantially after each resizing, and you need to keep a careful eye on over all length. I have seen what happens when a round with a too long case is chambered, the case mouth pinches the bullet in the throat, and then the trigger is pulled. You don't want to go there.
For trimming brass to OAL, I prefer the Worlds Finest Trimmer, or when the budget is tight, the Worlds Cheapest Trimmer. Both are fast and accurate.
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