223 Dies size brass down too much

[maxpower]

The 223 dies,el cheapo)which I have are sizing the fired brass of my new,to me) 223 too much. I would say the chamber is a large sloppy factory one and I dont think the brass will like being squeezed down .010' at the shoulder and .006' at the base each time I resize them. Are there any 223 dies out there which are slightly bigger in general than others? I didnt want to spring for custom dies just yet as this gun will be rebarreled next year.

 

[CJ6]

Try just Neck sizing

 

[maxpower]

CJ6, I have a neck die for this gun. The neck die is good for a few shots, then the case gets a bit tight and it needs a full length size again. Problem is,when I full length size it, it squeezes the brass down a fair bit. I found my usual load with neck sized brass has powder just to the bottom of the shoulder, while with a Full length sized case, the powder is further up the neck, giving a compressed load. I was hoping there would be some reasonably priced dies out there which dont squeeze the cases down quite so much.

 

[fdshuster]

Redding type 'S' full length sizing die with steel bushing,s) .002' and .003' smaller than loaded case neck diameter. Die body can be adjusted up and down to control amount of body/shoulder sizing. Sinclair 2009-A catalog, page 38, bottom die, sectioned) pictured.

 

[fivering]

You can easily adjust the amount of shoulder set back by measuring a fired case with a Stoney Point 'Head 'N Shoulders' cartridge head space gauge, then screwing your sizing die out until you have from 1/2 to 1-1/2 thousands set back upon sizing.
If you are noticing a sizable difference in powder levels between a sized and an non-sized case, you probably have a chamber that is cut either at maximum specs, or even a little over.

 

[KevinL]

sounds like you are wasting time and money. Screw on a new brl and dont look back
by the time you redo all your reloading equipment you could have had a brl put on with a good ghamber and probly a better brl to boot
My $.02
Good Luck Kevin

 

[CJ6]

did you happen to buy a small base die instead of a regular die ?

 

[KevinL]

A small base die will do that
I youse them for gas guns ARs
Kevin

 

[RDavies]

I have had various off the shelf dies which didnt fit as I would like, a few of the ones I use dont size the base enough, while thers size the shoulders too much. I think some sort of database on dies would be good.

 

[maxpower]

The problem I am having is with the shoulder diameter being squeezed in, not the length. I have the head space dimensions set so it bumps the case back .002', but the shoulder gets squeezed in a lot.
It Isnt a small base die, just a standard FLS die.
I was wondering if anyone had a few different 223 dies and had noticed some sized to different dimensions?

 

[GentleBen]

I used a Dillon carbide sizing die when I loaded for ARs and it acted like a small base die. Everything loaded fine with it.

What kind of brass are you using?

Now, I just shoot bolt guns and am using all Lapua brass with a Redding S Bushing Full Length die with .247 and .248 bushings and it seems to size OK but not nearly as much as the Dillon carbide did. I also find that the bases are not being sized as much with the Redding and are sometimes a tight fit in the case gauge. But they shoot well -- my custom chamber is a snug one from McGowen.

I am also starting to shoot 6mmBR and I sent off some fired cases to Harrell's Precision for them to pick out a near-custom fit die for me. We'll see.