Bulge on casings

[Rsadams]

I use mainly lake city range brass to feed M4s... It has a crimped primer so you know it is once fired.... Unfortunately if it's been fired in a machine gun it normally screws them up good.... What's happening here is your range brass was fired out of a rifle with a large chamber.... You need to buy small base dies which will size down further.... I actually use them for all automatic rifles I have from .223/5.56 to 30.06 etc...just set the dies up correctly and bump back .003 , I have not noticed any case life difference because the M16 platform is so hard on brass or they get lost...

Measure brass fired out of your chamber before and after firing and write those numbers down and place them in your die box for future reference... You will notice most AR chambers are pretty close but unfortunately not all are....

 

[Reloader000]

I use mainly lake city range brass to feed M4s... It has a crimped primer so you know it is once fired.... Unfortunately if it's been fired in a machine gun it normally screws them up good.... What's happening here is your range brass was fired out of a rifle with a large chamber.... You need to buy small base dies which will size down further.... I actually use them for all automatic rifles I have from .223/5.56 to 30.06 etc...just set the dies up correctly and bump back .003 , I have not noticed any case life difference because the M16 platform is so hard on brass or they get lost...

Measure brass fired out of your chamber before and after firing and write those numbers down and place them in your die box for future reference... You will notice most AR chambers are pretty close but unfortunately not all are....

Definitely going to buy small base die . I think for now that one’s that almost fit flush in the gauge should fire fine I would assume getting some powder this Friday

 

[spudgun]

Not only does a Small Base die work for semi auto's.

I needed it for my 6.5 CM bolt action.

 

[Reloader000]

guys I’m looking at buying the rcbs small base die so I need to buy the shell holder for it or can I use my number 4 from lee ?????

 

[RegionRat]

A ”standard” shell holder and modern ”standard” dies are supposed to be based on a shell holder at 0.125” height. If your present shell holder is 0.125” then you shouldn’t need another one.

That said, history is full of examples of poor QC and problems with the standardization concept, which was the reason for putting the quotes on those words.

I will suggest to all beginning reloaders, that it is important to measure and inspect their shell holders for this very reason.

If hard cam-over on a die is setting the shoulder datum length too short, then I would also suggest a set of Redding Competition Shell Holders to work with at first, then decide if backing off without hard contact will also work for you. Hard contact with a shell holder is deterministic, backing off to adjust requires more skill and technique, and is affected by the specifics of the press. YMMV.

 

[Rsadams]

guys I’m looking at buying the rcbs small base die so I need to buy the shell holder for it or can I use my number 4 from lee ?????

You can get away with the Lee shell holder but you should back the die out and screw it down until you get .003 shoulder set back.... This way even with small base dies your brass will live along time... If you don't have a head space comparator pick one up to help setup your dies , I use the Hornady one it's cheap.... Measure a few fired cases out of your rifle and that will give you a starting point.... Then with your dies setup correctly bump the shoulders back .003 , check the resized brass for fit in your chamber and if everything looks good lock the lock nut on your die and all you have to do is screw it back in later and you should be ready to go.... I honestly screw mine in finger tight and if I need another thousands of so I use a wrench and tighten it down some....

I also take out the set screw on the lock nut and insert a piece of lead bird shot before locking it down... Doing this compresses the lead and locks everything in place but keeps you from stripping the set screw out... If you don't reload shotshells and don't have bird shot around just remember there's about 350 in a 12ga round.... Remember you are the safety inspector when reloading so check everything three times.... Nobody says reloading is fast but when done correctly it's a safe hobby that gets you premium ammo cheaper than factory ammo...

 

[K22]

guys I’m looking at buying the rcbs small base die so I need to buy the shell holder for it or can I use my number 4 from lee ?????

I believe the Lee shell holders are NOT compatible with RCBS dies, I think the Lee's are not as thick. I have Lee shell holders in my Sinclair priming tool because that is the way the tool is designed. They are much thinner than RCBS shell holders, at least the vintages I have. Also the RCBS shell holder may not fit a Lee press, I'm not sure but check on it.

All my stuff is old like me so I will defer to other of more recent purchases to see if this still holds true but make sure the shell holder is compatible with the die. Most mfg.'s recommend the same brand of shell holder with the same brand of die at least that's the way it use to be.