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Inconsistent headspace?

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so I am thinking that you don't have your die set up quite as well as it could be. To know for sure, you'll have to measure your brass before and after sizing. If you don't have separate de-priming step, you an use a Hornaday OAL gage on one side of your calipers and a comparator gage on the other. This provides a way to support the base of the cartridge without the primer effecting the measurement.

My theory is some of the shot cases are slightly smaller and don't get the shoulder bumped, so measure shorter.
 
FWIW, I think a lot of y'all are going to a lot of trouble getting consistent case lube when there is a simple way to do it that works very well in my experience. BTW, i used to use Hornady Quick Shot, but it just got more & more expensive, so decided to try this other method and it has served me well. First, get your fired brass cleaned up; I know most all of you do this already. To lube the brass, I lay a small white (motel type) washcloth on the bench, pour the brass cases onto the cloth (up to about 100 223 size cases), spray well with one of the 90/10 alcohol/anhydrous lanolin lubes then close up the cloth around the sprayed cases and tumble them in the cloth. After tumbling, I pour them out of the cloth into a pan, wait about 5-10 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate, then size the brass. I have gotten very consistent results using this lube method. I haven't cleaned the washcloth, allowing the lanolin to accumulate in it so it takes a bit less newly sprayed lube now than it did originally. I realize that this is kind of old school lube, but it works. BTW, when I 1st started reloading back in 1961, I used a tin of anhydrous lanolin that was hand applied like Imperial Sizing Wax is done now with great results. If this sounds interesting, give it a try because it will save you a good bit of time and is very inexpensive.

Got any links to the stuff that you use?

Thanks
 
My technique might be different. I record for each rifle the datum to case head length that I can just feel the bolt close on the brass. I set my die 0.002" short of that dimension. Unless the loads are max, it can take 4 or 5 firings for the case to reach this point. While many folks set their die to set the shoulder back 0.001-0.002" from the first fired dimension. So I FL resize each firing, but I may not have consistent fired case length for several firings.

The worst brass I have seen for being short when new is Fiocchi. It was 204 Ruger and some were over 0.010" shorter than others. Even after multiple firings they were still much shorter. Winchester was next, and Lapua was next.

Me too Jepp. I call it the "rifle zero headspace" dimension, and set the die to size .002 less that it. Why would one automatically bump to set back the shoulder, which can be an arbitrary amount based on the chamber if that is unknown?
 
My technique might be different. I record for each rifle the datum to case head length that I can just feel the bolt close on the brass. I set my die 0.002" short of that dimension. Unless the loads are max, it can take 4 or 5 firings for the case to reach this point. While many folks set their die to set the shoulder back 0.001-0.002" from the first fired dimension. So I FL resize each firing, but I may not have consistent fired case length for several firings.

The worst brass I have seen for being short when new is Fiocchi. It was 204 Ruger and some were over 0.010" shorter than others. Even after multiple firings they were still much shorter. Winchester was next, and Lapua was next.
Jepp, I use your described technique and feel it cuts to the heart of the matter. Also, Imperial sizing die wax-accept no substitutes
 
I don't think a couple thousandths spread in case head clearance when fired caused by the same spread in case headspace is an issue. Case shoulders are hard against and centered in chamber shoulders when fired.

As long as the cartridge dimensions from shoulder forward are consistent, all's well for best accuracy. A couple thousandths spread in how far the case head is clear from the bolt face ensures the bolt head goes into battery exactly the same for every shot. The bolt should not bind at all.

The firing pin's impact on the primer can set the case shoulder back a little before the round fires. Head clearance increases that much when the round fires.

Yes, evenly lubed cases and a few seconds dwell time while the press ram is up lets case brass flow to more uniform shapes
 
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