Newb question -- resized cases won't chamber?

[japhar81]

I'm positive I'm doing something stupid, but I'm at a total loss here.. Trying my hand at reloading, starting with my go-to 6.5 Creedmoor rifle. Took some brass from a box of Hornady ELD I shot at the range with this same rifle, and ran it through my hornady cusom grade resizing die.

Per the instructions I threaded the die into my press until it made contact, then did one full turn on top. I can feel the pressure in the press, so I'm pretty sure its resizing. I also see a small ring on the throat, so I'm assuming that's more evidence it resized. Once resized, I tried to chamber it as a test. Bolt goes in, but won't lock down. I thought maybe I didn't resize far enough, so wasted a piece of brass and turned the die in one more full turn and resized again. Same deal, it just won't chamber. I did confirm the cartridge length is within spec as well -- I trimmed it to 1.920 using a well-calibrated caliper, so I'm pretty confident in the length.

Interestingly, it fits just fine in my Lyman cartridge gauge. I'm baffled.. what am I missing here?

 

[LHSmith]

On a FL die it should just be touching the shell holder. When bullet seating to crimp is when you turn the die (seater die) lower. A lot of people get confused on this.

 

[DiffEQ]

"Camming over" depends on the press though Ibnever go "one full turn."
Small ring on the throat?
A picture of the case in the case checker would help.

 

[Chaotik]

Perhaps your problem may be shoulder bump.

What is your measurement at the shoulder before and after you resize?

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Try another piece of brass with die touching shell holder at full stroke plus a 1/8 more turn in and see what that does.

 

[BoydAllen]

Apparently there is either a problem with the written instructions, or you have misread them. Here is a video, from Hornady, on their instructions for setting up a die. The issue here is that for many rifles sizing brass this way will result in the shoulder of the case being pushed back too far, and if that is the case, it will have a negative effect on case life. Typically, factory instructions for setting dies are not followed by experienced reloaders. Instead they use various tools to measure the shoulder to head dimension of fired cases and set their die to push the shoulder back a specific amount, which may vary depending on the application. In any case, keeping to the factory instructions, here is the link.

 

[japhar81]

Picture of my throwaway test case

 

[japhar81]

You should get one of these and compare fired and unfired cases:

Lock‑N‑Load® Headspace Comparator & Anvil Base Kit - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Lock‑N‑Load® Headspace Comparator & Anvil Base Kit Lock-N-Load® Headspace Comparator The Lock-N-Load® Headspace Comparator extends brass life, improves accuracy, and enhances safety. The gauge measures...

www.hornady.com

I actually have one.. just waiting on a bullet puller to get an unfired case to test with..

 

[K22]

First, you should never have to turn the FL die down from shell holder contact one full turn. At most, 1/4 to 1/8 turn from contact with shell holder and often that's too much. Without a precise bump measurement, you in the dark about how much you're sizing the cases.

You need a bump gauge to measure the fired case head space then adjust your FL die to produce a shoulder set back of about .001 to .002". Make sure you remove the spent primer before taking the fired case head space measurement.

Before doing anything, make sure there are no obstructions in the chamber or bolt face. Cycle the bolt a few times.

Also, I've seen this problem with some newer Remington 700's, the case rim will not seat in the bolt face because it can't ride over the extractor making closing the bolt difficult to impossible. There could be a mechanical problem with the rifle. To rule that out, VERY CAREFULLY AND SAFELY check an unfired factory round for chambering.

If a fired factory case chambers without difficulty, then something is amiss in the sizing the case.

 

[japhar81]

First, you should never have to turn the FL die down from shell holder contact one full turn. At most, 1/4 to 1/8 turn from contact with shell holder and often that's too much. Without a precise bump measurement, you in the dark about how much you're sizing the cases.

You need a bump gauge to measure the fired case head space then adjust your FL die to produce a shoulder set back of about .001 to .002". Make sure you remove the spent primer before taking the fired case head space measurement.

Before doing anything, make sure there are no obstructions in the chamber or bolt face. Cycle the bolt a few times.

Also, I've seen this problem with some newer Remington 700's, the case rim will not seat in the bolt face because it can't ride over the extractor making closing the bolt difficult to impossible. There could be a mechanical problem with the rifle. To rule that out, VERY CAREFULLY AND SAFELY check an unfired factory round for chambering.

If a fired factory case chambers without difficulty, then something is amiss in the sizing the case.

Is that .001 from the fired size? i.e take a headspace measurement on the brass pre-sizing, and size until it's 0.001 less?

Also I tried factory ammo -- went through two cases at the range yesterday, chambers and fires just fine. It's only my resized case that seems to be at issue.

 

[K22]

Picture of my throwaway test case View attachment 1402015

I just looked at your picture before my post. Look at the rim. I suspect your extractor is the issue. See my prior post.

I'm concerned about the neck. Can't figure that one out but perhaps you caused a fatigue in the neck due to very excessive sizing.

 

[K22]

Is that .001 from the fired size? i.e take a headspace measurement on the brass pre-sizing, and size until it's 0.001 less?

Also I tried factory ammo -- went through two cases at the range yesterday, chambers and fires just fine. It's only my resized case that seems to be at issue.

Yes, you base the amount of bump on a fired case headspace measurement - that is your baseline. After bumping, always check the sized case in the rifle chamber.

Did the factory case come out with the rim chewed up like shown in your picture? If not, something may be amiss with the shell holder. The rim should not be damage like that on a bolt rifle. Is chambering and extraction causing the damage rim or the sizing operations?

 

[Kracken McGraw]

I just looked at your picture before my post. Look at the rim. I suspect your extractor is the issue. See my prior post.

I'm concerned about the neck. Can't figure that one out but perhaps you caused a fatigue in the neck due to very excessive sizing.

I bet that tore up rim is from getting it out of the 2 times turned down die.
OP try one at just touching for us.

 

[358WCF]

Are you running the press handle to the bottom of it's stroke? Lubing cases?

 

[LHSmith]

Turning the FL die further into the press beyond ~ 1/4 turn or less will not size the case. I just ran a fired .308 case and did the same as the OP- the headspace dimension did not change. The ring on the neck and chewed up rim is hard to explain.

 

[Rem06]

Are you running the press handle to the bottom of it's stroke? Lubing cases?

that is what i was thinking.
no lube?
wrong shell holder and mis adjusted die.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Picture of my throwaway test case View attachment 1402015

Looking at this pic more do y’all think the extreme sizing pushed the shoulder down and flowed excess bras up to neck and made it too long to chamber?

 

[LHSmith]

Trimmer caused the rim damage?

 

[6MMsteve]

the ring on the nk is where the case went .2 to far into the die then he had to pry the case out the nk portion is sized into the shoulder area...u r way to deep on fl sizing

 

[Rem06]

Looking at this pic more do y’all think the extreme sizing pushed the shoulder down and flowed excess bras up to neck and made it too long to chamber?

yup, think wrong shell holder?