I'm starting to have issues with my 500+ pieces of 20 Practical brass I have that are on their 4th or 5th firings. It all started as once fired LC a few years ago. About 25-30% of them are starting to show signs of separating (the tell tale shiny ring verified by a paperclip run along the inside of the case to feel the bad spot) or are separating about 1/3rd of the way from the bottom of the case.
I have been sizing the brass to where the shoulders are about 6-8 thousandths set back from fired dimensions and I'm guessing that is my problem or my headspacing could be a touch long but I don't think so as my 223 go/no-go gauges tell me it should be fine. My fired brass measures 1.456" from the base to the shoulder (using the Hornady Cratridge Headspace Gauge Kit) and wonder if any very experienced reloaders and or gunsmiths can tell me if this seems to be an acceptable fired length. My next batch of LC once fired brass I'll be converting to 20 Practical I'll make sure I only bump back the shoulders around 2-3 thousandths to see if I can get better life out of the brass.
On a side note, if I go with a 20-223AI instead of the 20 Practical, how much better brass life can I expect with the Ackley Improved version? I think I have enough barrel to play with I may just have my GS ream it out to 20-223AI after I get back from my upcoming Prairie Dog trip I'm going on in a few weeks. Thoughts?
I have been sizing the brass to where the shoulders are about 6-8 thousandths set back from fired dimensions and I'm guessing that is my problem or my headspacing could be a touch long but I don't think so as my 223 go/no-go gauges tell me it should be fine. My fired brass measures 1.456" from the base to the shoulder (using the Hornady Cratridge Headspace Gauge Kit) and wonder if any very experienced reloaders and or gunsmiths can tell me if this seems to be an acceptable fired length. My next batch of LC once fired brass I'll be converting to 20 Practical I'll make sure I only bump back the shoulders around 2-3 thousandths to see if I can get better life out of the brass.
On a side note, if I go with a 20-223AI instead of the 20 Practical, how much better brass life can I expect with the Ackley Improved version? I think I have enough barrel to play with I may just have my GS ream it out to 20-223AI after I get back from my upcoming Prairie Dog trip I'm going on in a few weeks. Thoughts?