New gun with new ammo and have zero headspace change after firing?

[noobie]

So you have .009 under your shell holder. What does that tell you?

(Trust me , I'm not being a smart ass here)

Well between my arm strength and not ever doing this before. I can pretty mush smash that shell through the die if I wanted to.

 

[JFrank]

Well between my arm strength and not ever doing this before. I can pretty mush smash that shell through the die if I wanted to.

Yep" ( but go easy)
You can now adjust headspace an additional.009 if need be bye way of threads and measuring. Now get out there and Fire form that brass!

 

[Webster]

I was working on reloading my first 30-06 as a learning lesson and struggled to say the least. I have watched many video's and read the reloading book from Hornady. I attempted to setup the sizing die so that I created a headspace gap of .003 on a once fired round out of my rifle. I just couldn't budge the head back at all and ended up ruining the die and shell. Well screwed that up for sure! Fortunately they aren't terribly expensive. I spent the evening thinking about what I did wrong and am still a little baffled. My assortment of once fired cases all measure very close if not exactly 2.0450 using the Hornady headspace measuring kit using the .375". The new unfired shells also measure 2.0450. Would a new gun and new shells have such tight tolerances that the cases just didn't stretch at all? After the fact researching I believe the minimum measurement on a 30-06 case from base to datum line is 2.0487. So I am already below the minimum with new shells and the once fired shells. I suppose trying to go even smaller is what killed the whole deal? Wish I had seen notes about that in the 15 some articles and video's I watched about headspace. They all just pretty much say for hunting to go .003 below the spent round case. I'm guessing that didn't work out at all since I am already below the min? Any advice? Do I just use the full sizing die to neck size them? Do I get neck sizing die? Don't want to break another die so any advice would be appreciated.

Gun is a new Tikka T3X Lite Stainless if that matters at all. Only about 150 rounds fired in it.

45 years of reloading with many types of lube, never stuck a case. You need more lube. Don't want to interpret all of your numbers but I reloaded sucessfully for decades without any type of gauge. If you can rechamber a fired case you could reload it without any resizing as long as the neck grips a bullet. I now use the method of adjusting my dies where you do just enough sizing to chamber a round with the firing pin spring removed and closing the bolt the last half way with very little pressure on the bolt handle. The case needs to be fired 2-3 times with ideally just some neck sizing to match the chamber dimensions. Back the die off about a half turn for your beginning try. You want to start not sized enough, screw the die down in small increments and keep adjusting down until the bolt hadle closes the last half way down very little effort. No gauges needed. The chamber is your gauge and not some arbitrary measurement.

 

[snert]

Now all we need is the Guffy to drop by and we can send Noob to the loony bin!

 

[JMayo]

PMI makes a great tool for adjusting die to give just the right amount of shoulder bump.
I got a comparable measurement from fired 2 times shells. I want .002 bump back. I start with PMI/die set not to bump and after 4 or 5 times of moving die down half thous I get the bump I want.
Using .002 the rim thickness doesn't hamper length/chambering.
If I bump back too much that one goes to a sighter. I'll get it right next time.

 

[Webster]

Now all we need is the Guffy to drop by and we can send Noob to the loony bin!

Guffey hasn't been on since October.

 

[stifffingers]

That shell is not ever coming out. Well not with the tools I have.

To remove a stuck case, screw the die into your press from the bottom. Now drill and tap a 1/4x 20 hole in base of case. Using a socket and a bunch of washers screw a bolt into the case with the bolt inserted thru the socket base. With a wrench, just keep turning the bolt until the case comes out. You do have to use a socket the stuck case can fit in. Sorry for repeating stuff already said. I didn't read the whole thread.

 

[Richard Coody]

To remove a stuck case, screw the die into your press from the bottom. Now drill and tap a 1/4x 24 hole in base of case. Using a socket and a bunch of washers screw a bolt into the case with the bolt inserted thru the socket base. With a wrench, just keep turning the bolt until the case comes out. You do have to use a socket the stuck case can fit in.

I call that a rube goldberg wheel puller

If you can get the decapping pin out i have put the die in a vice and taken a wooden dowel or long punch that will fit in the neck and tapped it out with a hammer.

Been decades since i stuck a case. Imperial sizing wax.