Need help with sizing 6.5 Creedmoor

[Yossarian]

I'm new to reloading and I've been reloading some rifle and pistol cartridges successfully, but I encountered a problem with 6.5 Creedmoor. I have a Redding resizing die, and I was attempting to reload once-fired Winchester brass, and the brass starts to wedge about 1/3 the way into to the size die. I tried using lots of lube and gradually working the case in and out of the die but I can't get it more than 2/3 the way in before it binds up so hard that I have to pry it out with a frighting amount of force (like standing on the table and pulling the handle up with 2 hands). When I use Starline brass it slides in and out no problem, like the other calibers I've worked with.

I made sure to clean and lube the die before using it. Is it possible there's just something wrong with the Winchester brass? Both the Winchester and the Starline brass fit fine in my headspace gauge. This is a problem that I can't find any information about. What do you guys advise I should do?

 

[RegionRat]

I have a Redding resizing die, and I was attempting to reload once-fired Winchester brass

Was this Winchester brass fired in your chamber, or purchased as once fired from some other gun?

What lube are you using?

 

[joshb]

Are you sure it’s 6.5 Creedmoor brass?
I had a long conversation with a guy having trouble with his brass, this morning.
It finally turned out he grabbed a bag of 6ppc brass instead of his bag of 30br brass!
Just sayin. When things don’t seem to work, recheck everything!

 

[Yossarian]

Was this Winchester brass fired in your chamber, or purchased as once fired from some other gun?

What lube are you using?

I fired it once. I'm using Dillon case lube (also using a Dillon 550 press)

 

[Yossarian]

Are you sure it’s 6.5 Creedmoor brass?
I had a long conversation with a guy having trouble with his brass, this morning.
It finally turned out he grabbed a bag of 6ppc brass instead of his bag of 30br brass!
Just sayin. When things don’t seem to work, recheck everything!

Yeah I'm sure. I fired it in my 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered rifle and cleaned it and dropped it into my 6.5 Creedmoor case gauge and it fits perfectly. It must be EVER so slightly too large for the size die.

 

[joshb]

I would suggest you try Imperial sizing wax. Best of the best lube. It’s all I use. Also, check to see if your vent hole is clear.

 

[Yossarian]

I would suggest you try Imperial sizing wax. Best of the best lube. It’s all I use. Also, check to see if your vent hole is clear.

I have ordered some of that, but it won't turn up until tomorrow. What is a vent hole?

 

[joshb]

Some dies have a little hole in the top side to let air escape. Try pulling your die apart and give it a good cleaning. If the vent gets clogged, you feel more resistance from compressing the air.

 

[RegionRat]

Agree with @joshb and the rest of the advice to stop and check everything.

Keeping some Imperial on hand is a staple in this game. I would even say a single stage press and alternate die are good to have, but realize not everyone has the redundancy. That comes with age....

Also, make sure you are giving the solvent time to flash off on your lube.

Does the brass all look normal? Any signs of high pressure or distress? Does the difficult brass show any signs of where it is jamming into the die?

Have you compared virgin dimensions against once fired?

Grab a set of 6" calipers and a decent micrometer and check your reference dimensions on virgin and fired brass. Look for signs of abnormal pressure or bad chambers. The diameter at the shoulder junction, and the diameter at the 0.2 datum can tell you a lot of things about your chamber and dies. You can work to thousandths for lengths, but diameters should be watched in the fourth decimal place.

If that brass is bulged badly, the shoulder junction diameter and the 0.2 line should show a difference between the ones that don't give you trouble and the ones that jam the press.

 

[thestoicmarcusaurelius]

I would suggest you try Imperial sizing wax. Best of the best lube. It’s all I use. Also, check to see if your vent hole is clear.

none of the redding dies I have used have had vent holes

learned to be careful over lubing them just as much as under lubing haha

 

[Yossarian]

Oh, it did not occur to me to measure with calipers. The unfired brass I have has a body diameter of 0.459" near the neck, and the fired brass has a body diameter of 0.465". So firing it expanded the diameter about 6 thousandths. Is that an unreasonable amount of expansion? Is that an amount that the size die should be able to fix with the right lube?

 

[DirtySteve]

I shoot a Creedmoor as well. Can you tell me what your load is??

 

[RegionRat]

Oh, it did not occur to me to measure with calipers. The unfired brass I have has a body diameter of 0.459" near the neck, and the fired brass has a body diameter of 0.465". So firing it expanded the diameter about 6 thousandths. Is that an unreasonable amount of expansion? Is that an amount that the size die should be able to fix with the right lube?

You said you have some brass that glides though sizing easy, and WIN brass that does not. Look for a contrast between the two types that would explain the difference.

For example, the shoulder junction on your once fired Starline brass was what compared to the WIN? If they are both 0.465" then keep searching elsewhere, if there is a huge difference there, then we turn our attention to why?

A SAAMI print shows the following diameters for reference. Just behind the shoulder should be 0.464" in the chamber, so the ammo should be 0.462" max. Your 0.465" once fired dimension is going to require some force to size down. Double check everything between virgin, once fired WIN and once fired Starline.

Consider some Imperial lube and using a single stage to debug in order to prevent damage to the Dillon till you have things figured out. It may be you have a generous chamber and will just need to make sure you have the cases and dies lubricated well, or it could still be something we have yet to uncover.

At least to start with, I would expect a 0.465" shoulder to require a bit of force to work down to below 0.462".

 

[Doom]

Yeah I'm sure. I fired it in my 6.5 Creedmoor-chambered rifle and cleaned it and dropped it into my 6.5 Creedmoor case gauge and it fits perfectly. It must be EVER so slightly too large for the size die.

Fired, unsized brass fit in a case gauge, but not a die? Makes no sense! What other rifle calibers do you reload?

 

[Bill Norris]

Oh, it did not occur to me to measure with calipers. The unfired brass I have has a body diameter of 0.459" near the neck, and the fired brass has a body diameter of 0.465". So firing it expanded the diameter about 6 thousandths. Is that an unreasonable amount of expansion? Is that an amount that the size die should be able to fix with the right lube?

Ordinarily, a good die would work that dimension if cases were lubed properly but, Win. brass leaves a lot to be desired anymore.

 

[Yossarian]

Ordinarily, a good die would work that dimension if cases were lubed properly but, Win. brass leaves a lot to be desired anymore.

Thanks, if the answer is that Winchester brass is useless I'll just spend some money on other brands. Winchester brass is the only fired brass I have at the moment though, so I need to fire some other brands and see if they give me the same problems.

 

[Yossarian]

Fired, unsized brass fit in a case gauge, but not a die? Makes no sense! What other rifle calibers do you reload?

.223 is the only other rifle caliber I've been reloading. I was surprised that they fit in the gauge too. I guess the gauge is primarily measuring length and not diameter.

 

[Yossarian]

You said you have some brass that glides though sizing easy, and WIN brass that does not. Look for a contrast between the two types that would explain the difference.

For example, the shoulder junction on your once fired Starline brass was what compared to the WIN? If they are both 0.465" then keep searching elsewhere, if there is a huge difference there, then we turn our attention to why?

A SAAMI print shows the following diameters for reference. Just behind the shoulder should be 0.464" in the chamber, so the ammo should be 0.462" max. Your 0.465" once fired dimension is going to require some force to size down. Double check everything between virgin, once fired WIN and once fired Starline.

Consider some Imperial lube and using a single stage to debug in order to prevent damage to the Dillon till you have things figured out. It may be you have a generous chamber and will just need to make sure you have the cases and dies lubricated well, or it could still be something we have yet to uncover.

At least to start with, I would expect a 0.465" shoulder to require a bit of force to work down to below 0.462".

The Starline brass is brand new, not fired yet. I will fire some of those and look for differences. Definitely getting the imperial lube. I hope it's as magic as you all say!

If I do have a generous chamber and just need a lot of resizing, are there multi-stage resizing dies that let me resize in multiple steps so that each step requires less force?

 

[Bill Norris]

If I do have a generous chamber and just need a lot of resizing, are there multi-stage resizing dies that let me resize in multiple steps so that each step requires less force?

Not to my knowledge.

 

[venatic]

I have had issues with Winchester once fired brass as well. Exactly same issue you had. Almost stuck one but managed to get it sized so on all the 20 pieces I had I put extra lube and got them sized down.
These were once fired factory and after Sizing and reloading the next round they sized a little easier.