• This Forum is for adults 18 years of age or over. By continuing to use this Forum you are confirming that you are 18 or older. No content shall be viewed by any person under 18 in California.

Likely a Stupid Question

Are you getting case swipe on end of case.

I don't know the answer to that question cause I'm not sure what "case swipe" means. I do feel a brushing or a grabbing on the brass when I lower the Ram, always assumed it was the decapping rod coming out of the neck.
 
No fancy tools needed, just a sharpie or dry erase marker, put a 1/4" wide stripe neck to base and all the way around the mouth, chamber, you'll see where its tight, whether body, headspace, or OAL or a combo.
 
I ran into the same problem with LC M852 Match brass. After full length sizing the bolt was hard to close in a factory chamber and would not close in a match chamber. Probably used in the M14 back in the day. I had 20 cases annealed and problem solved. Size fine in both RCBS and Redding dies now. That Lake City stuff is hard as a rock!
 
I ran into the same problem with LC M852 Match brass. After full length sizing the bolt was hard to close in a factory chamber and would not close in a match chamber. Probably used in the M14 back in the day. I had 20 cases annealed and problem solved. Size fine in both RCBS and Redding dies now. That Lake City stuff is hard as a rock!

I was just going to ask that question. I have access to an annealer and I will run some tomorrow.
Thanks to everyone for the assistance, you've reminded me of several things I should have tried BEFORE even asking my question.
 
anneal and forster small base, and your off to the races. i use LC LR and as along as the die is adjusted properly, your brass will last a long time at max loads.

i got 15 reload out of 5 pieces at a healthy dose of 8208xbr and 175 smks
 
My thoughts are:
dwell time, possibly 10 seconds, being compressed in a small base die - looking at procedures for running Rockwell hardness tests that involve embedding a small steel ball in various materials under measured forces call for dwell times and subjecting your brass to deformation in a die has some similarities.

check for brass length.

I am not familiar with a T-7 press but that might contribute to the problem. Using a Rockchucker press would eliminate that aspect.

I shoot a .20 Practical using once fired brass that probably has been fired in semi-autos. Should I use LC 5.56 brass, previous use in AR type rifles is a given. As one of the first steps once fired brass is F/L sized in small base dies.

At one time I used once fired GI LC match grade brass mostly fired in bolt guns and F/L sized that and did not have any problems.
 
I use an RCBS small base X-die and LC and WW brass shoots just fine in my LR-308. There should not be any problem if your press is working right and you are using an AR-10 or LR-308. The bolt gun might have too tight a chamber for this brass, so take this as a suggestion for a new rifle.
 
I would suggest you download and print a copy of the .308 Win specs available from SAAMI. Keep in mind you are dealing with Lake City 7.62x51 NATO, which is SIMILAR, but NOT precisely the same as .308 Win.

Did you buy this brass un-prepped? If it was run through a chain-gun, there will be marks from the belt clips. And if the chamber was 'generous', you'll know it when you FLS it the first time, unless your FLS die is also 'generous'. I had some LC brass once that, while I could re-size it, I decided it just wasn't worth the trouble. If your die has been working for you in the past, then it should work for you now. Have you noticed any problems before?

Anyway, take some fired brass from your .308, preferably 2x fired and compare it to the SAAMI specs using a 1" micrometer and measuring at the reference points on the SAAMI print. Next, take some of your FLS LC brass and using the same techniques, compare it to the SAAMI specs. Your answer will be found therein.

We can speculate until the cows come home. Precise measuring against a known standard is the only way to determine the answer with certainty.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK; so I bought some brass for my .308; it's once fired LC brass; It's headstamped LC 87 (I think that's the date) and I can't hardly close the bolt on this brass. I've run it through my FL sizing die and for some reason it doesn't set back the shoulder. I resize on my T-7 with a bit of overcam hoping it will set the shoulder back, but no go.
What am I screwing up; or is the brass not .308 brass?
As far as your stupid Question goes. The only stupid question is the one not asked. You are fine sir.. Tommy Mc
 
That Lake City stuff is hard as a rock!

From Buckeye Bullets & Brass
We have seen brass that is new in the box but that has been stored for several years to be is “hard”. This makes turning concentric necks more difficult, as well as a higher case loss due to cracked shoulders during fire forming.

Their solution to this is annealing. You probably have oversized brass from a large chamber and has been setting for a long time. It can't hurt to anneal some and try.
 
Annealed all the 308 brass this morning and FL sized them all. I randomly checked 20 of the brass by chambering and closing the bolt; EVERYONE I checked allowed the bolt to close WITHOUT effort. Now, since I shoot mostly cast in these cases, I shouldn't have to full length size again, right? I have a neck die to use for subsequent reloads. My other brass that I shoot jacketed in probably won't need FL sizing for several reloads since I tend to load on the lower end of the "hot rod" scale.
Thanks to everyone who helped.
BTW, prior to annealing the brass I ran a few through the FL die mounted in the RockChucker and held the ram up for 15 seconds. They chambered alright as well.
 
I bought a huge box of lc 308 brass that was supposed to be match but i think it came from a minigun. Annealed it and it was fine. Thinking that huge box was part of a soldiers smile for about a few seconds :D
 

Upgrades & Donations

This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.


Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.

You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.


To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.

Forum statistics

Threads
165,836
Messages
2,204,477
Members
79,157
Latest member
Bud1029
Back
Top