No shoulder bump on my Lee press

[MarkO76]

Would the Lee breech lock challenger be worth buying for this issue? Or should I steer clear of Lee presses?

 

[Rset]

Would the Lee breech lock challenger be worth buying for this issue? Or should I steer clear of Lee presses?

The choice of a press is largely a personal decision. Nothing wrong with Lee. That being said, I would tend to think you have a different issue than the press. You may be throwing your money away hoping a new press is going to solve your problem. Solve the problem before you put money into a new press. If you really think the press is an issue, find another reloader in the area and see if you can use one of their presses to check the issue.

 

[MarkO76]

I trimmed the neck of one of my brass down 0.004 below the length of a virgin brass. It didn't really do anything, it might've gotten a little easier, but it was barely noticeable, if any. What's my next step?

 

[6.5grendel]

Does a virgin lapua case chamber freely? If so I would trim the length of the sized case to match the virgin case and see if it chambers freely. Then, if you are bumping the shoulders back .0045 and the length is not too long, it must be the body of the has expanded enough to keep it from chambering freely. You could run a 243win, 308win, or 260rem body or full length die down the cases to undersize the base of the case slightly and then see if it chambers freely. I believe you can also use a 30-06 die. There are probably some others that would work also but those are the ones I know of. After sizing the body of the case with one of those dies you will probably have to bump the shoulders back again with your 6BRA die because the other dies will push the shoulder forward when squeezing the body.

 

[sawcarver]

The Lee challenger press is a good press, ive done thousands and thousands of rounds on mine. I much prefer it to my rock chucker.

However I dont think it is a press issue either, a C press may flex some but only so far before it bends or fails.

How are you measuring your shoulder bump? 0.004 should be enough

 

[MarkO76]

Does a virgin lapua case chamber freely? If so I would trim the length of the sized case to match the virgin case and see if it chambers freely. Then, if you are bumping the shoulders back .0045 and the length is not too long, it must be the body of the has expanded enough to keep it from chambering freely. You could run a 243win, 308win, or 260rem body or full length die down the cases to undersize the base of the case slightly and then see if it chambers freely. I believe you can also use a 30-06 die. There are probably some others that would work also but those are the ones I know of. After sizing the body of the case with one of those dies you will probably have to bump the shoulders back again with your 6BRA die because the other dies will push the shoulder forward when squeezing the body.

Yes the virgin brass chambers freely. I trimmed the formed brass a hair shorter than the virgin brass, but it didn't help much. Wouldn't my Wilson full length sizing die size the cases properly? Or could my chamber be a little tighter than the die?

 

[MarkO76]

The Lee challenger press is a good press, ive done thousands and thousands of rounds on mine. I much prefer it to my rock chucker.

However I dont think it is a press issue either, a C press may flex some but only so far before it bends or fails.

How are you measuring your shoulder bump? 0.004 should be enough

I'm measuring it with a .40 cal case over top of the brass I'm trying to bump the shoulder on.

 

[M-61]

so I'm thinking its just worn out.

Unlikely

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Would the Lee breech lock challenger be worth buying for this issue? Or should I steer clear of Lee presses?

If it’s in your budget, why not look at better O frame single stage presses. There’s a good thread going on now in this forum for Single Stage presses. If you need a priming system too, you might look at the Lyman Victory press. I have the turret version with this same priming system and it works pretty good as does the spent primer catcher.

 

[MarkO76]

If it’s in your budget, why not look at better O frame single stage presses. There’s a good thread going on now in this forum for Single Stage presses. If you need a priming system too, you might look at the Lyman Victory press. I have the turret version with this same priming system and it works pretty good as does the spent primer catcher.

I've already thrown so much $$$ at this build, I just want to figure out what the issue is, for sure, before I start spending more money.

 

[Metal God]

Did you size a case and leave the ram fully up so the case is still in the sizing die then look if there is that gap between the die and shell holder ? This must be a case that needs sizing and not cases you’ve already sized once or virgin brass . This puts the needed load on the press to see if it’s flexing . Keep in mind we are talking thousands of an inch . All presses regardless of style will have some deflection/flex . The more robust the less you will likely have but there’s always some

There has been some good suggestions on how to fix sizing issues but IMHO we have not established if there actually is a problem .

We first need to know for sure your die and shell holder are making firm contact at the top of the stroke . If so then we will know your set up can not bump the shoulder enough . If they are not touching then what gap there is , is the same amount you still have available to size the case more you just need to screw the die down a little more .

 

[6.5grendel]

Yes your die should be sizing the case enough but if a case is fired a couple times without full length resizing each time then sometimes a normal full length die or body die will not be able to size the base of the case back to original dimensions. That is one reason for small base dies and why most people preach full length sizing every time instead of neck sizing only. I would try one of the dies I mentioned early and see what happens. If it chambers fine after that, then you know the problem. If not, then you have a different issue.

 

[pirate ammo]

I've already thrown so much $$$ at this build, I just want to figure out what the issue is, for sure, before I start spending more money.

You worried about spending money I only have one thing to say, sell what you got and go play video games
because it don't get any better. If you don't listen to these guys then your just screwing with then. I'm done and gone.

 

[dellet]

Get a sharpie, ink the whole case.
Index mark only on the case head
Insert it in the chamber with your finger.
Remove the case

There will be a rub mark on the case where it hits and likely an ink mark in the chamber. The index mark will help you locate where to look in the chamber.

If you push it in firm, tap it out with a cleaning rod.

Hard to tell if the scuff marks on your brass is from the die or the chamber, but it might be as simple as not enough lube if it's from the die and that may be why it's not sizing correctly.
If its from the chamber, it's a stout load.

 

[MarkO76]

Did you size a case and leave the ram fully up so the case is still in the sizing die then look if there is that gap between the die and shell holder ? This must be a case that needs sizing and not cases you’ve already sized once or virgin brass . This puts the needed load on the press to see if it’s flexing . Keep in mind we are talking thousands of an inch . All presses regardless of style will have some deflection/flex . The more robust the less you will likely have but there’s always some

There has been some good suggestions on how to fix sizing issues but IMHO we have not established if there actually is a problem .

We first need to know for sure your die and shell holder are making firm contact at the top of the stroke . If so then we will know your set up can not bump the shoulder enough . If they are not touching then what gap there is , is the same amount you still have available to size the case more you just need to screw the die down a little more .

Yes when I put in a case that has not been resized on the top of the stroke there is a small gap (0.003") I have screwed down the die, but it doesn't change the gap.

 

[MarkO76]

Get a sharpie, ink the whole case.
Index mark only on the case head
Insert it in the chamber with your finger.
Remove the case

There will be a rub mark on the case where it hits and likely an ink mark in the chamber. The index mark will help you locate where to look in the chamber.

If you push it in firm, tap it out with a cleaning rod.

Hard to tell if the scuff marks on your brass is from the die or the chamber, but it might be as simple as not enough lube if it's from the die and that may be why it's not sizing correctly.
If its from the chamber, it's a stout load.

 

[MarkO76]

Get a sharpie, ink the whole case.
Index mark only on the case head
Insert it in the chamber with your finger.
Remove the case

There will be a rub mark on the case where it hits and likely an ink mark in the chamber. The index mark will help you locate where to look in the chamber.

If you push it in firm, tap it out with a cleaning rod.

Hard to tell if the scuff marks on your brass is from the die or the chamber, but it might be as simple as not enough lube if it's from the die and that may be why it's not sizing correctly.
If its from the chamber, it's a stout load.

The pic with the "squiggle" was at 12 o'clock. The others I turned clockwise from 12 o'clock and the scratching around the shoulder was uniform all the way around

 

[MarkO76]

You worried about spending money I only have one thing to say, sell what you got and go play video games
because it don't get any better. If you don't listen to these guys then your just screwing with then. I'm done and gone.

First of all, if you don't have anything to add to the conversation, why even post? Secondly, I haven't played video games since the NES was "cool" Thirdly, if your idea of trouble shooting a problem is just throw money at it until you figure it out, it must be nice. Myself personally, I prefer to figure out the issue, then spend money.

 

[bozo699]

Mark,
I’m completely confused is Lapua making 6Bra brass?…. Or are you having to ff 6br brass to form the 6bra?…. If your shooting a bra I’m assuming your shooting benchrest if so that press is not near good enough it’s aluminum $40 press. If you like Lee buy there big cast iron press I like the rcbs rock chucker for my 6 Dasher and other variants I really like the Harrells br press. If your screwing your die all the way and there’s still a gap and from what I read there is it needs to go further even if you have to put the lock nut on the bottom side as someone else mentioned. But seriously that press is not a precision built press I would keep it for depriming only
Wayne

 

[bozo699]

One other thing as several bave mentioned your base might not being sized when you open the bolt with the brass that’s not fitting easily is there a click sound at the top of your bolt lift when primary extraction is taking place?
Wayne