a problem with neck sizing an A.I. case

[crittergitter]

I recently got my 22-250 A.I. back from the gunsmith. I fireformed 40 pieces of Norma brass with the rifle. I neck sized and loaded all the brass again. At this point, everythimg chambers fine. After shooting and neck sizing this time, the brass will chamber but it is very hard to cam the bolt closed. I am using a Redding Competition Bushing neck die set. Any thoughts or ideas you could give the new novice here?

 

[Winchester69]

Try bumping the shoulder.

 

[billmo]

Probably gonna have to have a bump die or a Redding Type "S" F/L
die to bump your shoulders back. Bill

 

[CJ6]

check your chamber neck length vs case neck length.The 2nd firing may have givin you just enough neck stretch to be tight.Does an empty case chamber completely ? or is it just the loaded rounds,Possible NK.thickness) I chamber cast all my rifles Factory and Custom and save the casts for Reference later on

 

[Tommie]

No major problems Critter. Assuming a good chambering job, first verify that the necks aren't too thick and/or long for the chamber. After that, just plan on full-length,or bump) sizing after a few firings. The 22-250AI is easier on brass than the standard case but it still needs to be "disciplined" occasionally - or at least that has been my experience with the 22-250AI.

Question: after firing, do you cases exhibit a noticeable bulge above the web area?

Tom

 

[crittergitter]

These are empty cases that I neck sized this morning that are having problems. I have run a couple of them through a body die and tried to chamber them but they are still very tough. after they have been run through the body die, there is a shiney ring on the case body just below where the shoulder starts. Just below that there is a dull copper color ring.

 

[CJ6]

Cast the chamber,it might be that your dies and chamber are not compatible.Cast it and check it out. A small base die may fix it but cast it first.

 

[AckleymanII]

Dude, one of your main problems may be the Norma brass itself. Norma is soft brass.

I have had several 22/250 AI's and have never had a problem with brass using Rem, Win, and PMC.

I only full length sized when using the 60 and 65g bullet pushing the envelope in pressure and velocity to get to the node that the load liked.

I had a 1-12 twist hart with a minimum SAAMI spec chamber with very short leade.

 

[Preacher]

That copper colored ring is just where the old shoulder was, nothing to worry about..
Set up a Full Length sizer die the correct way and be done with it..........

 

[crittergitter]

This is how it turned out... I took a suggestion from a fella on here and used some 0000 steel wool on the case neck, shoulder and upper body of the case until it was clean and shiney. The cases chambered fine after that. I guess that means the cases were too dirty after one shot to chamber smoothly? Also, the three cases that I ran through the body die would not chamber at all.

 

[flatlander]

Trying to solve a problem like yours without the use of a gauge to measure the as-fired vs. sized headspace dimension of your cases can be a bear. You need something like a Stoney Pt. headspace gauge on a vernier, dial, or digital caliper to check what you're doing with the body die. It's entirely possible to push the shoulder forward a thousandth or so instead of bumping it back by the partial sizing that's accomplished with a stock shellholder with cases out of a custom chamber with minimum headspace. If you've got the body die adjusted so that your press's linkage is already camming over and it's still not bumping case shoulders back, you're going to need to grind a few thou off the top surface of the shellholder so it can push cases far enough into the body die to bump the shoulders. Ackley cases with 40* shoulders can be tough to bump. But, without a headspace gauge on your calipers to measure what you're doing, you can go too far and create dangerous excess headspace. Get some tools and save yourself some grief.

 

[BoydAllen]

Yea verily....ditto...amen....what he said